#12 Men's Hoops Opens BIG EAST Play Wednesday vs. Villanova

Game #12: Villanova Wildcats (7-4, 0-0) at #12 Creighton Bluejays (9-2, 0-0)
Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023 • 8 p.m. • Omaha, Neb. • CHI Health Center Omaha
| LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES | VU NOTES | PROGRAM | TICKETS |

Next Game
BIG EAST play begins on Wednesday, Dec. 20th in Omaha when No. 12 Creighton (9-2, 0-0 BIG EAST) hosts Villanova (7-4, 0-0 BIG EAST).
   Tip-off on First National Bank Court inside CHI Health Center Omaha (17,352) in Omaha, Neb., is scheduled for 8 p.m.

Creighton to Retire McDermott's No. 3 Jersey
Creighton Men's Basketball will retire Doug McDermott's No. 3 jersey prior to Wednesday's game vs. Villanova. McDermott was a three-time All-American (2012, 2013, 2014) and consensus National Player of the Year (2014) during an incredible four-year career spanning from 2010-14.
   The ceremony is scheduled to start just after 7:45 p.m. so that head coach Greg McDermott can participate in the ceremony.
   McDermott finished his career with an NCAA-record 135 double-figure scoring games and wrapped up his time on The Hilltop with 3,150 points, which was fifth in NCAA history. He was named winner of the Oscar Robertson, John R. Wooden and Naismith trophies as the National Player of the Year in 2013-14, when he led the country in scoring and helped Creighton to a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
   The son of current Bluejay head coach Greg McDermott, Doug McDermott was a three-time Conference Player of the Year and remains the sport's only three-time Associated Press First Team All-American since 1985.
   McDermott received his Marketing degree from Creighton in 2014 and is currently in his 10th year in the NBA, as a member of the San Antonio Spurs.
   McDermott's number will hang in the rafters on the west side of the arena alongside five other Bluejay greats (#25 Kyle Korver, #30 Bob Harstad, #33 Bob Portman, #35 Paul Silas, #45 Bob Gibson).

Holidays with the Jays
Get in the holiday spirit by participating in a toy drive at Wednesday's game. Bring a new toy to donate and receive a Bluejay ornament in return (while supplies last).
   All donations will benefit the Ronald McDonald House of Omaha.

Radio Broadcast Information
KOZN (1620 AM) and KOOO (101.9 FM) will carry all Creighton men's basketball games during the 2023-24 season. John Bishop and Taylor Stormberg will call the action.
   The audio is webcast at 1620thezone.com and can also be heard on SiriusXM channel 158 or 201, as well as https://sxm.app.link/964.

Telecast Information
Wednesday's game will be called by Kevin Kugler and Bill Raftery and be televised on FS1.
   The game will also be video webcast on the FoxSports app or at http://foxsports.com/live. Cable authorization may be required.

Live Stats Information
All of Creighton's games this season will have free live stats. Visit www.gocreighton.com and click on the small bar graph icon on the scoreboard at the top of the page for the event of your choosing.
   Home games can also be followed by those who have mobile devices with internet capability at www.gocreightonstats.com.

Scouting #12 Creighton
Ranked No. 12 nationally in the Associated Press poll and 14th in the USA Today Coaches poll, Creighton is 9-2 this season, including home wins over Iowa (92-84) and Alabama (85-82) and road victories at Oklahoma State (79-65) and Nebraska (89-60). CU's two losses came away from home against Colorado State and UNLV.
   The nucleus of the team is formed by three returning starters as senior forward Baylor Scheierman (18.5, 7.2 rpg., 4.7 apg), senior center Ryan Kalkbrenner (16.1 ppg., 2.3 bpg., 65.8 FG%), and junior guard Trey Alexander (15.6 ppg., 6.2 rpg., 4.5 apg.) all put their professional aspirations on hold and came back.
   Add in senior transfer Steven Ashworth (8.5 ppg,. 3.2 apg., 38.9 3FG%), the USBWA District VII Player of the Year last year at Utah State, and it's easy to see why CU was one of three BIG EAST teams picked in the top-10 nationally in the preseason.
    Creighton was picked to finish second of 11 teams in a preseason poll of BIG EAST coaches. It's No. 8 spot in the polls was its best preseason rank in program history.
   The Bluejays boast an offense that shoots 50.7 percent from the floor and 38.7 percent from three-point land while draining 11.5 three-pointers per contest (third-best nationally), which contributes to CU's 84.5 points per game. The Jays also outrebound foes by 8.7 caroms per contest.
   CU's defense has held teams to 66.5 points per game and allowed opponents to make just 53 three-pointers all year.

Scouting Villanova
Villanova is 7-4 on the season, but winless in true road games at Penn and Kansas State. The four losses have come by a combined 20 points.
   Eric Dixon (13.6 ppg., 7.0 rpg.) leads the Wildcats in scoring average, with Justin Moore (13.3 ppg., 96.4 FT%) not far behind.
   Villanova has seven men averaging at least 6.3 points per contest, and six of those men have made at least one three-pointer per contest.
   The Wildcats shoot 40.2 percent from the field, 32.1 percent from downtown and 81.8 percent at the line. Nova averages 73.2 points per game but yields just 64.7 per contest.

The Series With Villanova
Villanova leads the all-time series with Creighton, 18-8. Creighton has won the last three meetings in Omaha to tie the series in 10 home games.
   Seven of the last nine meetings at all sites have been decided by double-figures, with CU winning five of those games.
   Greg McDermott is 8-14 against Villanova and 2-1 against Kyle Neptune.

The Creighton Coaches
Greg McDermott (Northern Iowa, 1988) owns a 309-152 record in his 14th season with the Bluejays. He ranks 16th among active coaches in victories with a career mark of 589-347 in his 30th season, and is 458-283 in his 23rd Division I campaign.
   McDermott led Creighton to its first BIG EAST regular-season title in 2019-20, taking a Bluejay team that was picked seventh in the league's preseason poll and ending the year ranked seventh nationally. The Cascade, Iowa native has coached Creighton to a share of its first regular-season BIG EAST title in 2019-20 its first Sweet 16 since 1974 in 2020-21 and first Elite Eight since 1941 in 2022-23.
   McDermott has previously been a head coach at Iowa State (2006-10), Northern Iowa (2001-06), North Dakota State (2000-01) and Wayne State (1994-2000).
   He is assisted by Ryan Miller, Jalen Courtney-Williams and Derek Kellogg.

With A Win...
- Creighton would pick up its nation-leading ninth win vs. Villanova since the start of the 2013-14 season.
- Creighton would improve to 6-5 all-time against Villanova in Omaha.
- Creighton would improve to 73-13 in home games as a ranked team under Greg McDermott.
- Creighton would improve to 7-0 at home this season.
- Greg McDermott would tie former Villanova coach Rollie Massimino for 11th in league history with his 110th regular-season BIG EAST win.
- Creighton would improve to 7-4 in BIG EAST openers all-time, and 2-0 vs. Villanova.

Milestone Watch
Ryan Kalkbrenner owns 1,344 career points to rank 17th in CU history. With 18 or more points, he can pass Duan Cole (1,362) to move into 16th place on CU's all-time scoring list. He can surpass Gene Harmon (1,369) with 26 points to move into 15th.
   Francisco Farabello owns 476 career points (including the 319 he scored at TCU), as he closes in on 500.
   Steven Ashworth owns 388 career assists (including 35 at Creighton) and is 12 shy of 400.
   Baylor Scheierman owns 494 career assists (including 174 at Creighton) and is six away from 500.
   Trey Alexander owns 933 career points and is 67 shy of 1,000. He'd be the fourth current Bluejay to reach that milestone in college, joining Baylor Scheierman (1,789), Ryan Kalkbrenner (1,344) and Steven Ashworth (1,125).

Conference Openers Have Gone Well
Creighton owns a 17-8 record in its last 25 conference openers, including a 1-0 mark vs. Villanova.
   Greg McDermott is 12-10 all-time in conference openers as a Division I head coach, including an 8-5 mark at Creighton (6-4 in the BIG EAST).
   The last team to win a share of any BIG EAST regular-season title after losing the league opener was the 2012-13 Georgetown club. No squad has won an outright title after losing the league opener since Notre Dame won the West Division in 2000-01. And no team has won a league outright title in a one-division BIG EAST after losing the league lid-lifter since Georgetown in 1988-89.
Yearly League Openers Under Greg McDermott
Year   Won (Final W-L)   Lost (Final W-L)
2010-11   Illinois St. (10-8)
2011-12       Missouri St. (14-4)
2012-13   Evansville (13-5)
2013-14   Marquette (14-4)
2014-15       Providence (4-14)
2015-16   St. John's (9-9)
2016-17   Seton Hall (10-8)
2017-18       Seton Hall (10-8)
2018-19   Providence (9-9)
2019-20   Marquette (13-5)
2020-21       Marquette (14-6)
2021-22   Villanova (12-7)
2022-23       Marquette (14-6)

Fool Me Once...But Nine Times?
Creighton has met or exceeded its preseason BIG EAST prognostication all but one year since joining the league in 2013, as seen below.
   Last year marked the seventh straight year that Creighton has finished in fourth place or better.
Creighton's BIG EAST Preseason Poll History
Year    Preseason    Actual    Preseason All-BIG EAST
2013-14    3rd    2nd    Doug McDermott (1st)
2014-15    9th    T-9th    -
2015-16    9th    6th    -
2016-17    3rd    T-3rd    Maurice Watson Jr. (1st); Marcus Foster (HM)
2017-18    5th    T-3rd    Marcus Foster (1st); Khyri Thomas (HM)
2018-19    9th    T-3rd    Martin Krampelj (HM)
2019-20    7th    T-1st   Ty-Shon Alexander (1st)
2020-21    2nd    2nd   Marcus Zegarowski (1st); Mitch Ballock (2nd)
2021-22   8th   4th   None
2022-23   1st   ??   Ryan Kalkbrenner (1st); Arthur Kaluma (2nd)
           Ryan Nembhard (2nd); Baylor Scheierman (HM)

Strong League Start Projects To Postseason
Creighton has started 5-2 or better in league play in seven of Greg McDermott's first 13 seasons at the helm.
   Six of those teams to start like that reached the NCAA Tournament, while a seventh reached the quarterfinals of the NIT.
   Each of Creighton's 15 teams since 1988-89 to start 5-2, 6-1 or 7-0 after seven games in league play have reached the postseason, a stretch that includes 10 NCAA Tournaments and five NIT's.

Among The Best
Creighton owns more BIG EAST wins (53) than any other school in the previous four seasons, three more than Villanova's 50.
   Since the league's 2013 realignment, Villanova has 140 league wins to lead the BIG EAST by a wide margin, but Creighton's 109 league victories are second-most.
Most Men's Basketball BIG EAST Wins
Previous 4 Years (2019-20 to 2022-23)
Team   W   L   Pct.
Creighton   53   24   .688
Villanova   50   23   .685
Providence   48   26   .649
Seton Hall   44   32   .579
Marquette   44   32   .579
Xavier   37   33   .529
UConn   37   19   .661
St. John's   30   46   .395
Butler   30   48   .385
Georgetown   14   59   .192
DePaul   14   59   .192

Most Men's Basketball BIG EAST Wins
Previous 10 Years (2013-14 to 2022-23)
Team   W   L   Pct.
Villanova   140   41   .773
Creighton   109   76   .589
Providence   106   76   .582
Xavier   103   75   .579
Seton Hall   97   87   .527
Marquette   96   88   .522
Butler   84   102   .452
St. John's   70   114   .380
Georgetown   60   121   .331
DePaul   39   142   .215
UConn   37   19   .661

Making An Entrance
Steven Ashworth, Josiah Dotzler, Jasen Green, Johnathan Lawson and Isaac Traudt could each play in their first career BIG EAST game on Wednesday.
   Below is a listing of the only 18 men in league history to debut in the BIG EAST with a game of 25 or more points.
   The most points by a Bluejay in their BIG EAST debut is 19 by Doug McDermott vs. Marquette on Dec. 31, 2013, then matched by Ryan Hawkins vs. Villanova on Dec. 17, 2021.
MOST POINTS - FIRST BIG EAST GAME
41   Steve Novak, Marquette vs. UConn, 1-3-06
40   James Bouknight, UConn vs. Creighton, 12-20-20
32   Moe Harkless, St. John's vs. PC, 12-27-11
30   Troy Murphy, Notre Dame vs. PC, 12-8-98
   Allen Iverson, Georgetown vs. PC, 12-7-94
29   Caron Butler, Connecticut vs. BC, 1-3-01
   Khalid El-Amin, Connecticut vs. WVU, 12-3-97
   Tim Thomas, Villanova vs. PC, 12-4-96
28   Troy Bell, Boston College vs. PC, 1-8-00
   Jeremy Hazell, Seton Hall vs. UConn, 1-3-08
   Souley Boum, Xavier vs. Georgetown, 12-16-22
26   Seldon Jefferson, WVU vs. Georgetown, 12-2-95
   Lawrence Moten, Syracuse vs. BC, 1-2-92
   Shamorie Ponds, St. John's vs. Butler, 12-29-16
25   Rodney Bullock, Providence at Butler, 12-31-15
   Craig Smith, Boston College vs. PC, 1-2-03
   Jerome Coleman, Rutgers vs. Syracuse, 1-2-02
   Steve Rich, Miami vs. Syracuse, 12-22-93

A Good Start
Here's a look at how Creighton has done statistically after 11 games in recent seasons.
    Of note, Creighton has started 6-5 or better after 11 games in 26 of the past 27 seasons (including 2023-24).
Creighton Stats Through 11 Games, Since 1994-95
Year   W-L   PPG   FG%   3FG   10+ PPG guys
2023-24   9-2   84.5   .507   127   3
2022-23   6-5   78.0   .458   101   5
2021-22   8-3   71.9   .482   67   4
2020-21   9-2   82.0   .491   114   5
2019-20   9-2   78.9   .469   110   4
2018-19   7-4   82.5   .505   124   3
2017-18   9-2   90.2   .510   115   3
2016-17   11-0   89.3   .539   106   4
2015-16   7-4   84.5   .490   105   5
2014-15   8-3   73.2   .435   98   2
2013-14   9-2   82.3   .487   120   2
2012-13   10-1   79.6   .508   98   2
2011-12   10-1   86.1   .517   102   2
2010-11   7-4   68.2   .427   77   3
2009-10   5-6   72.5   .455   91   2
2008-09   9-2   76.4   .442   97   3
2007-08   9-2   79.5   .476   92   2
2006-07   7-4   67.0   .418   65   3
2005-06   7-4   69.3   .401   77   3
2004-05   8-3   68.5   .432   87   2
2003-04   11-0   70.6   .459   66   1
2002-03   10-1   83.8   .521   110   1
2001-02   7-4   75.9   .453   67   3
2000-01   9-2   77.0   .451   90   3
1999-00   9-2   73.2   .457   88   2
1998-99   9-2   77.2   .462   86   2
1997-98   8-3   78.1   .474   81   1
1996-97   5-6   64.8   .406   60   2
1995-96   6-5   66.6   .395   65   3
1994-95   5-6   65.0   .401   74   4

A Dozen Will Do
Creighton finished 14-6 in the BIG EAST last season and is the only school in the BIG EAST with 12 or more league wins each of the previous four seasons.
   Among the other BIG EAST or "Power 5" Conference schools, Kansas, UCLA and Virginia have also done it the previous four years.
   Creighton has now owned a .500 mark or better in league play 27 times in the last 28 seasons.
   The only BIG EAST teams to finish .500 or better in league play each of the previous six seasons are Creighton, Villanova and Seton Hall.

Repeat After Three
Few teams in the country have made as many three-pointers in the last 10 seasons as the teams featured in Wednesday's match-up. Since 2013-14, Villanova leads the nation in that category with 3,424 trifectas, while Creighton is fourth with 3,196.
   Creighton is 1-14 all-time when making eight three-pointers or less against Villanova (including three meetings in the 1950's long before the 3-point line existed), but 7-4 when making nine or more trifectas. CU has hit 93-of-199 treys (46.7%) in the eight wins, but 99-of-362 triples (27.3%) in the 18 losses.
   Villanova has made nine or more three-pointers against Creighton in 14-of-23 meetings as BIG EAST rivals.
   Per BartTorvik.com, Villanova ranks third nationally with 51 percent of its shot attempts coming from three-point range, while Creighton is sixth at 49.8 percent.
   Creighton is 27-2 in its last 29 games (against all teams) when attempting 15 or fewer three-pointers.
   Since Greg McDermott was hired in 2010, Creighton has made 4,070 three-pointers in 461 games, good for second-most nationally behind Belmont (4,219). VMI (4,048) is third, while Villanova is fourth on that list with 4,034 treys.
Most 3FG Made Since 2013-14 (thru 12/16/23)
Rk.   Team   3FG   Games
1.   Villanova   3,424   361
2.   Belmont   3,304   337
3.   North Florida   3,299   331
4.   Creighton   3,196   351
5.   VMI   3,132   320

The Cats Meow
Villanova has the third-best win percentage in the country since the start of the 2013-14 season, which coincides with the realignment of the BIG EAST. Villanova is 287-74 (.795), just behind a Gonzaga program that is 323-44 (.880) and Kansas 294-74 (.799). No one else has won more than 79 percent of its games.
   Of the 96 different schools to play Villanova in that time, only 33 have actually beaten the Wildcats.
   Creighton is one of 13 schools to post multiple victories over the Wildcats in that time. Creighton's eight victories over Villanova are the most by any Wildcat opponent in that span, one more than Marquette and two more than Providence and Butler.

Something About Creighton
Since the start of the 2013-14 season, Villanova has suffered only 74 losses, with just 13 of those coming by 15 points or more.
   Five of those lopsided setbacks have come against Creighton, while eight other teams have done it once each.
Villanova's Largest Margins of Defeat Since 2013-14
   Margin   Score   Date
   28*   Creighton 96, Villanova 68   1/20/14
   27   Michigan 73, Villanova 46   11/14/18
   26   Purdue 87, Villanova 61   3/23/19
   25   Ohio State 76, Villanova 51   11/13/19
   23   Oklahoma 78, Villanova 55   12/7/15
   21   Creighton 101, Villanova 80   2/16/14
   21   Baylor 57, Villanova 36   12/12/21
   20   Georgetown 78, Villanova 58   1/19/15
   20   Creighton 79, Villanova 59   12/17/21
   16   Creighton 86, Villanova 70   2/13/21
   16   Syracuse 78, Villanova 62   12/28/13
   16   Kansas 81, Villanova 65   4/2/22
   15*   Creighton 76, Villanova 61   2/1/20
*at Wells Fargo Arena

The Race To 70
Creighton has scored 70 or more points in all nine of its victories this season.
   Creighton has averaged 85.00 points in eight all-time wins over Villanova, but just 61.17 in 18 losses against the Wildcats.
   Villanova has surrendered 64.7 points per game this season.
   Creighton is 6-0 all-time when scoring 79 points or more against the Wildcats, compared to a 2-18 record when scoring 78 points or fewer.

Doug McDermott Against The Cats
Doug McDermott went 2-0 in his playing career against Villanova, winning 96-68 over the No. 4 Wildcats in Philadelphia, then 101-80 against No. 6 Nova in Omaha.
   McDermott had 23 points and five rebounds in the first meeting, shooting 8-for-13 from the floor and 5-of-8 from three-point range. That was part of a night that saw Creighton make 21 three-pointers, including one on each of its first nine possessions.
   In the rematch in Omaha 27 days later, McDermott had 39 points and seven rebounds. He made 13-of-17 shots from the field and 4-of-6 three-point attempts, as well as all nine foul shots.

McDermott In The NBA
Doug McDermott is in his 10th year in an NBA career that saw him selected 11th overall by Denver, with stops in Chicago, Oklahoma City, New York, Dallas, Indiana and San Antonio.
   He is averaging 6.5 points per game this season and shooting 45.5 percent from three-point range for the Spurs, which ranks ninth in the NBA.
   In his career, McDermott has played in 614 games and averaged 9.2 points per game. He ranks 21st in NBA history with 41.2 percent marksmanship from three-point range in his career.

11 Crazy Stats on Doug McDermott
What better time than now to remind you of some of the highlights of Doug McDermott's Creighton career?
   1) In 2013-14 he was honored as National Player of the Year by the USBWA (Oscar Robertson Trophy), John R. Wooden Award, Naismith Trophy, Adolph F. Rupp Trophy, Associated Press, NABC, CollegeInsider.com Lute Olson Award, Sporting News, Basketball Times, NBCSports.com, CBSSports.com, BleacherReport.com, USA Today and Dick Vitale.
   In addition, he was also honored with the Senior CLASS Award that takes into account his off-court contributions.
   2) Doug McDermott finished his career fifth (he's currently seventh) in NCAA history with 3,150 career points. He broke the previous Creighton career scoring record of 2,116 (held by Rodney Buford) during his junior season.
   3) Doug McDermott was featured on the cover of the March 17, 2014 edition of Sports Illustrated as the magazine tried to recreate an epic 1977 cover shot that featured Larry Bird.
   4) Creighton went 16-0 at home during Doug McDermott's senior year and never trailed in the second half at any point in those home contests.
   5) Creighton went 21-0 in his career when Doug McDermott scored 31 points or more.
   6) Doug McDermott surpassed 3,000 career points in his final home game, a Senior Day win over Providence with Warren Buffett in attendance. McDermott scored a career-high 45 points in the victory.
   7) Doug McDermott ranked third nationally in points per game as a sophomore (22.9), second as a junior (23.2) and first as a senior (26.7).
   8) Doug McDermott set a BIG EAST record by being named BIG EAST Player of the Week eight times in 2013-14. In the nine weeks he was not named Player of the Week, he still averaged 23.8 points and 7.1 rebounds per game while shooting 49.6 percent from the field and 89.1 percent at the line.
   9) Doug McDermott remains the Associated Press' only three-time First Team All-American since 1984-85.
   10) Doug McDermott made 1,141 career field goals, which ranked 10th in NCAA history when he graduated. Of those, he made 498 shots off the backboard, 145 shots with his left hand and had just 19 dunks.
   11) Former Villanova coach Jay Wright was pretty effusive with his praise after coaching against Doug McDermott on Feb. 16, 2014, saying
   "I think he's as complete a player, and I do not use that term loosely, with size, as I've ever seen. With 6-8, 6-9, there's nothing he can't do. He can take you off the dribble. He guards, he's tough as hell guarding. He defends. He rebounds. He moves without the ball. He seals. He's the best post player that we've played against and he's the best perimeter player, and maybe one of the best passers, and he's 6-8, 6-9. I think he's as good a basketball player as I've seen."

McDermott Among The Best
Greg McDermott ranks 12th in league history with 109 regular-season league wins. With a win on Wednesday, he can tie former Villanova mentor Rollie Massimino for 11th on the all-time list.
   McDermott, along with Ed Cooley and Rick Pitino, are the only three active coaches with 100 regular-season BIG EAST wins. The list contains six different coaches who have won at least one national title.
   McDermott has been at his current job (14 seasons) longer than any active BIG EAST coach, but since his first three years were as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference, Cooley's 13 years in the BIG EAST lead all active league coaches.
Most League Wins, BIG EAST MBB Coaches
   Rk.   Wins   Name, School
   1.   366   Jim Boeheim, Syracuse
   2.   274   Jim Calhoun, UConn
   3.   244   Jay Wright, Villanova
   4.   198   John Thompson Sr., Georgetown
   5.   136   Mike Brey, Notre Dame
   6.   131   John Thompson III, Georgetown
   7.   127   Lou Carnesecca, St. John's
   8.   119   Ed Cooley, Providence/G'Town
   9.   115   Jamie Dixon, Pittsburgh
   10.   111   Rick Pitino, Prov./Louisville/SJU
   11.   110   Rollie Massimino, Villanova
   12.   109   Greg McDermott, Creighton
   13.   105   Kevin Willard, Seton Hall

Jays Don't Foul...Do You Follow?
Creighton leads the nation with just 9.9 fouls per game...let's take a minute to appreciate just how few that is.
   Creighton has committed three fouls or less in 7-of-22 halves this year.
   Creighton has not had more than nine fouls in any half this season, which means its opponents haven't been in the double-bonus yet.
   Creighton has allowed just three made free throws in a 1-and-1 situation all year. Iowa had a 1-and-1 with four seconds left but missed the front end. Oklahoma State got there with 41 seconds left and made the first shot but missed the second. And Alabama's Aaron Estrada made a pair in the first half vs. CU.
   Here's a look at how many fouls Creighton has been called for this season by half:
Creighton Fouls By Half
Opponent   First Half   Second Half
Florida A&M   4   5
North Dakota State   1   3
Iowa   6   8
Texas Southern   1   6
Loyola (Chicago)   3   7
Colorado State   2   5
Oklahoma State   6   7
Nebraska   7   7
Central Michigan   3   2
UNLV   5   5
Alabama   9   7
Total   47   62

3 & D
Creighton leads the nation in fewest fouls per game (9.9) and is third in three-pointers per game (11.5).
   Per Basketball-Reference.com, in its Dec. 9 romp over Central Michigan the Jays became the nation's only team since at least 2010-11 to score 102+ points and commit 5 fouls or less in the same game against a Division I opponent.

Big Game
Creighton's average height of 78.56 inches puts the Bluejays as the nation's 11th-tallest team, and the biggest in the BIG EAST.
   The second-tallest team in the BIG EAST is Connecticut, which ranks tied for 24th-biggest at 78.29 inches per player.

Jays Eye 27K at CHI
Creighton has scored 26,980 points all-time at CHI Health Center Omaha, and is likely to reach 27,000 on Wednesday.
   Creighton has outscored the opposition 26,980-22,521 at the 21-year old facility in 344 all-time games in the building that count.
   Creighton is 25-1 all-time in games where it moves over any 1,000 point milestone at CHI Health Center Omaha, as seen below:
Date   Pts-Opp (CLCO Game #)   Who/How vs. Opp.
02/18/04   1,000-787 (14)   Lindeman FG vs. Indiana State
02/05/05   2,000-1,696 (28)   Funk FG vs. Missouri St.
01/18/06   3,000-2,504 (41)   Watts FT vs. Bradley
01/09/07   4,000-3,359 (56)   Tolliver FG vs. Drake
12/17/07   5,000-4,174 (69)   Kaleb Korver 3FG vs. Hou. Baptist
11/16/08   6,000-5,048 (82)   Dotzler FG vs. New Mexico
02/11/09   7,000-5,870 (95)   Witter 3FG vs. Bradley
01/16/10   8,000-6,750 (109)   Young FG vs. Wichita State
12/20/10   9,000-7,645 (123)   Wragge FG vs. W. Illinois
03/23/11   10,000-8,500 (136)   Lawson FG vs. UCF
01/21/12   11,000-9,310 (148)   McDermott FG vs. Ind. St.
12/19/12   12,000-10,136 (161)   Echenique FG vs. Tulsa
11/23/13   13,000-10,922 (173)   Artino FG vs. Tulsa
02/23/14   14,000-11,711 (185)   Gibbs FG vs. Seton Hall
01/28/15   15,000-12,612 (198)   Hanson FT vs. St. John's
12/28/15   16,000-13,498 (211)   Huff FG vs. Coppin State
11/15/16   17,000-14,349 (224)   Patton FG vs. #9 Wisconsin
01/28/17   18,000-15,166 (235)   Hanson FG vs. DePaul
12/18/17   19,000-15,927 (246)   Foster 3FG vs. UT Arlington
11/06/18   20,000-16,741 (258)   Ballock 3FG vs. W. Illinois
02/03/19   21,000-17,619 (270)   Zegarowski FG vs. Xavier
12/07/19   22,000-18,463 (282)   Ballock 3FG vs. Nebraska
03/07/20   23,000-19,280 (294)   Mahoney 3FG vs. #8 Seton Hall
02/13/21   24,000-20,103 (306)   Zegarowski FG vs. #5 Villanova
02/14/22   25,000-20,950 (320)   Hawkins 3FG vs. Georgetown
01/25/23   26,000-21,786 (333)   Nembhard 3FG vs. St. John's

Kalkbrenner's A Handful
Ryan Kalkbrenner swatted a season-high five shots last Wednesday at UNLV.
   It was the ninth time in his Bluejay career that he's had five or more rejections. During his four years at Creighton, all his teammates have combined for one such game, a five-swat effort by Fredrick King last year in Las Vegas. Kalkbrenner is the only Creighton player with multiple games of five or more swats since the Bluejays joined the BIG EAST in 2013 as King, Jacob Epperson and Justin Patton have each done it once.
   Kalkbrenner's 224 career blocked shots rank third among the nation's active players.

Too Tall A Mountain To Climb
In its last 15 games dating to last season, Creighton is 0-3 against teams from the Mountain West Conference and 12-0 in all other contests, as CU has dropped games against San Diego State, Colorado State and UNLV.
   The MWC teams have held Creighton to 56.0 points per game (168/3), 35.7 field goal shooting (61-171) and 21.3 percent marksmanship from deep (16-75). CU is also -3.0 (-9) on the glass in those contests and boasts a 1.17 (35/30) assist to turnover ratio.
   On the other hand, when facing all other opponents (including six Power 5 or BIG EAST schools) CU is scoring 88.42 points per game, 53.5 field goal shooting (379-709) and 40.2 percent marksmanship from deep (136-338). CU is also +10.00 (+120) on the glass in those contests and boasts a 1.67 (214/128) assist to turnover ratio.

It's Miller Time
Mason Miller never scored more than nine points as he averaged 2.8 points per game in his first 42 contests at Creighton, only to put up 17 points, 11 points and six points in his last three competitions.
   Miller has made 11 of his last 15 three-point attempts, moving his shooting percentage to 59.4 percent from deep this year. That's good enough to lead the BIG EAST, which requires one three-pointer per game to qualify.
   In his career Miller is shooting 45.349 percent from deep, sinking 39-of-86 triple tries. The only men to finish their Creighton career better (min. 100 three-point attempts) have been Doug McDermott (.458) and Booker Woodfox (.455). Both men would earn Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year awards, and McDermott ranks as one of the most accurate three-point shooters in the NBA since the turn of the century.

Seeing Three's
Creighton has made 14 or more three-pointers in five different games this year, second-most nationally behind BYU. It's already tied for the second-most games of 14 three-pointers in any year under Greg McDermott, trailing only the 2018-19 squad that did it eight times in 35 games.
   Creighton owns four different games this season in which it has made 10 or more three-pointers than its opponent, which shares the national lead.
   The Bluejays have had three different games this season in which they've made 10 or more triples before halftime, including two of the past four contests.
   Creighton has made three or more three-pointers in every half this season.

Circling The Target
Benoit Benjamin has the only three triple-doubles in history, but each one consisted of 10 or more points, rebounds and blocks.
   Though that means Creighton's never had a traditional points/rebound/assist triple-double, it seems like both Trey Alexander and Baylor Scheierman are flirting with one seemingly every time out.
   Here's a look at games this season when those men have had at least six points, six rebounds and six assists.
6+ Points, 6+ Rebounds, 6+ Assists This Season
Name   Opponent   Pts.   Reb.   Ast.
Alexander   Iowa   23   11   9
Scheierman   Texas Southern   23   9   6
Alexander   Texas Southern   20   7   8
Scheierman   Central Michigan   13   6   9
Alexander   Central Michigan   15   7   8
Scheierman   at UNLV   16   7   7
Scheierman   Alabama   20   6   9

Don't Forget The Two's
While attention tends to focus on Creighton's proficiency from three-point range, the Bluejays are also pretty efficient from inside the arc.
   Through games of Sunday, CU ranked fifth in the country in two-point percentage (.625) in 2023-24 and third-best nationally (.548) among Division I schools to have played 100 or more games since Greg McDermott's arrival in 2010-11.
   Creighton shot 26-for-32 (.813) from two-point range on Dec. 9 vs. Central Michigan, just the third time in Greg McDermott's 14 seasons at CU its converted on better than 80 percent of its two-point shots. The only better game was when it shot 22-for-26 (.846) in a March 2, 2013 win over Wichita State in CU's final regular-season game as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference.

Century Mark
Creighton's 109 point effort on Dec. 9 was the 25th time under Greg McDermott that Creighton has scored 100 or more points.
   That ranks second-most among all Power 5/BIG EAST teams nationally in that span, trailing only North Carolina (35).
   No other BIG EAST team has cracked the century mark more than 12 times since 2010-11.
   Greg McDermott's teams at Northern Iowa (153 games) and Iowa State (127 games) never scored more than 100 points in any game.

Road Dubs
Before its Dec. 13 loss at UNLV, Creighton had started 2-0 on the road this season, doing so in impressive fashion in both games.
   On Nov. 30 Creighton beat Oklahoma State 79-65, its second-biggest non-conference home loss since 1978.
   Four days later on Dec. 3, Creighton won 89-60 at Nebraska, handing the Cornhuskers their largest non-conference home loss since 1938.
   It's the first time that Creighton has won its first two true road games since 2016-17, when the Jays won their first five road contests.
   It's also just the 12th time in the last 50 seasons that CU has won each of its first two true road games. Ten of the 11 most recent teams to do so made the NCAA Tournament, and each won 20 or more games.
Started 2-0 Or Better On The Road, Last 50 Years
   Road W's to Start   Season   Final W-L (Postseason)
   2   1976-77   21-7 (NCAA)
   2   1980-81   21-9 (NCAA)
   2   1998-99   22-9 (NCAA)
   3   1999-00   23-10 (NCAA)
   2   2002-03   29-5 (NCAA)
   4   2003-04   20-9 (NIT)
   2   2004-05   23-11 (NCAA)
   2   2011-12   29-6 (NCAA)
   4   2012-13   28-8 (NCAA)
   4   2013-14   27-8 (NCAA)
   5   2016-17   25-10 (NCAA)
   2   2023-24   TBD

Forty Time
In its nine wins, Creighton has scored 431 points before halftime (47.9 per game), and put up 40 or more points in the first half each contest.
   In its two losses, it scored 19 (vs. CSU) and 28 (at UNLV) and averaged just 56 points per game.
   Creighton has won 15 games in a row when scoring more than 40 first half points.

Hoop Dreams
Creighton shot 65.1 percent from the field on Dec. 9 vs. Central Michigan.
   In Greg McDermott's 461 games at Creighton, the Bluejays had only surpassed that figure three times previously, and not since 2013.
Best FG%, Single-Game, Under Greg McDermott
FG% (FG-FGA)   Opponent   Date
.775 (31-40)   at Southern Illinois   02/14/12
.704 (38-54)   Campbell   11/25/11
.702 (33-47)   Wichita State   03/02/13
.651 (41-63)   Central Michigan   12/09/23
.648 (35-54)   Longwood   11/20/12

Powerful Performance
One of the few question marks heading into the season was which player would step up at the power forward position.
   On Dec. 9 against Central Michigan, the platoon of Mason Miller, Isaac Traudt and Jasen Green each played a starring role.
   The trio combined for 39 points and nine rebounds in 45 minutes of action. They shot 14-for-16 from the field, including 9-for-11 from three-point range. Both Miller and Traudt finished off a four-point play.
   For the season Miller leads the BIG EAST with 59.4 percent marksmanship from three-point land while Traudt is second at 48.5 percent.

No Time To Waste
Isaac Traudt scored 18 points in just over 12 minutes of action on Dec. 9 vs. Central Michigan. The redshirt freshman made 5-of-6 three-point shots, as well as a dunk, en route to a new career-high scoring total.
   Traudt was CU's first player with 18 points or more in 13 minutes or less since Martin Krampelj had 18 points in 11 minutes on Dec. 20, 2018 against Division III opponent Coe.

Release, Rotation, Splash, Repeat
Creighton has made at least one three-pointer in 996 straight games. The streak is the nation's 10th-longest active streak.
   Creighton's last game without a three-pointer came at Illinois State on Feb. 20, 1993, when the Jays were 0-for-5. Creighton's last win without making a three-point basket came on March 3, 1991 when the Jays went 0-for-2 from three-point range in a 71-66 win over Southern Illinois in the championship game of the MVC Tournament.
   Below is a list of the nation's longest active three-point streaks.
Longest Active 3-Point Streaks (12/17)
   Rk.   Streak   School   Next Game
   1.   1,202   UNLV   12/21
   2.   1,199   Duke   12/20
   3.   1,134   East Tennessee State   12/20
   4.   1,109   Oakland   12/20
   5.   1,108   Pacific   12/18
   6.   1,104   Texas   12/22
   7.   1,047   Marshall   12/21
   8.   1,032   Princeton   12/22
       1,032   Gonzaga   12/20
   10.   996   Creighton   12/20
   11.   995   Long Island   12/23
   12.   984   Mount St. Mary's   12/20

Triple Trouble
During Creighton's current streak of 996 straight games with a three-pointer, the Jays have drained 7,912 trifectas, an average of 7.94 treys per game.
   That's not surprising since during the streak, Creighton has made exactly seven three-pointers 147 times, more than any figure.
   Only five times in the streak has Creighton made just one three-pointer, but on 290 occasions the Bluejays have made 10 or more trifectas, including three games of 20 or more.
   Since the start of the 2019-20 season, the Bluejays are 71-16 when making eight or more three-pointers, compared to a 29-26 mark when making seven treys or fewer.
Team 3FG Made During Creighton's 3-Point Streak
1:    5 times   2: 19 times   3: 36 times
4:    75 times   5:   103 times   6: 103 times
7:   147 times   8:   125 times   9: 93 times
10: 84 times   11: 57 times   12: 57 times
13: 45 times   14: 22 times   15: 8 times
16: 8 times   17: 3 times   18: 1 time
19: 2 times   20: 1 time   21: 1 time   22: 1 time

Scheierman's Week Earns Honors
Baylor Scheierman was named the BIG EAST Player of the Week and Oscar Robertson U.S. Basketball Writers Association National Player of the Week on Dec. 4th after helping the Bluejays to a pair of double-digit road wins over Power 5 teams.
   Scheierman averaged 22.5 points and 9.0 rebounds during the week, sinking nine three-pointers.
   Scheierman had 21 points, eight rebounds and two steals in Thursday's BIG EAST – Big 12 Battle victory at Oklahoma State. The 79-65 loss was Oklahoma State's second-largest non-conference home loss in 45 years.
   The Aurora, Neb,. product concluded his week by scoring 20 of his game-high 24 points in the first half of Creighton's 89-60 win over Nebraska, matching its largest margin of victory ever over its in-state rival. Scheierman made six three-pointers in the first half to remain (at the time) the nation's only player with three or more three-pointers in every team game this season.
   Scheierman contributed 10 rebounds for his 40th career double-double, which also moved him over 1,000 career rebounds. The loss was Nebraska's largest in a non-conference home game since 1938.

Big Half Baylor
Baylor Scheierman has had at least 20 points before halftime in two of CU's last seven games.
   He had 21 points in the first 20 minutes against Loyola Chicago on Nov. 22, then poured in 20 points in the first half on Dec. 3 at Nebraska. Scheierman is the first Bluejay with multiple games of 20+ points at halftime in the same season since Marcus Foster did it three times in 2017-18 (22 vs. UT Arlington, 21 vs. Butler, 20 vs. Georgetown).
   For the year, Scheierman leads Creighton with 11.2 points per game before halftime. No Creighton player has averaged more than 10 points per first half since Doug McDermott averaged 14.0 points per first half in 2013-14, a season that saw McDermott lead the nation in scoring.

On The Triple
Baylor Scheierman drained six three-pointers before halftime on Dec. 3 at Nebraska.
   No Creighton player had done that since Trey Alexander had six triples in the first half vs. Georgetown on March 1, 2023.
   In case you're wondering, the Creighton record for three-pointers in a half is eight, done in a pair of memorable victories.
   Ethan Wragge made eight three-pointers in a 96-68 win at No. 4 Villanova in 2014, while Terrell Taylor made eight after a scoreless first half in a double-overtime win vs. No. 15 Florida in 2002, though some of those trifectas came during the overtime sessions.

Scheierman The Scorer?
Baylor Scheierman ranks second in the BIG EAST Conference in scoring at 18.5 points per game.
   The Aurora, Neb., product is one of four BIG EAST players to have scored in double-figures every team game this season, joining Marquette's Kam Jones, St. John's Joel Soriano and Xavier's Desmond Claude.
   Scheierman is just the third Creighton player in the last 25 seasons to score in double-figures each of the first 11 games of a year, joining Doug McDermott (all 35 games in 2011-12) and Marcus Foster (first 15 in 2017-18).
   The fifth-year senior is aiming to become the first Creighton player to lead the BIG EAST in scoring since Doug McDermott in 2013-14. McDermott led the nation with 26.7 points per game en route to National Player of the Year accolades.
   Keep in mind that Scheierman has proven he can do way more than score. Two years ago at South Dakota State, Scheierman led the Summit League in the rare combination of both rebounds and assists.

Ain't Life Grand?
Baylor Scheierman owns 1,789 points, 1,020 rebounds, 494 assists and has made 280 career three-pointers in 138 total games when you combine his Creighton and South Dakota State stats.
   Creighton's only other players to reach 1,000 career rebounds (only at Creighton) have been Paul Silas (1,751), Bob Harstad (1,126), Doug McDermott (1,088) and Benoit Benjamin (1,005).
   If you're curious, how many games it took to get to 1,000 rebounds for each man, we've got you covered:
Games to 1,000 Rebounds
Name   GP   Opponent, Date
Paul Silas   47   at Utah State, 2/23/63
Benoit Benjamin   89   at Bradley, 3/5/85
Bob Harstad   115   Siena, 2/3/91
Doug McDermott   132   DePaul, 2/7/14
Baylor Scheierman*   135   at Nebraska, 12/3/23
*includes games at South Dakota State

1,000+ Rebounds, 274+ 3FG Nationally, Since 1992-93
**Stats earned at Division I schools only**
Name, School(s)   REB   3FG
Doug McDermott, Creighton   1,088   274
Baylor Scheierman, SDSU/Creighton   1,020   280

1,000+ Rebounds, 480 Assists Nationally, Since 1992-93
**Stats earned at Division I schools only**
Name, School(s)   REB   AST
Brian Voelkel, Vermont   1,168   679
John Konchar, IPFW   1,149   553
Kyle Collinsworth, BYU   1,047   703
Baylor Scheierman, SDSU/Creighton   1,020   494

Can't Stop Scheierman
Baylor Scheierman made a three-point basket in all 37 games he played last season and each game this season, stretching his streak dating to last year to 58 in a row if you include his final 10 games at South Dakota State in 2021-22.
   Scheierman's streak of 48 straight as a Bluejay is the longest streak in Creighton history, 15 more than Ty-Shon Alexander's 33.
   Scheierman was also the only player in the nation who had made three or more three-pointers in every game his team has played this season until the streak was snapped on Dec. 9 vs. Central Michigan.
   Also listed is the nation's longest active streaks of games with a three-pointer, per the FOX Sports research team.
Consecutive Games With A 3-Pointer, Creighton History
   Streak   Name   Dates of Streak
   48   Baylor Scheierman   Nov. 7, 2022 - Present
   33   Ty-Shon Alexander   Feb. 27, 2018-March 6, 2019
   31   Booker Woodfox   Nov. 25, 2008-March 23, 2009
   28   Kyle Korver   Feb. 4, 2001-Feb. 6, 2002
   27   Kyle Korver   Feb. 13, 2002-Jan. 20, 2003

Consecutive Games With A 3-Pointer
Nation's Longest Active Streaks (12/19)
   Streak   Name, School   Next Game
   77   Kamdyn Curfman, Marshall   12/21
   58   Baylor Scheierman, Creighton / S. Dakota St.   12/20

Scheierman Drains 275th Trey
Baylor Scheierman has made 280 three-pointers in his college career, doing so at a 39.1 percent clip.
   Scheierman also owns 1,789 points, 1,020 rebounds, 494 assists and 127 career steals.
   Per Basketball-Reference.com, Scheierman is the nation's only player in the last 30 years with career totals of at least 250 three-pointers, 450 assists and 1,000 rebounds.
   Scheierman is one of 21 players since 2010-11 with 480 or more assists and 280 or more three-pointers. Scheierman's 1,020 rebounds are well ahead of the next-most (658 by ASU/Toledo guard Marreon Jackson).
   Among the nation's active players Scheierman is fifth in rebounds, trailing only Armando Bacot (North Carolina), Fardaws Aimaq (California), Norchad Omier (Miami Fla.) and Enrique Freeman (Akron).

Road Openers
Creighton is 7-7 under Greg McDermott in its first true road game of the season.
   The road opener has been the barometer for Creighton's postseason plans in the previous 13 years. Creighton has made the NCAA Tournament all six times it has won the road opener, and missed the NCAA Tournament four of the other six years where a postseason was contested.
   That's encouraging since CU defeated Oklahoma State 79-65 in its road opener this winter.
   CU would have made the 2020 NCAA Tournament that was canceled even though it lost its road opener that year.
Creighton in Road Openers, Last 14 Years
Year   Opponent   Score   CU in NCAA's?
2010-11   Northwestern   L 52-65   No (CBI)
2011-12   UAB   W 70-60   Yes
2012-13   Nebraska   W 64-42   Yes
2013-14   Saint Joseph's   W 83-79   Yes
2014-15   Tulsa   L 64-77   No
2015-16   #14 Indiana   L 65-86   No (NIT)
2016-17   Nebraska   W 77-62   Yes
2017-18   #20 Northwestern   W 92-88   Yes
2018-19   Nebraska   L 75-94   No (NIT)
2019-20   Michigan   L 69-79   No (Postseason CCD)
2020-21   #5 Kansas   L 72-73   Yes
2021-22   Nebraska   W 77-69   Yes
2022-23   #2 Texas   L 67-72   Yes
2023-24   Oklahoma State   W 79-65   TBD

Bahamas Bounce
Creighton is coming off a trip to the Bahamas in August, which it hopes will prepare the team for early victories as past trips have done.
   This year's team is off to a 5-1 start after going to The Bahamas.
   A 2019 trip to Australia helped the Bluejays open the year 12-2.
   A 2015 trip to Italy helped the Bluejays start the season 5-1.
   A 2011 trip to the Bahamas helped get the Bluejays ready for a 7-0 start.
   A 2007 trip to Canada paid dividends as Creighton started 5-0.
   In 2003, the Bluejays also went to Canada and started the subsequent season 12-0.

Kalkbrenner Enters Top 20 Of Scoring Chart
Ryan Kalkbrenner owns 1,344 career points, as he became the 45th men's player in Creighton history to surpass 1,000 on Feb. 25, 2023 at Villanova. He was the first Bluejay to score 1,000 since Marcus Zegarowski did it on Jan. 20, 2021 vs. Providence.
   He currently ranks 17th in program history. Here's a list of Creighton's top scorers ever:
Most Career Points, Creighton History
   Rank   Pts.   Name   Years
   1.   3,150   Doug McDermott   2010-14
   2.   2,116   Rodney Buford   1995-99
   3.   2,110   Bob Harstad    1987-91
   4.   1,983   Chad Gallagher    1987-91
   5.   1,876   Bob Portman    1966-69
   6.   1,801   Kyle Korver   1999-03
   7.   1,754   Nate Funk   2002-07
   8.   1,682   Rick Apke    1974-78
   9.   1,661   Paul Silas   1961-64
   10.   1,654   Vernon Moore    1981-85
   11.   1,575   Benoit Benjamin    1982-85
   12.   1,526   John C. Johnson   1975-79
   13.   1,500   Kevin McKenna   1977-81
   14.   1,437   Eddie Cole   1951-55
   15.   1,369   Gene Harmon   1971-74
   16.   1,361   Duan Cole   1987-92
   17.   1,344   Ryan Kalkbrenner   2020-Pres.
   18.   1,342   Antoine Young   2008-12

   Kalkbrenner also ranks second in program history in blocked shots with 224.
Most Creighton Blocked Shots, Since 1979-80
   Blk.   Name   Years
   411   Benoit Benjamin   1982-85
   224   Ryan Kalkbrenner   2020-Pres.
   183   Chad Gallagher   1987-91
   174   Gregory Echenique   2010-13
   153   Kenny Lawson Jr.   2006-11

Among The Best...EVER!
Ryan Kalkbrenner has made 545 of 818 career shots, putting him at 66.6 percent overall. That places the senior center fourth in field goal percentage in NCAA history among players to make 500 or more field goals and at least four field goals per game.
   However, Kalkbrenner is first among all such players who have ever attempted 50 or more three-point field goal attempts.
Best Career FG%, NCAA History (min. 500 FG, 4FG/game)
   Pct. (FG-FGA)   Name, School   Years
   .678 (828-1222)   Steve Johnson, Oregon State   1976-81
   .668 (566-847)   Murray Brown, Florida State   1976-80
   .667 (740-1109)   Evan Bradds, Belmont   2013-17
   .666 (545-818)   Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton   2020-Pres.
   .664 (702-1058)   Todd MacCulloch, Washington   1995-99
   .658 (508-772)   Max Fiedler, Rice   2019-Pres.
   .656 (552-841)   Kevin Magee UC Irvine   1980-82

Almost a Trey-Double?
Trey Alexander finished CU's Nov. 16 win vs. Iowa with 23 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists, finishing just shy of becoming CU's first player in history to record a traditional points/rebounds/assists triple-double.
   Alexander had six of his nine assists in the first 12:21 of the second half, but CU's only basket in the final 7:39 was a score by Alexander himself.
   Creighton's only triple-doubles in history all came from Benoit Benjamin. "Big Ben" had 24 points, 17 rebounds and 11 blocks vs. Tulsa on Feb. 16, 1984, had 43 points, 16 rebounds and 10 blocks vs. Southern Illinois on Jan. 17, 1985 and had 29 points, 12 rebounds and a school-record 12 blocks on Feb. 2, 1985 vs. Bradley.
   Alexander isn't the only current Bluejay to finish a game one assist shy of a triple-double, as Baylor Scheierman and 12 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists in last year's BIG EAST Tournament quarterfinal win over Villanova.
   Alexander's performance was still good enough for his first career double-double, as his 11 rebounds were a career-high and his nine assists matched his career-best.

Trey's Bien
Trey Alexander has made the leap in his junior season. Here's how the start of the year compares to his first two years combined.
Category   2023-24   2021-23
Games Played   11   72
20-Point Games   6   5
Dunks   5   2
Double-Doubles   1   0
Points Per Game   15.6   10.6
Rebounds Per Game   6.2   4.0
Assists Per Game   4.5   2.5

Nationally Speaking
Through games of Dec. 17th, Creighton is all over the NCAA stat leaders. The Bluejays rank in the top 10 of six different categories and the top 15 in 10 different categories.
   Rank   Category   Stat
   1   Fouls Per Game   9.9
   2   Effective FG%   .603
   3   Three-Pointers Per Game   11.5
   4   Total Home Attendance   101,038
   6   Average Home Attendance   16,840
   10   Three-Point Attempts Per Game   29.8
   13   Defensive Rebounds Per Game   30.09
   14   Field Goal Percentage   .507
   15   Assist/Turnover Ratio   1.71
   15   Scoring Margin   +18.0

Among The Nation's Best
Below is where Creighton ranks nationally since the start of the 2010-11 season among teams to have played more than 150 Division I games, per Basketball-Reference.com.
2010-11 to Dec. 16, 2023
Category   CU Stat   CU Rank
3FG Made   4,070   2nd
2-Point FG Percentage   .548   3rd
FG Percentage   .477   4th
3-Point FG Percentage   .376   4th
Assists   7,354   6th
FG Made   12,588   7th
Points   35,210   8th
Wins   309   24th
Winning Percentage   .670   32nd

This Is 20/20
Trey Alexander started his junior season with 20 points vs. Florida A&M, 21 points vs. North Dakota State, 23 points vs. Iowa and 20 points vs. Texas Southern
   That made him just the second Bluejay in the last 25 years to score 20 or more in each of CU's first four games, joining Doug McDermott in 2013-14. McDermott did it the first six games of his senior season in 2013-14 and went on to be named National Player of the Year that season.
   Alexander is the first Bluejay to score 20 points or more in four consecutive games at any time of year since Marcus Foster did it in seven consecutive contests from Jan. 16-Feb. 10, 2018.

A Head Start
Creighton got a jump start on the season with nine practices in July before heading to the Bahamas to play in three games during the first week of August.
   Creighton won all three games by 14 points or more, averaged 98.3 points, and outrebounded foes by 21.3 caroms per contest.
   Trey Alexander led CU by averaging 20.0 points before missing the final contest, but Ryan Kalkbrenner (11.0 ppg.), Baylor Scheierman (10.0 ppg.) and Fredrick King (10.0 ppg.) also scored at a double-digit clip.
   Steven Ashworth led CU with 15 assists, King and Brock Vice had a team-high 18 rebounds and Kalkbrenner topped the team with 10 swats.

Who's Back?
With Creighton returning seven of the 13 men who appeared in a game last season, it's no surprise that a similar ratio of the production from 2022-23 is also gone. Below is a breakdown of what is back:
Stat   Returners   Departures
Blocks   126 (82.9%)   26 (17.1%)
Rebounds   860 (67.9%)   411 (32.1%)
3FG Made   207 (64.9%)   112 (35.1%)
Points   1833 (64.8%)   995 (35.2%)
Steals   119 (64.3%)   66 (35.7%)
Minutes   4693 (63.0%)   2757 (37.0%)
Starts   111 (60.0%)   74 (40.0%)
Charges Taken   16 (59.3%)   11 (40.7%)
Assists   308 (53.0%)   273 (47.0%)

Preseason Top 10
The Creighton men's basketball team was ranked eighth in the Associated Press Preseason Top 25 poll, its highest preseason AP ranking ever. That's one spot better than the previous best, done last year, when the Bluejays started the season ranked ninth. CU is currently No. 12 in the AP poll.
   The announcement marks just the sixth time in program history the writers have voted CU to the top-25 in the preseason, joining 2006-07 (No. 19), 2012-13 (No. 16) and 2016-17 (No. 22), 2020-21 (No. 11) and 2022-23 (No. 9). All five of those teams would end up in the NCAA Tournament, with the last two making the Sweet 16 and last year's club reaching the Elite Eight.
   This week is the 27th in program history that Creighton has been in the top-10 at any point, with all but one of those occasions happening under head coach Greg McDermott. Creighton's best ranking in program history is seventh, done five times (Jan. 16, 2017, March 10, 2020, March 18, 2020, Jan. 7, 2021 and Nov. 28, 2022).
   Creighton has now been ranked 129 times in program history, with 101 of those under the direction of McDermott. Creighton is 161-65 all-time as a ranked team, including a 127-53 mark under McDermott. Creighton has now been ranked at least one week in 10 of McDermott's 14 seasons on The Hilltop after doing it just five different seasons in program history before his 2010 arrival.
       Creighton is one of four schools to be ranked in the preseason top-10 each of the past two seasons, joining Kansas, Duke and Houston.
   Along with No. 5 Marquette, No. 6 Connecticut and No. 8 Creighton, this year marked the first time since 2011-12 that the BIG EAST had three Preseason Top-10 teams.
   Creighton was also eighth in the preseason USA Today Coaches poll, its best preseason mark ever. CU is No. 14 in the Dec. 18th Coaches poll.

Preseason BIG EAST Poll
The Creighton men's basketball team was picked to finish second in the BIG EAST Conference in the annual survey of league coaches, which was unveiled as part of BIG EAST Media Day.
   It's the second time in Creighton's 11 years in the BIG EAST Conference that the Bluejays have been picked second, as the 2020-21 squad was also picked second (and eventually finished second). The Bluejays also had three players receive recognition on one of the Preseason All-BIG EAST teams, tied with preseason favorite Marquette for the most in the league.
   The Bluejays collected four first-place votes and earned 92 points in the poll, trailing only Marquette's seven first-place votes and 96 overall points. Defending national champion Connecticut was tabbed third with 79 points, just ahead of Villanova's 76 for fourth place. Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino's first St. John's team garnered 59 points to be chosen fifth, just ahead of Xavier (57) and Providence (51). The bottom four teams in the poll are Georgetown (34), Seton Hall (30), Butler (16) and DePaul (15).
   Creighton finished 24-13 overall and 14-6 in BIG EAST play last season and are the only league team to return three of its scorers that averaged at least a dozen points per game. The Bluejays won three NCAA Tournament games to advance to its first Elite Eight since 1941.
   In 2023-24, Creighton will be led by senior center Ryan Kalkbrenner, who is a Preseason First Team All-BIG EAST selection. Kalkbrenner becomes the first player in program history to earn Preseason First Team All-BIG EAST honors multiple times, and along with Preseason Player of the Year Tyler Kolek from Marquette was one of two men to be named on every ballot.
   Joining Kalkbrenner with the Preseason First Team All-BIG EAST acclaim was junior guard Trey Alexander. Alexander was an Honorable Mention All-BIG EAST choice at the end of last season, as was teammate Baylor Scheierman. A senior guard from Aurora, Neb., Scheierman earned Preseason Second Team All-BIG EAST plaudits in 2023-24.
   This year marks the second time that Creighton has had more than two players land on the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team, and comes 12 months after Creighton had four men listed prior to the 2022-23 campaign. Creighton last had two men named Preseason First Team All-Conference in its Missouri Valley Conference days in 2006-07 (Anthony Tolliver, Nate Funk).
   Kolek was named 2023-24 BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year by a vote of the league's head coaches, which comes as little surprise after the point guard was named 2023 BIG EAST Player of the Year and BIG EAST Tournament MVP after leading the Golden Eagles to both the regular-season and tournament titles. Connecticut guard Stephon Castle was chosen BIG EAST Preseason Freshman of the Year. The coaches, who were not permitted to select their own players, also chose an All-BIG EAST First Team, All-BIG EAST Second Team and All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention.
   Creighton has matched or exceeded its preseason projection in all but one season since joining the BIG EAST in 2013-14, the best showing in the league in that time. The Bluejays are seeking an eighth straight finish in the top four of the league standings. CU's team two years ago was predicted to finish eighth in the BIG EAST, then ended up in fourth. Four years ago, a team picked seventh in the BIG EAST's preseason poll went 13-5 in league play to share its first league title with Villanova and Seton Hall. That Bluejay team ended the year ranked seventh in the entire nation.
Creighton's BIG EAST Preseason Poll History
Year    Preseason    Actual    Preseason All-BIG EAST
2013-14    3rd    2nd    Doug McDermott (1st)
2014-15    9th    T-9th    -
2015-16    9th    6th    -
2016-17    3rd    T-3rd    Maurice Watson Jr. (1st); Marcus Foster (HM)
2017-18    5th    T-3rd    Marcus Foster (1st); Khyri Thomas (HM)
2018-19    9th    T-3rd    Martin Krampelj (HM)
2019-20    7th    T-1st   Ty-Shon Alexander (1st)
2020-21    2nd    2nd   Marcus Zegarowski (1st); Mitch Ballock (2nd)
2021-22   8th   4th   -
2022-23   1st   3rd   Ryan Kalkbrenner (1st); Arthur Kaluma (2nd)
           Ryan Nembhard (2nd); Baylor Scheierman (HM)
2023-24   2nd   ??   Ryan Kalkbrenner (1st); Trey Alexander (1st)
           Baylor Scheierman (2nd)

Four Of A Kind
Creighton has four players that were named to a Preseason Watch List in Steven Ashworth (Bob Cousy Point Guard), Trey Alexander (Jerry West Shooting Guard), Baylor Scheierman (Julius Erving Small Forward) and Ryan Kalkbrenner (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center).
   Creighton is one of six schools to have four men listed at a position, joining Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, Marquette and UConn.
   Those same four men were named to CBS Sports Preseason Top 100 And 1 player listings, with Kalkbrenner (5), Alexander (12), Scheierman (26) and Ashworth (76) making CU the only school with three of the top 30 players or four of the top 76 players. Kansas and Duke were the only other teams with four players listed in the Top 100 And 1.
   Last but not least, both Alexander and Kalkbrenner were two of 20 players on the NABC's Preseason Division I Player of the Year Watch List. The only other schools with two players on that list were Duke and USC.

Downtown Duo
Only two players nationally that are returning in 2023-24 had 120+ assists, 87+ three-pointers and 38+ steals in 2022-23.
   Baylor Scheierman and Steven Ashworth.
   Both are playing for Creighton this season.

Let's Go On A Run
Creighton has won at least one NCAA Tournament game in 2021, 2022 and 2023. That makes CU one of seven teams in the country to have a win in each of the last three NCAA Tournaments, joining Arkansas, Baylor, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas and UCLA.
   The only other time that Creighton has won an NCAA Tournament game in consecutive seasons came in 2012, 2013 and 2014, also under Greg McDermott.
   Creighton is one of six schools with 20 or more wins in each of the last eight seasons, joining Belmont, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas and Oregon.
   Creighton is one of seven teams to post 22 or more wins in each of the last four seasons, joining Baylor, Gonzaga, Houston, Liberty, San Diego State and Southern California.
   Creighton is one of just eight teams to have reached at least two of the last three Sweet 16s. Gonzaga, Houston and UCLA have done it each of the last three seasons, while Alabama, Creighton, Michigan and Villanova have done it twice each.

23 of 25 Seasons With 20 Wins
Creighton has won 20 or more games in 23 of the last 25 seasons, a feat that puts the Jays among an exclusive group, nationally.
   Just two schools have had 20 or more wins each of the last 25 years: Gonzaga and Kansas. Duke has done it 24 times, Creighton and Kentucky 23 times.
Most 20-Win Seasons, Last 25 Seasons
Team   20-Win Seasons       2022-23 W-L
Gonzaga   25   31-6
Kansas   25   28-8
Duke   24   27-9
Creighton   23   24-13
Kentucky   23   22-12

Dynamic Duo
Creighton is also one of eight schools to have men's and women's basketball programs to both own 22 wins or more each of the previous two seasons, a list that includes Creighton, Gonzaga, Liberty, Princeton, Tennessee, Texas, Toledo and UConn.
   This season, Creighton was one of eight teams with a preseason top-25 squad on both the men's and women's side, joining Baylor, Connecticut, Illinois, North Carolina, Southern California, Tennessee and Texas.
   The only five schools to be ranked in the preseason men's and women's basketball Top 25 of the AP Poll both this season and last season are Baylor, Creighton, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.
   Creighton is one of 11 schools to make the NCAA Tournament in both men's and women's basketball each of the past two seasons, a list that consists of Arizona, Baylor, Creighton, Gonzaga, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, Miami (Fla.), Tennessee, Texas and UConn.
   The only schools with at-large bids in each of the previous two years in both men's and women's basketball are Baylor, Creighton, Indiana and Miami (Fla.).

Big Deficits, No Big Deal
Creighton owns 27 victories since the start of the 2010-11 season after trailing by double-figures at some point.
   Thirteen of those 27 comebacks have come away from home.
   If you're curious, CU's largest comeback win since 2000 came on Jan. 28, 2006, when the Jays trailed 25-6 early before rallying to beat Wichita State on a buzzer-beater by Anthony Tolliver.
CU's Double-Digit Comebacks Under McDermott
Deficit   Opponent   Date
18   #18 Oklahoma   11/19/14
17   at San Diego State   11/30/11
16   at Evansville   02/16/13
16   at Seton Hall   01/27/21
16   SIU Edwardsville   11/27/21
15   Arkansas-Pine Bluff   11/09/21
14   Evansville   02/21/12
14   vs. San Diego State   03/17/22
13   at Saint Joseph's   11/16/13
13   Xavier   01/12/14
13   #22 Xavier   12/23/20
12   Saint Joseph's   12/11/10
12   at DePaul   01/17/16
12   East Tennessee State   11/11/18
11   at Wichita State   12/31/11
11   Northern Iowa   01/10/12
11   vs. Alabama   03/16/12
11   vs. Ole Miss   11/21/16
11   vs. Connecticut   03/12/21
11   DePaul   01/22/22
10   UAB   11/14/12
10   vs. Drake   03/02/12
10   at Nebraska   12/07/14
10   South Dakota   12/09/14
10   St. John's   01/03/18
10   at DePaul   02/07/18
10   Bemidji State   02/13/18

McDermott Ranks Second On CU Wins List
Greg McDermott has 309 victories at Creighton, good for second place on CU's all-time wins list.
   McDermott's .670 winning percentage is Creighton's best since Arthur A. Schabinger's .714 win rate more than 85 years ago.
   Below is a list of the most victorious Creighton coaches in program history.
Most Coaching Wins, Creighton History
Rk.   W-L   Name   Years
1.   327-176   Dana Altman   1994-2010
2.   309-152   Greg McDermott   2010-Pres.
3.   165-66   Arthur A. Schabinger    1922-1935
4.   138-118   John J. "Red" McManus    1959-1969
5.   130-64   Tom Apke   1974-1981

CHI Health Center Omaha Dramatics
Creighton is 8-8 in contests with a game-winning go-ahead score in the final 10 seconds at CHI Health Center Omaha, which opened in 2003.
   The last time such a game happened was in 2020 when Creighton's Marcus Zegarowski hit a shot with 3.2 seconds left to beat Providence.
Creighton's Go-Ahead Scores in Wins at
CHI Health Center Omaha, Last 10 Seconds
Date   Opponent   Score   Player/Score   Time
11/26/05   Dayton   W 91-90*   Funk FG   :5.7
01/28/06   Wichita St.   W 57-55   Tolliver FG   :0.0
11/25/06   George Mason   W 58-56   Watts FT   :7.5
03/18/08   Rhode Island   W 74-73   Witter 3FG   :3.2
01/13/10   Southern Illinois   W 71-69   Young FG   :1.3
02/18/12   Long Beach St.   W 81-79   Young FG   :0.3
01/28/14   St. John's   W 63-60   McDermott 3FG   :2.8
01/18/20   Providence   W 78-74   Zegarowski 3FG   :3.2
*double-overtime
Opponent Go-Ahead Scores in CU Losses at
CHI Health Center Omaha, Last 10 Seconds
Date   Opponent   Score   Player/Score   Time
03/20/06   Miami (Fla.)   L 53-52   G. Diaz FT   :2.6
01/20/07   Southern Illinois   L 58-57   B. Mullins FG   :4.1
01/10/15   #19 Seton Hall   L 68-67   S. Gibbs 3FG   :2.2
02/16/15   #19 Butler   L 58-56   R. Jones FG   :1.9
03/07/15   Xavier   L 74-73   D. Davis FT's   :6.3
01/12/16   #12 Providence   L 50-48   K. Dunn FG   :0.0
02/22/17   Providence   L 68-66   K. Cartwright 3FG   :2.4
02/10/18   #5 Xavier   L 71-72   Q. Goodin FT's   :0.3

Top-20 Crowds
Here's a look at Creighton's top-20 home crowds all-time.
      Rank   Att.   Opponent   Date
   1.   18,868   Providence   03/08/14
   2.   18,859   Georgetown   01/25/14
   3.   18,831   #1 Villanova   12/31/16
   4.   18,797   #6 Villanova   02/16/14
   5.   18,759   #1 Gonzaga   12/01/18
   6.   18,742   Seton Hall   02/23/14
   7.   18,735   Wichita State   02/11/12
   8.   18,613   Wichita State   03/02/13
   9.   18,525   Marquette   12/31/13
   10.   18,519   #8 Seton Hall   03/07/20
   11.   18,518   Georgetown   01/27/18
   12.   18,509   Villanova   02/04/23
   13.   18,495   Marquette   02/17/18
   14.   18,494   Illinois State   02/09/13
   15.   18,458   Evansville   12/29/12
   16.   18,436   Bradley   01/28/12
   17.   18,323   DePaul   02/07/14
   18.   18,321   #3 Villanova   02/24/18
   19.   18,294   #19 Iowa State   12/04/21
   20.   18,286   #21 Connecticut   02/12/23

CHI Health Center Omaha Success
Creighton has played 344 regular and postseason contests at CHI Health Center Omaha all-time in the 21-year-old facility.
   The Bluejays own a 284-60 (.826) record all-time at the facility, and have never lost there on a Friday (22-0).
   Creighton's Nov. 25, 2017 win over SIU Edwardsville was the program's 200th at the facility, coming in its 242nd home game. CU's 100th win came on Nov. 17, 2010, a 63-58 win over Louisiana.
   Creighton has outscored its opponents 26,980-22,521 in games at CHI Health Center Omaha, an average margin of 12.96 points per game. Creighton has not trailed 90 different times.
   Incredibly, Creighton hasn't trailed in its home opener in 10 of the past 23 seasons (2000-01, 2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06, 2009-10, 2011-12, 2014-15, 2016-17 and 2019-20).
   Creighton is also 32-36 all-time in the 68 games at the arena in which it's fallen behind by double-figures at any point, 8-11 when down by 10+ points at halftime in the facility, and 40-29 when trailing at halftime at CHI Health Center Omaha.
   Creighton is 187-42 (.817) at CHI Health Center Omaha under Greg McDermott and hasn't trailed in 65 of those games. In that same span, CU owns a 101-9 home record (.918) vs. non-conference teams.
   Factor in a 17-0 home mark at the Omaha Civic Auditorium in 2002-03 and two wins at the Civic in the 2010 CIT, and the Bluejays are 303-60 (.835) at home since the start of the 2002-03 campaign.

Home Run
Under Greg McDermott Creighton is averaging 80.72 points per home game (18,486 points in 229 home games), a figure that climbs to 84.37 points in non-conference home games (9,281 points in 110 home games).
   Creighton is 141-6 all-time at CHI Health Center Omaha when scoring 80 or points.

Elite Eight
Greg McDermott guided his team to the NCAA Tournament for the eighth time last season. That put him in the company of some of the greatest coaches in CU Athletics history, and most among basketball coaches.
   McDermott is one of three head coaches in Creighton history to lead eight or more NCAA Tournament teams.
Name   Sport   NCAA's @CU
Kirsten Bernthal Booth   Volleyball   13
Bob Warming   Men's Soccer   11
Greg McDermott   Men's Basketball   8
Dana Altman   Men's Basketball   7
Brent Vigness   Softball   7

Firing On All Cylinders
Creighton finished last season ranked 12th overall by KenPom.com. That included the nation's No. 23 offense, and No. 14 defense. Creighton's No. 14 defense was its best mark in the 21 seasons of the KenPom era.
   Creighton has had a top-25 offense per KenPom seven times in 13 seasons under Greg McDermott and a top-25 defense twice.
Year   Off. Rating   Def. Rating   Overall Rank
2010-11   66   174   98
2011-12   5   166   28
2012-13   5   66   15
2013-14   2   124   17
2014-15   59   138   79
2015-16   43   76   40
2016-17   32   46   28
2017-18   25   58   30
2018-19   47   83   55
2019-20   3   78   12
2020-21   25   32   22
2021-22   112   19   50
2022-23   23   14   12
2023-24   11   26   10

Kalkbrenner Repeats As Top Defender
Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner was named 2023 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season.
   Kalkbrenner became just the 11th player in league history to win the recognition more than once, joining the likes of Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning, Dikembe Mutombo, Kris Dunn and Allen Iverson among those to win the award multiple times, and is the first repeat winner since former Bluejay guard Khyri Thomas in 2017 and 2018.
   Between Kalkbrenner and Thomas, Creighton has now had a BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year in four of the previous seven seasons.
Most BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year Honors
   Honors   Name, School   Years (*ties)
   4   Patrick Ewing, Georgetown   1982, 83, 84, 85
   3   Alonzo Mourning, Georgetown   1989, 90*, 92
   2   Dikembe Mutombo, Georgetown   1990, 91
   2   Allen Iverson, Georgetown   1995, 96
   2   Etan Thomas, Syracuse   1999, 00
   2   John Linehan, Providence   2001, 02
   2   Emeka Okafor, Connecticut   2003, 04
   2   Hasheem Thabeet, Connecticut   2008, 09
   2   Kris Dunn, Providence   2015*, 16
   2   Khyri Thomas, Creighton   2017*, 18
   2   Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton   2022, 23

#ProJays
Former Creighton All-American Doug McDermott is back for a third season with the San Antonio Spurs, giving Creighton at least one NBA player in 40 of the last 41 seasons. McDermott is in his 10th season in the NBA. Other famous Bluejays to play in the NBA in the past include Paul Silas, Kyle Korver and Anthony Tolliver.

Ticket Information
Single-game tickets for the 2023-24 season went on sale on September 28th.
   Fans can purchase single-game tickets at CHI Health Center Omaha Box Office, Ryan Athletic Center, by calling Ticketmaster or visiting Ticketmaster.com, and charging by phone at (800) 745-3000.
   For more information, call the Creighton Ticket Office at (402) 280-JAYS.

#12 Men's Hoops Opens BIG EAST Play Wednesday vs. Villanova

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Trey Alexander

Steven Ashworth

Josiah Dotzler

Francisco Farabello

Jasen Green

Ryan Kalkbrenner

Arthur Kaluma

Fredrick King

Johnathan Lawson

Mason Miller

Ryan Nembhard

Baylor Scheierman

Isaac Traudt

Brock Vice