Saturday, December 30
Milwaukee, Wis.
1:00 PM
Creighton University
at
Marquette
#22 Men's Basketball Closes 2023 at #10 Marquette
12/27/2023 1:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Battle of BIG EAST favorites will air on CBS
Game #13: #22 Creighton Bluejays (9-3, 0-1) at #10 Marquette Golden Eagles (10-3, 1-1)
Saturday, Dec. 30, 2023 • 1 p.m. • Milwaukee, Wis. • Fiserv Forum
| LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES | MU NOTES |
Next Game
The top two teams in the preseason BIG EAST poll meet up to close 2023 when No. 22 Creighton (9-3, 0-1 BIG EAST) takes on host No. 10 Marquette (10-3, 1-1 BIG EAST) on Saturday, Dec. 30.
Tip-off at Fiserv Forum (17,500) in Milwaukee, Wis., is set for 1 p.m.
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 will call the action.
The audio is webcast at 1620thezone.com and can also be heard on SiriusXM channel 211 or 204, as well as https://sxm.app.link/967.
Telecast Information
Saturday's game will be called by John Sadak and Bill Raftery and be televised on CBS.
The game will also be video webcast at https://www.cbssports.com/watch/college-basketball?ftag=CBS-05-10acg2c. 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 #22 Creighton
Ranked No. 22nd nationally in the Associated Press poll and 20th in the USA Today Coaches poll, Creighton is 9-3 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). The Bluejays have been idle since losing its BIG EAST opener to Villanova on Dec. 20th.
The nucleus of the team is formed by three returning starters as senior forward Baylor Scheierman (18.3, 7.5 rpg., 4.4 apg), senior center Ryan Kalkbrenner (15.9 ppg., 2.3 bpg., 65.8 FG%), and junior guard Trey Alexander (15.7 ppg., 6.9 rpg., 4.3 apg.) all put their professional aspirations on hold and came back.
Add in senior transfer Steven Ashworth (8.6 ppg,. 3.2 apg., 37.7 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 49.8 percent from the floor and 37.5 percent from three-point land while draining 11.0 three-pointers per contest (seventh-best nationally), which contributes to CU's 83.0 points per game. The Jays also outrebound foes by 9.1 caroms per contest.
CU's defense has held teams to 66.7 points per game and allowed opponents to make just 60 three-pointers all year.
Scouting No. 10 Marquette
Ranked 10th nationally, Marquette is 10-3 overall and 1-1 in BIG EAST play as it attempts to defend its regular-season and conference tournament titles from a season ago.
Point guard Tyler Kolek, who was named BIG EAST Player of the Year last season, leads MU with 15.3 points and 6.1 assists per game while shooting 54.1 percent from the field.
Kam Jones averages 14.8 points and Oso Ighodaro (13.5 ppg., 6.0 rpg.) also give MU one of the best offenses in the nation.
The Golden Eagles average 78.5 points per game and shoot 47.3 percent from the field, 33.0 percent from long-range and 73.1 percent at the line despite being outrebounded by 1.8 caroms per contest. The Golden Eagles surrender 66.3 points per game.
The Series With Marquette
Marquette leads the 100-year old series with Creighton by a 58-39 margin, but Creighton has won seven of the past 10 meetings.
Sixteen of the last 19 meetings have been decided by eight points or less.
Creighton leads the series 11-10 since the teams became BIG EAST rivals, but is 6-4 in those meetings to take place in Milwaukee.
Greg McDermott is 11-10 in his career against Marquette and 3-2 against Shaka Smart.
The Creighton Coaches
Greg McDermott (Northern Iowa, 1988) owns a 309-153 record in his 14th season with the Bluejays. He ranks 16th among active coaches in victories with a career mark of 589-348 in his 30th season, and is 458-284 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 earn its first Top 25 win of the season, and 36th all-time under Greg McDermott.
- Creighton would earn a Top 25 win for the 11th straight season, and a Top 10 win for the ninth straight campaign.
- Creighton would improve to 5-1 inside Fiserv Forum all-time.
- Creighton would improve to 36-60 under Greg McDermott against nationally-ranked teams, 28 more victories than any other coach in CU history.
- Creighton would earn its 10th Top 25 road win (in 33 games played) under Greg McDermott, compared to a 2-63 mark before his arrival.
- Creighton would end Marquette's bid to tie a program-record with its 20th straight BIG EAST home win, becoming the first conference team to beat MU in Milwaukee since Creighton did on New Year's Day in 2022.
- Creighton would avoid its first 0-2 BIG EAST start since 2014-15.
Milestone Watch
Ryan Kalkbrenner owns 1,358 career points to rank 17th in CU history. With five 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 12 points to move into 15th.
Francisco Farabello owns 478 career points (including the 319 he scored at TCU), as he closes in on 500.
Steven Ashworth owns 391 career assists (including 35 at Creighton) and is nine shy of 400.
Baylor Scheierman owns 495 career assists (including 175 at Creighton) and is five away from 500.
Baylor Scheierman owns 99 career games in which he's scored 10 or more points. No Creighton player has finished their career with more than 100 games in double-digits since Ryan Hawkins in 2022, though 90 of his 116 games with 10 or more points came at Northwest Missouri State.
Trey Alexander owns 949 career points and is 51 shy of 1,000. He'd be the fourth current Bluejay to reach that milestone in college, joining Baylor Scheierman (1,805), Ryan Kalkbrenner (1,358) and Steven Ashworth (1,134). It's worth noting that Creighton's single-game scoring record is 51 points, done by Bob Portman (in 1967) against a different team from Milwaukee (UW-Milwaukee).
Got My Eye On You
Creighton is 4-4 under Greg McDermott when playing on CBS, including a 1-0 mark in the regular-season, a 2-0 record in conference tournament action and a 1-4 ledger in the NCAA Tournament.
Saturday marks the first of two CU appearances this winter on The Tiffany Network, as the Jays will play St. John's on Feb. 25 in the World's Most Famous Arena.
Creighton on CBS Under Greg McDermott
Date Score
03/04/12# #25 Creighton 83, Illinois State 79 (OT)
03/18/12* #4 North Carolina 87, #19 Creighton 73
03/10/13# Creighton 68, Wichita State 65
03/22/13* Creighton 67, Cincinnati 63
03/28/21* #1 Gonzaga 83, Creighton 65
03/19/22* #3 Kansas 79, Creighton 72
01/28/23 Creighton 84, #13 Xavier 67
03/26/23* #18 San Diego State 57, Creighton 56
*NCAA Tournament #MVC Tournament
Fiserv Fun
Creighton is 4-1 all-time inside Fiserv Forum, where Marquette is 71-13 against all other teams there.
Of the 46 different teams to play Marquette in the six-year old venue, only two are unbeaten (UCLA and Oklahoma State are both 1-0). The only other visiting teams to defeat MU at Fiserv Forum are UConn (2), Seton Hall (2), St. John's (2), Georgetown (1), Villanova (1), Providence (1), Wisconsin (1) and DePaul (1).
Since joining the BIG EAST in 2013-14, Creighton's six road wins at Marquette (at Fiserv Forum or BMO Center Bradley Center) are more than any other school (Villanova, with 5, is the only other team with 5 or more).
Marquette has won 19 straight BIG EAST home games, one away from the second-longest streak in league history, set by Marquette, Notre Dame and Pittsburgh. MU's last league loss at Fiserv Forum came on Jan. 1, 2022, a 75-69 double-overtime setback against Creighton.
Working Overtime
Creighton's 68-66 overtime loss to Villanova on Dec. 20th was its first overtime contest of the season, and first since a 94-86 double-overtime loss at No. 24 Providence on Feb. 14, 2023.
Creighton's last overtime win was its 72-69 win over San Diego State during the 2021 NCAA Tournament.
Creighton is 61-52 all-time in all games with at least one overtime, including an 11-8 mark under Greg McDermott.
Back-to-Back Overtime?
Creighton has played back-to-back overtime games just five times in program history, and not since December of 2014.
Season Game 1 (OT if more than 1) Game 2
1963-64 CU 96, Utah St 91 (2OT) CU 77, Iowa 72
1975-76 CU 50, San Diego 48 CU 79, Kansas St 76
1986-87 Dayton 83, CU 81 Nebraska 70, CU 65
1993-94 Drake 81, CU 75 Illinois State 92, CU 88
2014-15 CU 91, S. Dakota 88 (2OT) St. Mary's 71, CU 67
Ranked vs. Ranked
Creighton is 16-20 all-time as a ranked team when facing a ranked team, including a 15-16 overall mark under Greg McDermott.
Creighton's Top-25 vs. Top-25 Games
Date CU Rank Opponent Rank Result
03/04/1974 #16 #14 South Carolina L 69-78
03/14/1974 #19 vs. #14 Kansas L 54-55
03/16/1974 #19 vs. #16 Louisville W 80-71
03/08/1975 #13 #5 Marquette L 60-64
12/31/2002 #15 at #19 Xavier L 73-75
03/18/2012 #19 vs. #4 North Carolina L 73-87
03/24/2013 #22 vs. #6 Duke L 50-66
02/16/2014 #18 #6 Villanova W 101-80
03/23/2014 #16 vs. #23 Baylor L 55-85
11/15/2016 #22 #9 Wisconsin W 77-69
12/31/2016 #10 #1 Villanova L 70-80
01/11/2017 #8 #12 Butler W 75-64
01/16/2017 #7 at #22 Xavier W 72-67
01/31/2017 #22 at #16 Butler W 76-67
02/25/2017 #23 at #2 Villanova L 63-79
12/01/2017 #25 at #15 Gonzaga L 74-91
12/28/2017 #25 at #23 Seton Hall L 84-90
01/13/2018 #25 at #10 Xavier L 70-92
02/12/2020 #23 at #10 Seton Hall W 87-82
02/18/2020 #15 at #19 Marquette W 73-65
02/23/2020 #15 #21 Butler W 81-59
03/07/2020 #11 #8 Seton Hall W 77-60
12/08/2020 #8 at #5 Kansas L 72-73
12/21/2020 #13 #22 Xavier W 66-61
01/23/2021 #11 #23 Connecticut W 74-66
02/13/2021 #19 #5 Villanova W 86-70
03/03/2021 #14 at #10 Villanova L 60-72
03/28/2021 #19 vs. #1 Gonzaga L 65-83
11/21/2022 #10 vs. #23 Texas Tech W 76-65
11/22/2022 #10 vs. #9 Arkansas W 90-87
11/23/2022 #10 vs. #14 Arizona L 79-81
12/01/2022 #7 at #2 Texas L 67-72
02/11/2023 #23 #21 Connecticut W 56-53
02/14/2023 #18 at #24 Providence L 86-94 (2OT)
02/21/2023 #19 #10 Marquette L 71-73
03/10/2023 #24 vs. #15 Xavier L 60-82
Basketball Schools
Creighton and Marquette are two of just seven schools nationally that are ranked in both the men's and women's basketball Associated Press polls this week.
Joining the Bluejays and Golden Eagles in that elite company are Baylor, UConn, Gonzaga, North Carolina and Texas.
Rankings Regulars
Creighton and Marquette are two of the nation's 15 teams to have been in the Top 25 of every Associated Press poll to date this season.
The only teams that can say that are Arizona, Baylor, Connecticut, Creighton, Duke, Florida Atlantic, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas, Kentucky, Marquette, North Carolina, Purdue, Tennessee and Texas.
Ranking News & Notes
Saturday's contest at No. 10 Marquette is Creighton's first Top 25 opponent of the year, but it won't be the last. A few notes about the Top 25.
- Creighton is 53-165 all-time against top 25 teams.
- Creighton is 35-50 under Greg McDermott against nationally-ranked teams, 27 more top 25 wins than any other coach in Creighton history. Prior to McDermott's arrival, Creighton was 18-115 all-time against top 25 foes.
- Creighton's 35 top 25 wins since McDermott took over in 2010 are tied for 34th and more than schools like UCLA (33), Maryland (28), Arkansas (28), Auburn (18), Memphis (18), Houston (17), Nebraska (17), Wichita State (14), USC (13) and Saint Mary's (10) in that time.
- Creighton is 30-33 since the start of the 2016-17 season against ranked teams. The 30 wins over ranked teams in that time are the 12th-most nationally. CU's 30 Top 25 wins trails only Villanova (37) among BIG EAST programs in that span.
- Creighton has beaten at least one ranked team in each of the last 10 seasons and multiple ranked foes in each of the previous eight seasons.
- On a national basis, the only 18 teams with a top-25 win each of the previous 10 seasons (entering 2023-24) are Baylor, Creighton, Duke, Florida State, Indiana, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Michigan State, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas Tech, Villanova, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Xavier.
- The Bluejays have beaten multiple top-25 foes each of the previous eight seasons (2015-16 to 2022-23), something only Baylor, Gonzaga, Kansas, Michigan State, Purdue, Texas Tech and Villanova can also claim.
- Creighton owns at least one top 10 win each of the previous eight seasons. The only schools with at least one top-10 win every season from 2015-16 to 2022-23 have been Creighton, Kansas, Texas Tech and Virginia Tech.
- Creighton's 11 Top 25 wins since the start of the 2021-22 season are tied for 11th most. Marquette's 16 such victories in that time trail only Kansas (18).
- Creighton is 9-23 in true road games vs. the top 25 under Greg McDermott, compared to a 2-63 mark before his arrival.
- Creighton is just 3-15 all-time against ranked Marquette teams, but is 2-1 in its last three attempts. CU won at No. 10 Marquette in 2019, then toppled the No. 19 Golden Eagles in Milwaukee in 2020.
- Last year Creighton played 14 games against Top 25 teams, tied for second-most in the nation. Only Texas (17) had more.
- Creighton's 14 games against Top 25 opponents last year were a program record, two more than the 12 played by the 2021-22 squad.
- Creighton's six Top 25 victories last year were tied for eighth-most nationally. Marquette was tied for third-most with seven Top 25 victories.
- Creighton's six top 25 wins last year tied a school-record first done in 2019-20.
Big Mac Attack
Greg McDermott's teams have consistently battled some of the best teams in the country.
The chart below shows how his teams have consistently outpaced some of his predecessors against top-25 foes.
Category Pre-McDermott Under McDermott
vs. Top 25 Teams 18-115 35-50
vs. Top 10 Teams 5-31 12-22
vs. Top 10 on Road 1-28 4-11
vs. Top 25 on Road 2-63 9-23
Top 10 Wins Under McDermott
Creighton owns 12 Top 10 victories under Greg McDermott, with four of those coming in true road games. One of those wins (on March 3, 2019) came against a 10th-ranked Marquette team.
Eddie Sutton's Bluejay squad also beat a Top 10 Marquette team in Milwaukee in 1974.
Here's a list of all 17 Top 10 wins in program history.
Creighton's Top 10 Wins All-Time
Date Opponent Score Head Coach
12/13/63 #4 Arizona State W 84-83 McManus
12/01/65 #10 Kansas State W 83-75 McManus
01/29/70 #5 New Mexico State W 72-68 Sutton
02/17/73 #7 Houston W 78-77 Sutton
02/09/74 at #6 Marquette W 75-69 Sutton
01/20/14 at #4 Villanova W 96-68 McDermott
02/16/14 #6 Villanova W 101-80 McDermott
02/09/16 #5 Xavier W 70-56 McDermott
11/15/16 #9 Wisconsin W 79-67 McDermott
02/24/18 #3 Villanova W 89-83 (OT) McDermott
03/03/19 at #10 Marquette W 66-60 McDermott
02/01/20 at #8 Villanova W 76-61 McDermott
02/12/20 at #10 Seton Hall W 87-82 McDermott
03/07/20 #8 Seton Hall W 77-60 McDermott
02/13/21 #5 Villanova W 86-70 McDermott
12/17/21 #9 Villanova W 79-59 McDermott
11/22/22 vs. #9 Arkansas W 90-87 McDermott
Farewell to 2023!
Saturday marks the final game of the 2023 calendar year for Creighton, and what a memorable 12 months it's been.
Creighton has won 25 of 35 games since the calendar flipped to 2023, playing 20 of those games as a ranked team and 10 of the 35 games against a ranked team (going 4-6).
The Bluejays reached their first Elite Eight since 1941, saw Ryan Kalkbrenner earn BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year, and Greg McDermott pick up his 300th win as Creighton coach.
Ringing In The New Year
Creighton's first game ever in the BIG EAST was a New Year's Eve tussle in Omaha in 2013, and it seems like Creighton & Marquette keep matching up around New Year's Day.
Saturday marks the fourth time in 11 seasons as league rivals that the teams will meet within two days of January 1st. Creighton's won the first three battles.
Date Site CU Result Score
12/31/13 at Creighton* W 67-49
01/01/20 at Creighton* W 92-75
01/01/22 at Marquette* (2ot) W 75-69
12/30/23 at Marquette TBD 1 p.m.
League (Arena) Bound
Creighton has played 52 games in a full-time NBA arena since Greg McDermott was hired in 2010.
In that time, Creighton is 26-26 in such games, including a 4-4 mark in the NCAA Tournament and a 10-9 record in the BIG EAST Tournament.
Creighton has played in nine different NBA arenas under McDermott, including Madison Square Garden (10-11), Fiserv Forum (4-1), Verizon Center/Capital One Arena (4-5), Wells Fargo Center (3-3), Ball Arena (2-0), Bradley Center (2-3), AT&T Center (1-1), Golden 1 Center (0-1) and Spectrum Center (0-1).
Creighton in NBA Arenas Since 2010
Date Score NBA Arena
03/22/13 CU 67, Cincinnati 63 Wells Fargo Center#
03/24/13 Duke 66, CU 50 Wells Fargo Center#
01/20/14 CU 96, Villanova 68 Wells Fargo Center
02/09/14 St. John's 70, CU 65 Madison Square Garden
02/19/14 CU 85, Marquette 70 Bradley Center
03/04/14 Georgetown 75, CU 63 Verizon Center
03/13/14 CU 84, DePaul 62 Madison Square Garden$
03/14/14 CU 86, Xavier 78 Madison Square Garden$
03/15/14 Providence 65, CU 58 Madison Square Garden$
03/21/14 CU 76, Louisiana 66 AT&T Center#
03/23/14 Baylor 85, CU 55 AT&T Center#
01/03/15 Georgetown 76, CU 61 Verizon Center
01/14/15 Marquette 53, CU 52 Bradley Center
02/07/15 St. John's 84, CU 66 Madison Square Garden
03/11/15 CU 78, DePaul 63 Madison Square Garden$
03/12/15 Georgetown 60, CU 55 Madison Square Garden$
01/26/16 Georgetown 74, CU 73 Verizon Center
02/13/16 CU 65, Marquette 62 Bradley Center
03/10/16 Seton Hall 81, CU 73 Madison Square Garden$
01/25/17 Georgetown 71, CU 51 Verizon Center
03/04/17 Marquette 91, CU 83 Bradley Center
03/09/17 CU 70, Providence 58 Madison Square Garden$
03/10/17 CU 75, Xavier 72 Madison Square Garden$
03/11/17 Villanova 74, CU 60 Madison Square Garden$
03/17/17 Rhode Island 84, CU 72 Golden 1 Center#
01/06/18 CU 90, Georgetown 66 Capital One Arena
02/01/18 Villanova 98, CU 78 Wells Fargo Center
03/03/18 Marquette 85, CU 81 Bradley Center
03/08/18 Providence 72, CU 68 Madison Square Garden$
03/16/18 Kansas State 69, CU 59 Spectrum Center#
01/21/19 CU 91, Georgetown 87 Capital One Arena
03/03/19 CU 66, Marquette 60 Fiserv Forum
03/14/19 Xavier 63, CU 61 Madison Square Garden$
01/15/20 Georgetown 83, CU 80 Capital One Arena
02/01/20 CU 76, Villanova 61 Wells Fargo Center
02/18/20 CU 73, Marquette 65 Fiserv Forum
02/06/21 CU 71, Marquette 68 Fiserv Forum
03/11/21 CU 87, Butler 56 Madison Square Garden$
03/12/21 CU 59, UConn 56 Madison Square Garden$
03/13/21 Georgetown 73, CU 48 Madison Square Garden$
01/01/22 CU 75, Marquette 69 (2OT) Fiserv Forum
02/12/22 CU 80, Georgetown 66 Capital One Arena
03/10/22 CU 74, Marquette 63 Madison Square Garden$
03/11/22 CU 85, Providence 58 Madison Square Garden$
03/12/22 Villanova 54, CU 48 Madison Square Garden$
12/16/22 Marquette 69, CU 58 Fiserv Forum
02/01/23 CU 63, Georgetown 53 Capital One Arena
02/25/23 Villanova 72, CU 60 Wells Fargo Center
03/09/23 CU 87, Villanova 74 Madison Square Garden$
03/10/23 Xavier 82, CU 60 Madison Square Garden$
03/17/23 CU 72, NC State 63 Ball Arena#
03/19?23 CU 85, Baylor 76 Ball Arena#
# NCAA Tournament $ BIG EAST Tournament
More Than A Milestone
Ryan Kalkbrenner owns 1,358 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. Kalkbrenner ranks 17th in program history, but could move into the top 15 on Saturday.
Trey Alexander is just 51 points from becoming the 46th player to score 1,000 points in a Bluejay uniform, as he currently ranks 50th in program history with 949 points after 84 career games.
Here's a list of Creighton's top scorers ever, as well as how long it took CU's last 21 men to reach 1,000 points.
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. 1,358 Ryan Kalkbrenner 2020-Pres.
18. 1,342 Antoine Young 2008-12
19. 1,313 Kenny Lawson Jr. 2006-11
20. 1,309 Ryan Sears 1997-01
21. 1,304 Mitch Ballock 2017-21
22. 1,303 Elton Tuttle 1951-54
23. 1,293 Marcus Zegarowski 2018-21
24. 1,292 Marcus Foster 2016-18
26. 1,272 Bob Gibson 1954-57
26. 1,267 Wally Anderzunas 1965-67, 1968-69
27. 1,254 Gary Swain 1983-87
28. 1,241 Ty-Shon Alexander 2017-20
29. 1,238 Ben Walker 1997-01
30. 1,196 Ray Yost 1951-54
31. 1,172 Dick Harvey 1956-59
32. 1,155 Ethan Wragge 2009-14
33. 1,152 Dane Watts 2004-08
34. 1,140 Khyri Thomas 2015-18
35. 1,116 Kenny Evans 1982-87
36. 1,115 Doug Brookins 1972-75
1,115 Daryl Stovall 1978-82
38. 1,093 Tim Powers 1964-67
39. 1,050 Reggie Morris 1982-86
40. 1,031 Johnny Mathies 2003-06
41. 1,024 P'Allen Stinnett 2007-10
42. 1,023 Rod Mason 1986-88
43. 1,013 Austin Chatman 2011-15
44. 1,006 Gregory Echenique 2010-13
45. 1,004 Anthony Tolliver 2003-07
46. 994 Chuck Officer 1960-62, 1963-64
47. 979 Terrell Taylor 1999-02
48. 967 David Wesely 1975-79
49. 965 Fritz Pointer 1963-66
50. 949 Trey Alexander 2021-Pres.
Games To 1,000 Points, Last 21 Bluejays
Name CU Games to 1,000 pts. Date
Ryan Kalkbrenner 91 02/25/23
Marcus Zegarowski 75 01/20/21
Mitch Ballock 100 11/29/20
Ty-Shon Alexander 85 01/15/20
Khyri Thomas 94 02/10/18
Marcus Foster 54 01/17/18
Austin Chatman 138 03/11/15
Ethan Wragge 132 01/18/14
Gregory Echenique 101 03/24/13
Doug McDermott 57 01/15/12
Antoine Young 115 12/10/11
Kenny Lawson Jr. 108 11/21/10
P'Allen Stinnett 86 01/16/10
Dane Watts 115 01/22/08
Anthony Tolliver 124 03/16/07
Johnny Mathies 91 03/03/06
Nate Funk 92 02/28/05
Kyle Korver 81 01/30/02
Ben Walker 105 01/06/01
Ryan Sears 97 12/01/00
Rodney Buford 59 03/01/97
Avoiding 0-2
When it takes the court on Saturday at Marquette, Creighton will attempt to avoid its first 0-2 start in BIG EAST play since 2014-15.
In 2022-23, Creighton lost its league opener at Marquette, but later turned it around to finish third in the BIG EAST with a 14-6 conference record and eventually reach the Elite Eight.
In 2020-21, Creighton lost its league opener to Marquette, then responded with six straight wins and eventually finished second in the BIG EAST with a 14-6 league mark.
In 2017-18, the Bluejays lost their league opener to Seton Hall, then won its next four games en route to a 10-8 league finish that was good for third place.
Conference Openers Have Gone Well
Creighton owns a 17-9 record in its last 26 conference openers, including this year's overtime loss to Villanova.
Greg McDermott is 12-11 all-time in conference openers as a Division I head coach, including an 8-6 mark at Creighton (6-5 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.
Each of Creighton's last two teams to lose its BIG EAST opener finished 14-6 in league play.
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)
2023-24 Villanova (0-1 so far)
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 -
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)
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 last five seasons, one more than Villanova's 52.
Since the league's 2013 realignment, Villanova has 142 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 12/29/23)
Team W L Pct.
Creighton 53 25 .679
Villanova 52 23 .693
Providence 50 26 .658
Seton Hall 45 33 .577
Marquette 45 33 .577
UConn 38 20 .655
Xavier 38 34 .528
St. John's 31 47 .397
Butler 31 49 .388
DePaul 14 60 .189
Georgetown 14 61 .187
Most Men's Basketball BIG EAST Wins
Previous 10 Years (2013-14 to 12/29/23)
Team W L Pct.
Villanova 142 41 .776
Creighton 109 77 .586
Providence 108 76 .587
Xavier 104 76 .578
Seton Hall 98 88 .527
Marquette 97 89 .522
Butler 85 103 .452
St. John's 71 115 .382
Georgetown 60 123 .328
DePaul 39 143 .214
UConn 38 20 .655
A Good Start
Here's a look at how Creighton has done statistically after 12 games in recent seasons.
Of note, Creighton has started 6-6 or better after 12 games in 26 of the past 27 seasons (including 2023-24).
Creighton Stats Through 12 Games, Since 1994-95
Year W-L PPG FG% 3FG 10+ PPG guys
2023-24 9-3 83.0 .498 132 3
2022-23 6-6 76.3 .458 105 5
2021-22 9-3 72.5 .488 76 4
2020-21 10-2 83.2 .496 130 5
2019-20 10-2 77.9 .467 117 4
2018-19 8-4 84.8 .518 146 4
2017-18 10-2 92.3 .521 134 3
2016-17 12-0 89.8 .538 120 4
2015-16 8-4 86.2 .497 109 4
2014-15 9-3 73.3 .441 106 2
2013-14 10-2 82.9 .492 136 2
2012-13 11-1 78.9 .509 107 2
2011-12 10-2 84.3 .506 111 2
2010-11 8-4 67.3 .426 85 3
2009-10 5-7 70.8 .447 98 1
2008-09 10-2 76.9 .445 106 3
2007-08 9-3 77.4 .468 100 2
2006-07 8-4 68.0 .433 69 2
2005-06 8-4 69.4 .414 86 3
2004-05 9-3 68.7 .434 93 2
2003-04 12-0 71.2 .467 75 1
2002-03 11-1 83.8 .520 116 1
2001-02 7-5 76.2 .451 71 3
2000-01 10-2 75.8 .446 95 4
1999-00 9-3 73.3 .459 96 2
1998-99 10-2 76.2 .466 90 2
1997-98 8-4 77.4 .473 88 2
1996-97 5-7 65.4 .407 66 2
1995-96 6-6 65.8 .389 69 2
1994-95 5-7 65.0 .396 81 4
McDermott Among The Best
Greg McDermott ranks 12th in league history with 109 regular-season league wins. With a win on Saturday, 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. 121 Ed Cooley, Providence/G'Town
9. 115 Jamie Dixon, Pittsburgh
10. 113 Rick Pitino, Prov./Louisville/SJU
11. 110 Rollie Massimino, Villanova
12. 109 Greg McDermott, Creighton
13. 105 Kevin Willard, Seton Hall
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.
Jays Don't Foul...Do You Follow?
Creighton leads the nation with just 10.2 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-24 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. Villanova didn't get into the bonus until overtime on Dec. 20th, then missed the front end of both foul shot opportunities.
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
Villanova 5 4 (4 more in OT)
Total 52 66 (4 more in OT)
3 & D
Creighton leads the nation in fewest fouls per game (10.2) and is seventh in three-pointers per game (11.0).
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 Pass 27K at CHI
Creighton has scored 27,046 points all-time at CHI Health Center Omaha, passing the 27,000 mark on Dec. 20 vs. Villanova.
Creighton has outscored the opposition 27,046-22,589 at the 21-year old facility in 345 all-time games in the building that count.
Creighton is 25-2 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
12/20/23 27,000-22,535 (345) Kalkbrenner lay-up vs. Villanova
Kalkbrenner's A Handful
Ryan Kalkbrenner swatted a season-high five shots on Dec. 16 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 227 career blocked shots rank third among the nation's active players.
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, six points and six points in his last four competitions.
Miller has made 13 of his last 19 three-point attempts, moving his shooting percentage to 58.3 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 45.56 percent from deep, sinking 41-of-90 triple tries. The only man to finish a Creighton career better (min. 100 three-point attempts) has been Doug McDermott (.458).
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 five contests.
Creighton has made three or more three-pointers in all but one 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 Dec. 26, CU ranked sixth in the country in two-point percentage (.616) 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 vs. Central Michigan 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 three losses, it scored 19 (vs. CSU), 28 (at UNLV) and 34 (vs. Villanova) and averaged just 59.33 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 462 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 58.3 percent marksmanship from three-point land while Traudt is second at 48.6 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 997 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 (12/26)
Rk. Streak School Next Game
1. 1,203 UNLV 12/31
2. 1,200 Duke 12/30
3. 1,136 East Tennessee State 12/29
4. 1,110 Oakland 12/28
1,110 Pacific 12/30
6. 1,105 Texas 12/29
7. 1,048 Marshall 12/31
8. 1,033 Princeton 12/30
1,033 Gonzaga 12/29
10. 997 Creighton 12/30
11. 996 Long Island 12/28
12. 986 Mount St. Mary's 12/30
Triple Trouble
During Creighton's current streak of 997 straight games with a three-pointer, the Jays have drained 7,917 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 29-27 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: 104 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 eight 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 10.83 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 first in the BIG EAST Conference in scoring at 18.3 points per game.
The Aurora, Neb., product is one of two BIG EAST players to have scored in double-figures every team game this season, joining St. John's Joel Soriano.
Scheierman is just the third Creighton player in the last 25 seasons to score in double-figures each of the first 12 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 1,805 points, 1,031 rebounds, 495 assists and has made 280 career three-pointers in 139 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 1,031 280
1,000+ Rebounds, 490 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 1,031 495
Can't Stop Scheierman
Baylor Scheierman made a three-point basket in all 37 games he played last season and each of his first 11 contests 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. The streak ended on Dec. 20, 2023 vs. Villanova, when Scheierman went 0-for-7 from deep.
Scheierman's streak of 48 straight as a Bluejay was 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.
Consecutive Games With A 3-Pointer, Creighton History
Streak Name Dates of Streak
48 Baylor Scheierman Nov. 7, 2022 - Dec. 16, 2023
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
Scheierman Drains 275th Trey
Baylor Scheierman has made 280 three-pointers in his college career, doing so at a 38.7 percent clip.
Scheierman also owns 1,805 points, 1,031 rebounds, 495 assists and 129 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 1,031 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.
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.
Sultan of Swat
Ryan Kalkbrenner ranks second in program history in blocked shots with 227.
Most Creighton Blocked Shots, Since 1979-80
Blk. Name Years
411 Benoit Benjamin 1982-85
227 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 551 of 827 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 (551-827) 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 12 72
20-Point Games 6 5
Dunks 5 2
Double-Doubles 2 0
Points Per Game 15.7 10.6
Rebounds Per Game 6.9 4.0
Assists Per Game 4.3 2.5
Nationally Speaking
Through games of Dec. 26th, Creighton is all over the NCAA stat leaders. The Bluejays rank in the top 10 of six different categories and the top 15 in eight different categories.
Rank Category Stat
1 Fouls Per Game 10.2
4 Effective FG% .590
4 Total Home Attendance 118,371
6 Average Home Attendance 16,910
7 Three-Pointers Per Game 11.0
8 Defensive Rebounds Per Game 30.67
11 Three-Point Attempts Per Game 29.3
16 Field Goal Percentage .498
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. 26, 2023
Category CU Stat CU Rank
3FG Made 4,075 2nd
2-Point FG Percentage .548 3rd
FG Percentage .477 4th
3-Point FG Percentage .375 6th
Assists 7,364 6th
FG Made 12,611 7th
Points 35,276 9th
Wins 309 24th
Winning Percentage .669 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 130 times in program history, with 102 of those under the direction of McDermott. Creighton is 161-66 all-time as a ranked team, including a 127-54 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. 20 in the Dec. 25th 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.
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.
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 previous 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, Previous 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 .669 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. 309-153 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
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.
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 345 regular and postseason contests at CHI Health Center Omaha all-time in the 21-year-old facility.
The Bluejays own a 284-61 (.823) 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 27,046-22,589 in games at CHI Health Center Omaha, an average margin of 12.92 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 187-43 (.813) 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 303-61 (.832) at home since the start of the 2002-03 campaign.
Home Run
Under Greg McDermott Creighton is averaging 80.66 points per home game (18,552 points in 230 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 17 22 17
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
Creighton Retires McDermott's No. 3 Jersey
Creighton Men's Basketball retired Doug McDermott's No. 3 jersey prior to its Dec. 20 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.
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 hangs 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).
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 5.9 points per game this season and shooting 44.1 percent from three-point range for the Spurs, which ranks 16th in the NBA.
In his career, McDermott has played in 617 games and averaged 9.2 points per game. He ranks 21st in NBA history with 41.1 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."
#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.
Saturday, Dec. 30, 2023 • 1 p.m. • Milwaukee, Wis. • Fiserv Forum
| LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES | MU NOTES |
Next Game
The top two teams in the preseason BIG EAST poll meet up to close 2023 when No. 22 Creighton (9-3, 0-1 BIG EAST) takes on host No. 10 Marquette (10-3, 1-1 BIG EAST) on Saturday, Dec. 30.
Tip-off at Fiserv Forum (17,500) in Milwaukee, Wis., is set for 1 p.m.
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 will call the action.
The audio is webcast at 1620thezone.com and can also be heard on SiriusXM channel 211 or 204, as well as https://sxm.app.link/967.
Telecast Information
Saturday's game will be called by John Sadak and Bill Raftery and be televised on CBS.
The game will also be video webcast at https://www.cbssports.com/watch/college-basketball?ftag=CBS-05-10acg2c. 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 #22 Creighton
Ranked No. 22nd nationally in the Associated Press poll and 20th in the USA Today Coaches poll, Creighton is 9-3 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). The Bluejays have been idle since losing its BIG EAST opener to Villanova on Dec. 20th.
The nucleus of the team is formed by three returning starters as senior forward Baylor Scheierman (18.3, 7.5 rpg., 4.4 apg), senior center Ryan Kalkbrenner (15.9 ppg., 2.3 bpg., 65.8 FG%), and junior guard Trey Alexander (15.7 ppg., 6.9 rpg., 4.3 apg.) all put their professional aspirations on hold and came back.
Add in senior transfer Steven Ashworth (8.6 ppg,. 3.2 apg., 37.7 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 49.8 percent from the floor and 37.5 percent from three-point land while draining 11.0 three-pointers per contest (seventh-best nationally), which contributes to CU's 83.0 points per game. The Jays also outrebound foes by 9.1 caroms per contest.
CU's defense has held teams to 66.7 points per game and allowed opponents to make just 60 three-pointers all year.
Scouting No. 10 Marquette
Ranked 10th nationally, Marquette is 10-3 overall and 1-1 in BIG EAST play as it attempts to defend its regular-season and conference tournament titles from a season ago.
Point guard Tyler Kolek, who was named BIG EAST Player of the Year last season, leads MU with 15.3 points and 6.1 assists per game while shooting 54.1 percent from the field.
Kam Jones averages 14.8 points and Oso Ighodaro (13.5 ppg., 6.0 rpg.) also give MU one of the best offenses in the nation.
The Golden Eagles average 78.5 points per game and shoot 47.3 percent from the field, 33.0 percent from long-range and 73.1 percent at the line despite being outrebounded by 1.8 caroms per contest. The Golden Eagles surrender 66.3 points per game.
The Series With Marquette
Marquette leads the 100-year old series with Creighton by a 58-39 margin, but Creighton has won seven of the past 10 meetings.
Sixteen of the last 19 meetings have been decided by eight points or less.
Creighton leads the series 11-10 since the teams became BIG EAST rivals, but is 6-4 in those meetings to take place in Milwaukee.
Greg McDermott is 11-10 in his career against Marquette and 3-2 against Shaka Smart.
The Creighton Coaches
Greg McDermott (Northern Iowa, 1988) owns a 309-153 record in his 14th season with the Bluejays. He ranks 16th among active coaches in victories with a career mark of 589-348 in his 30th season, and is 458-284 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 earn its first Top 25 win of the season, and 36th all-time under Greg McDermott.
- Creighton would earn a Top 25 win for the 11th straight season, and a Top 10 win for the ninth straight campaign.
- Creighton would improve to 5-1 inside Fiserv Forum all-time.
- Creighton would improve to 36-60 under Greg McDermott against nationally-ranked teams, 28 more victories than any other coach in CU history.
- Creighton would earn its 10th Top 25 road win (in 33 games played) under Greg McDermott, compared to a 2-63 mark before his arrival.
- Creighton would end Marquette's bid to tie a program-record with its 20th straight BIG EAST home win, becoming the first conference team to beat MU in Milwaukee since Creighton did on New Year's Day in 2022.
- Creighton would avoid its first 0-2 BIG EAST start since 2014-15.
Milestone Watch
Ryan Kalkbrenner owns 1,358 career points to rank 17th in CU history. With five 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 12 points to move into 15th.
Francisco Farabello owns 478 career points (including the 319 he scored at TCU), as he closes in on 500.
Steven Ashworth owns 391 career assists (including 35 at Creighton) and is nine shy of 400.
Baylor Scheierman owns 495 career assists (including 175 at Creighton) and is five away from 500.
Baylor Scheierman owns 99 career games in which he's scored 10 or more points. No Creighton player has finished their career with more than 100 games in double-digits since Ryan Hawkins in 2022, though 90 of his 116 games with 10 or more points came at Northwest Missouri State.
Trey Alexander owns 949 career points and is 51 shy of 1,000. He'd be the fourth current Bluejay to reach that milestone in college, joining Baylor Scheierman (1,805), Ryan Kalkbrenner (1,358) and Steven Ashworth (1,134). It's worth noting that Creighton's single-game scoring record is 51 points, done by Bob Portman (in 1967) against a different team from Milwaukee (UW-Milwaukee).
Got My Eye On You
Creighton is 4-4 under Greg McDermott when playing on CBS, including a 1-0 mark in the regular-season, a 2-0 record in conference tournament action and a 1-4 ledger in the NCAA Tournament.
Saturday marks the first of two CU appearances this winter on The Tiffany Network, as the Jays will play St. John's on Feb. 25 in the World's Most Famous Arena.
Creighton on CBS Under Greg McDermott
Date Score
03/04/12# #25 Creighton 83, Illinois State 79 (OT)
03/18/12* #4 North Carolina 87, #19 Creighton 73
03/10/13# Creighton 68, Wichita State 65
03/22/13* Creighton 67, Cincinnati 63
03/28/21* #1 Gonzaga 83, Creighton 65
03/19/22* #3 Kansas 79, Creighton 72
01/28/23 Creighton 84, #13 Xavier 67
03/26/23* #18 San Diego State 57, Creighton 56
*NCAA Tournament #MVC Tournament
Fiserv Fun
Creighton is 4-1 all-time inside Fiserv Forum, where Marquette is 71-13 against all other teams there.
Of the 46 different teams to play Marquette in the six-year old venue, only two are unbeaten (UCLA and Oklahoma State are both 1-0). The only other visiting teams to defeat MU at Fiserv Forum are UConn (2), Seton Hall (2), St. John's (2), Georgetown (1), Villanova (1), Providence (1), Wisconsin (1) and DePaul (1).
Since joining the BIG EAST in 2013-14, Creighton's six road wins at Marquette (at Fiserv Forum or BMO Center Bradley Center) are more than any other school (Villanova, with 5, is the only other team with 5 or more).
Marquette has won 19 straight BIG EAST home games, one away from the second-longest streak in league history, set by Marquette, Notre Dame and Pittsburgh. MU's last league loss at Fiserv Forum came on Jan. 1, 2022, a 75-69 double-overtime setback against Creighton.
Working Overtime
Creighton's 68-66 overtime loss to Villanova on Dec. 20th was its first overtime contest of the season, and first since a 94-86 double-overtime loss at No. 24 Providence on Feb. 14, 2023.
Creighton's last overtime win was its 72-69 win over San Diego State during the 2021 NCAA Tournament.
Creighton is 61-52 all-time in all games with at least one overtime, including an 11-8 mark under Greg McDermott.
Back-to-Back Overtime?
Creighton has played back-to-back overtime games just five times in program history, and not since December of 2014.
Season Game 1 (OT if more than 1) Game 2
1963-64 CU 96, Utah St 91 (2OT) CU 77, Iowa 72
1975-76 CU 50, San Diego 48 CU 79, Kansas St 76
1986-87 Dayton 83, CU 81 Nebraska 70, CU 65
1993-94 Drake 81, CU 75 Illinois State 92, CU 88
2014-15 CU 91, S. Dakota 88 (2OT) St. Mary's 71, CU 67
Ranked vs. Ranked
Creighton is 16-20 all-time as a ranked team when facing a ranked team, including a 15-16 overall mark under Greg McDermott.
Creighton's Top-25 vs. Top-25 Games
Date CU Rank Opponent Rank Result
03/04/1974 #16 #14 South Carolina L 69-78
03/14/1974 #19 vs. #14 Kansas L 54-55
03/16/1974 #19 vs. #16 Louisville W 80-71
03/08/1975 #13 #5 Marquette L 60-64
12/31/2002 #15 at #19 Xavier L 73-75
03/18/2012 #19 vs. #4 North Carolina L 73-87
03/24/2013 #22 vs. #6 Duke L 50-66
02/16/2014 #18 #6 Villanova W 101-80
03/23/2014 #16 vs. #23 Baylor L 55-85
11/15/2016 #22 #9 Wisconsin W 77-69
12/31/2016 #10 #1 Villanova L 70-80
01/11/2017 #8 #12 Butler W 75-64
01/16/2017 #7 at #22 Xavier W 72-67
01/31/2017 #22 at #16 Butler W 76-67
02/25/2017 #23 at #2 Villanova L 63-79
12/01/2017 #25 at #15 Gonzaga L 74-91
12/28/2017 #25 at #23 Seton Hall L 84-90
01/13/2018 #25 at #10 Xavier L 70-92
02/12/2020 #23 at #10 Seton Hall W 87-82
02/18/2020 #15 at #19 Marquette W 73-65
02/23/2020 #15 #21 Butler W 81-59
03/07/2020 #11 #8 Seton Hall W 77-60
12/08/2020 #8 at #5 Kansas L 72-73
12/21/2020 #13 #22 Xavier W 66-61
01/23/2021 #11 #23 Connecticut W 74-66
02/13/2021 #19 #5 Villanova W 86-70
03/03/2021 #14 at #10 Villanova L 60-72
03/28/2021 #19 vs. #1 Gonzaga L 65-83
11/21/2022 #10 vs. #23 Texas Tech W 76-65
11/22/2022 #10 vs. #9 Arkansas W 90-87
11/23/2022 #10 vs. #14 Arizona L 79-81
12/01/2022 #7 at #2 Texas L 67-72
02/11/2023 #23 #21 Connecticut W 56-53
02/14/2023 #18 at #24 Providence L 86-94 (2OT)
02/21/2023 #19 #10 Marquette L 71-73
03/10/2023 #24 vs. #15 Xavier L 60-82
Basketball Schools
Creighton and Marquette are two of just seven schools nationally that are ranked in both the men's and women's basketball Associated Press polls this week.
Joining the Bluejays and Golden Eagles in that elite company are Baylor, UConn, Gonzaga, North Carolina and Texas.
Rankings Regulars
Creighton and Marquette are two of the nation's 15 teams to have been in the Top 25 of every Associated Press poll to date this season.
The only teams that can say that are Arizona, Baylor, Connecticut, Creighton, Duke, Florida Atlantic, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas, Kentucky, Marquette, North Carolina, Purdue, Tennessee and Texas.
Ranking News & Notes
Saturday's contest at No. 10 Marquette is Creighton's first Top 25 opponent of the year, but it won't be the last. A few notes about the Top 25.
- Creighton is 53-165 all-time against top 25 teams.
- Creighton is 35-50 under Greg McDermott against nationally-ranked teams, 27 more top 25 wins than any other coach in Creighton history. Prior to McDermott's arrival, Creighton was 18-115 all-time against top 25 foes.
- Creighton's 35 top 25 wins since McDermott took over in 2010 are tied for 34th and more than schools like UCLA (33), Maryland (28), Arkansas (28), Auburn (18), Memphis (18), Houston (17), Nebraska (17), Wichita State (14), USC (13) and Saint Mary's (10) in that time.
- Creighton is 30-33 since the start of the 2016-17 season against ranked teams. The 30 wins over ranked teams in that time are the 12th-most nationally. CU's 30 Top 25 wins trails only Villanova (37) among BIG EAST programs in that span.
- Creighton has beaten at least one ranked team in each of the last 10 seasons and multiple ranked foes in each of the previous eight seasons.
- On a national basis, the only 18 teams with a top-25 win each of the previous 10 seasons (entering 2023-24) are Baylor, Creighton, Duke, Florida State, Indiana, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Michigan State, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas Tech, Villanova, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Xavier.
- The Bluejays have beaten multiple top-25 foes each of the previous eight seasons (2015-16 to 2022-23), something only Baylor, Gonzaga, Kansas, Michigan State, Purdue, Texas Tech and Villanova can also claim.
- Creighton owns at least one top 10 win each of the previous eight seasons. The only schools with at least one top-10 win every season from 2015-16 to 2022-23 have been Creighton, Kansas, Texas Tech and Virginia Tech.
- Creighton's 11 Top 25 wins since the start of the 2021-22 season are tied for 11th most. Marquette's 16 such victories in that time trail only Kansas (18).
- Creighton is 9-23 in true road games vs. the top 25 under Greg McDermott, compared to a 2-63 mark before his arrival.
- Creighton is just 3-15 all-time against ranked Marquette teams, but is 2-1 in its last three attempts. CU won at No. 10 Marquette in 2019, then toppled the No. 19 Golden Eagles in Milwaukee in 2020.
- Last year Creighton played 14 games against Top 25 teams, tied for second-most in the nation. Only Texas (17) had more.
- Creighton's 14 games against Top 25 opponents last year were a program record, two more than the 12 played by the 2021-22 squad.
- Creighton's six Top 25 victories last year were tied for eighth-most nationally. Marquette was tied for third-most with seven Top 25 victories.
- Creighton's six top 25 wins last year tied a school-record first done in 2019-20.
Big Mac Attack
Greg McDermott's teams have consistently battled some of the best teams in the country.
The chart below shows how his teams have consistently outpaced some of his predecessors against top-25 foes.
Category Pre-McDermott Under McDermott
vs. Top 25 Teams 18-115 35-50
vs. Top 10 Teams 5-31 12-22
vs. Top 10 on Road 1-28 4-11
vs. Top 25 on Road 2-63 9-23
Top 10 Wins Under McDermott
Creighton owns 12 Top 10 victories under Greg McDermott, with four of those coming in true road games. One of those wins (on March 3, 2019) came against a 10th-ranked Marquette team.
Eddie Sutton's Bluejay squad also beat a Top 10 Marquette team in Milwaukee in 1974.
Here's a list of all 17 Top 10 wins in program history.
Creighton's Top 10 Wins All-Time
Date Opponent Score Head Coach
12/13/63 #4 Arizona State W 84-83 McManus
12/01/65 #10 Kansas State W 83-75 McManus
01/29/70 #5 New Mexico State W 72-68 Sutton
02/17/73 #7 Houston W 78-77 Sutton
02/09/74 at #6 Marquette W 75-69 Sutton
01/20/14 at #4 Villanova W 96-68 McDermott
02/16/14 #6 Villanova W 101-80 McDermott
02/09/16 #5 Xavier W 70-56 McDermott
11/15/16 #9 Wisconsin W 79-67 McDermott
02/24/18 #3 Villanova W 89-83 (OT) McDermott
03/03/19 at #10 Marquette W 66-60 McDermott
02/01/20 at #8 Villanova W 76-61 McDermott
02/12/20 at #10 Seton Hall W 87-82 McDermott
03/07/20 #8 Seton Hall W 77-60 McDermott
02/13/21 #5 Villanova W 86-70 McDermott
12/17/21 #9 Villanova W 79-59 McDermott
11/22/22 vs. #9 Arkansas W 90-87 McDermott
Farewell to 2023!
Saturday marks the final game of the 2023 calendar year for Creighton, and what a memorable 12 months it's been.
Creighton has won 25 of 35 games since the calendar flipped to 2023, playing 20 of those games as a ranked team and 10 of the 35 games against a ranked team (going 4-6).
The Bluejays reached their first Elite Eight since 1941, saw Ryan Kalkbrenner earn BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year, and Greg McDermott pick up his 300th win as Creighton coach.
Ringing In The New Year
Creighton's first game ever in the BIG EAST was a New Year's Eve tussle in Omaha in 2013, and it seems like Creighton & Marquette keep matching up around New Year's Day.
Saturday marks the fourth time in 11 seasons as league rivals that the teams will meet within two days of January 1st. Creighton's won the first three battles.
Date Site CU Result Score
12/31/13 at Creighton* W 67-49
01/01/20 at Creighton* W 92-75
01/01/22 at Marquette* (2ot) W 75-69
12/30/23 at Marquette TBD 1 p.m.
League (Arena) Bound
Creighton has played 52 games in a full-time NBA arena since Greg McDermott was hired in 2010.
In that time, Creighton is 26-26 in such games, including a 4-4 mark in the NCAA Tournament and a 10-9 record in the BIG EAST Tournament.
Creighton has played in nine different NBA arenas under McDermott, including Madison Square Garden (10-11), Fiserv Forum (4-1), Verizon Center/Capital One Arena (4-5), Wells Fargo Center (3-3), Ball Arena (2-0), Bradley Center (2-3), AT&T Center (1-1), Golden 1 Center (0-1) and Spectrum Center (0-1).
Creighton in NBA Arenas Since 2010
Date Score NBA Arena
03/22/13 CU 67, Cincinnati 63 Wells Fargo Center#
03/24/13 Duke 66, CU 50 Wells Fargo Center#
01/20/14 CU 96, Villanova 68 Wells Fargo Center
02/09/14 St. John's 70, CU 65 Madison Square Garden
02/19/14 CU 85, Marquette 70 Bradley Center
03/04/14 Georgetown 75, CU 63 Verizon Center
03/13/14 CU 84, DePaul 62 Madison Square Garden$
03/14/14 CU 86, Xavier 78 Madison Square Garden$
03/15/14 Providence 65, CU 58 Madison Square Garden$
03/21/14 CU 76, Louisiana 66 AT&T Center#
03/23/14 Baylor 85, CU 55 AT&T Center#
01/03/15 Georgetown 76, CU 61 Verizon Center
01/14/15 Marquette 53, CU 52 Bradley Center
02/07/15 St. John's 84, CU 66 Madison Square Garden
03/11/15 CU 78, DePaul 63 Madison Square Garden$
03/12/15 Georgetown 60, CU 55 Madison Square Garden$
01/26/16 Georgetown 74, CU 73 Verizon Center
02/13/16 CU 65, Marquette 62 Bradley Center
03/10/16 Seton Hall 81, CU 73 Madison Square Garden$
01/25/17 Georgetown 71, CU 51 Verizon Center
03/04/17 Marquette 91, CU 83 Bradley Center
03/09/17 CU 70, Providence 58 Madison Square Garden$
03/10/17 CU 75, Xavier 72 Madison Square Garden$
03/11/17 Villanova 74, CU 60 Madison Square Garden$
03/17/17 Rhode Island 84, CU 72 Golden 1 Center#
01/06/18 CU 90, Georgetown 66 Capital One Arena
02/01/18 Villanova 98, CU 78 Wells Fargo Center
03/03/18 Marquette 85, CU 81 Bradley Center
03/08/18 Providence 72, CU 68 Madison Square Garden$
03/16/18 Kansas State 69, CU 59 Spectrum Center#
01/21/19 CU 91, Georgetown 87 Capital One Arena
03/03/19 CU 66, Marquette 60 Fiserv Forum
03/14/19 Xavier 63, CU 61 Madison Square Garden$
01/15/20 Georgetown 83, CU 80 Capital One Arena
02/01/20 CU 76, Villanova 61 Wells Fargo Center
02/18/20 CU 73, Marquette 65 Fiserv Forum
02/06/21 CU 71, Marquette 68 Fiserv Forum
03/11/21 CU 87, Butler 56 Madison Square Garden$
03/12/21 CU 59, UConn 56 Madison Square Garden$
03/13/21 Georgetown 73, CU 48 Madison Square Garden$
01/01/22 CU 75, Marquette 69 (2OT) Fiserv Forum
02/12/22 CU 80, Georgetown 66 Capital One Arena
03/10/22 CU 74, Marquette 63 Madison Square Garden$
03/11/22 CU 85, Providence 58 Madison Square Garden$
03/12/22 Villanova 54, CU 48 Madison Square Garden$
12/16/22 Marquette 69, CU 58 Fiserv Forum
02/01/23 CU 63, Georgetown 53 Capital One Arena
02/25/23 Villanova 72, CU 60 Wells Fargo Center
03/09/23 CU 87, Villanova 74 Madison Square Garden$
03/10/23 Xavier 82, CU 60 Madison Square Garden$
03/17/23 CU 72, NC State 63 Ball Arena#
03/19?23 CU 85, Baylor 76 Ball Arena#
# NCAA Tournament $ BIG EAST Tournament
More Than A Milestone
Ryan Kalkbrenner owns 1,358 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. Kalkbrenner ranks 17th in program history, but could move into the top 15 on Saturday.
Trey Alexander is just 51 points from becoming the 46th player to score 1,000 points in a Bluejay uniform, as he currently ranks 50th in program history with 949 points after 84 career games.
Here's a list of Creighton's top scorers ever, as well as how long it took CU's last 21 men to reach 1,000 points.
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. 1,358 Ryan Kalkbrenner 2020-Pres.
18. 1,342 Antoine Young 2008-12
19. 1,313 Kenny Lawson Jr. 2006-11
20. 1,309 Ryan Sears 1997-01
21. 1,304 Mitch Ballock 2017-21
22. 1,303 Elton Tuttle 1951-54
23. 1,293 Marcus Zegarowski 2018-21
24. 1,292 Marcus Foster 2016-18
26. 1,272 Bob Gibson 1954-57
26. 1,267 Wally Anderzunas 1965-67, 1968-69
27. 1,254 Gary Swain 1983-87
28. 1,241 Ty-Shon Alexander 2017-20
29. 1,238 Ben Walker 1997-01
30. 1,196 Ray Yost 1951-54
31. 1,172 Dick Harvey 1956-59
32. 1,155 Ethan Wragge 2009-14
33. 1,152 Dane Watts 2004-08
34. 1,140 Khyri Thomas 2015-18
35. 1,116 Kenny Evans 1982-87
36. 1,115 Doug Brookins 1972-75
1,115 Daryl Stovall 1978-82
38. 1,093 Tim Powers 1964-67
39. 1,050 Reggie Morris 1982-86
40. 1,031 Johnny Mathies 2003-06
41. 1,024 P'Allen Stinnett 2007-10
42. 1,023 Rod Mason 1986-88
43. 1,013 Austin Chatman 2011-15
44. 1,006 Gregory Echenique 2010-13
45. 1,004 Anthony Tolliver 2003-07
46. 994 Chuck Officer 1960-62, 1963-64
47. 979 Terrell Taylor 1999-02
48. 967 David Wesely 1975-79
49. 965 Fritz Pointer 1963-66
50. 949 Trey Alexander 2021-Pres.
Games To 1,000 Points, Last 21 Bluejays
Name CU Games to 1,000 pts. Date
Ryan Kalkbrenner 91 02/25/23
Marcus Zegarowski 75 01/20/21
Mitch Ballock 100 11/29/20
Ty-Shon Alexander 85 01/15/20
Khyri Thomas 94 02/10/18
Marcus Foster 54 01/17/18
Austin Chatman 138 03/11/15
Ethan Wragge 132 01/18/14
Gregory Echenique 101 03/24/13
Doug McDermott 57 01/15/12
Antoine Young 115 12/10/11
Kenny Lawson Jr. 108 11/21/10
P'Allen Stinnett 86 01/16/10
Dane Watts 115 01/22/08
Anthony Tolliver 124 03/16/07
Johnny Mathies 91 03/03/06
Nate Funk 92 02/28/05
Kyle Korver 81 01/30/02
Ben Walker 105 01/06/01
Ryan Sears 97 12/01/00
Rodney Buford 59 03/01/97
Avoiding 0-2
When it takes the court on Saturday at Marquette, Creighton will attempt to avoid its first 0-2 start in BIG EAST play since 2014-15.
In 2022-23, Creighton lost its league opener at Marquette, but later turned it around to finish third in the BIG EAST with a 14-6 conference record and eventually reach the Elite Eight.
In 2020-21, Creighton lost its league opener to Marquette, then responded with six straight wins and eventually finished second in the BIG EAST with a 14-6 league mark.
In 2017-18, the Bluejays lost their league opener to Seton Hall, then won its next four games en route to a 10-8 league finish that was good for third place.
Conference Openers Have Gone Well
Creighton owns a 17-9 record in its last 26 conference openers, including this year's overtime loss to Villanova.
Greg McDermott is 12-11 all-time in conference openers as a Division I head coach, including an 8-6 mark at Creighton (6-5 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.
Each of Creighton's last two teams to lose its BIG EAST opener finished 14-6 in league play.
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)
2023-24 Villanova (0-1 so far)
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 -
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)
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 last five seasons, one more than Villanova's 52.
Since the league's 2013 realignment, Villanova has 142 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 12/29/23)
Team W L Pct.
Creighton 53 25 .679
Villanova 52 23 .693
Providence 50 26 .658
Seton Hall 45 33 .577
Marquette 45 33 .577
UConn 38 20 .655
Xavier 38 34 .528
St. John's 31 47 .397
Butler 31 49 .388
DePaul 14 60 .189
Georgetown 14 61 .187
Most Men's Basketball BIG EAST Wins
Previous 10 Years (2013-14 to 12/29/23)
Team W L Pct.
Villanova 142 41 .776
Creighton 109 77 .586
Providence 108 76 .587
Xavier 104 76 .578
Seton Hall 98 88 .527
Marquette 97 89 .522
Butler 85 103 .452
St. John's 71 115 .382
Georgetown 60 123 .328
DePaul 39 143 .214
UConn 38 20 .655
A Good Start
Here's a look at how Creighton has done statistically after 12 games in recent seasons.
Of note, Creighton has started 6-6 or better after 12 games in 26 of the past 27 seasons (including 2023-24).
Creighton Stats Through 12 Games, Since 1994-95
Year W-L PPG FG% 3FG 10+ PPG guys
2023-24 9-3 83.0 .498 132 3
2022-23 6-6 76.3 .458 105 5
2021-22 9-3 72.5 .488 76 4
2020-21 10-2 83.2 .496 130 5
2019-20 10-2 77.9 .467 117 4
2018-19 8-4 84.8 .518 146 4
2017-18 10-2 92.3 .521 134 3
2016-17 12-0 89.8 .538 120 4
2015-16 8-4 86.2 .497 109 4
2014-15 9-3 73.3 .441 106 2
2013-14 10-2 82.9 .492 136 2
2012-13 11-1 78.9 .509 107 2
2011-12 10-2 84.3 .506 111 2
2010-11 8-4 67.3 .426 85 3
2009-10 5-7 70.8 .447 98 1
2008-09 10-2 76.9 .445 106 3
2007-08 9-3 77.4 .468 100 2
2006-07 8-4 68.0 .433 69 2
2005-06 8-4 69.4 .414 86 3
2004-05 9-3 68.7 .434 93 2
2003-04 12-0 71.2 .467 75 1
2002-03 11-1 83.8 .520 116 1
2001-02 7-5 76.2 .451 71 3
2000-01 10-2 75.8 .446 95 4
1999-00 9-3 73.3 .459 96 2
1998-99 10-2 76.2 .466 90 2
1997-98 8-4 77.4 .473 88 2
1996-97 5-7 65.4 .407 66 2
1995-96 6-6 65.8 .389 69 2
1994-95 5-7 65.0 .396 81 4
McDermott Among The Best
Greg McDermott ranks 12th in league history with 109 regular-season league wins. With a win on Saturday, 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. 121 Ed Cooley, Providence/G'Town
9. 115 Jamie Dixon, Pittsburgh
10. 113 Rick Pitino, Prov./Louisville/SJU
11. 110 Rollie Massimino, Villanova
12. 109 Greg McDermott, Creighton
13. 105 Kevin Willard, Seton Hall
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.
Jays Don't Foul...Do You Follow?
Creighton leads the nation with just 10.2 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-24 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. Villanova didn't get into the bonus until overtime on Dec. 20th, then missed the front end of both foul shot opportunities.
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
Villanova 5 4 (4 more in OT)
Total 52 66 (4 more in OT)
3 & D
Creighton leads the nation in fewest fouls per game (10.2) and is seventh in three-pointers per game (11.0).
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 Pass 27K at CHI
Creighton has scored 27,046 points all-time at CHI Health Center Omaha, passing the 27,000 mark on Dec. 20 vs. Villanova.
Creighton has outscored the opposition 27,046-22,589 at the 21-year old facility in 345 all-time games in the building that count.
Creighton is 25-2 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
12/20/23 27,000-22,535 (345) Kalkbrenner lay-up vs. Villanova
Kalkbrenner's A Handful
Ryan Kalkbrenner swatted a season-high five shots on Dec. 16 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 227 career blocked shots rank third among the nation's active players.
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, six points and six points in his last four competitions.
Miller has made 13 of his last 19 three-point attempts, moving his shooting percentage to 58.3 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 45.56 percent from deep, sinking 41-of-90 triple tries. The only man to finish a Creighton career better (min. 100 three-point attempts) has been Doug McDermott (.458).
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 five contests.
Creighton has made three or more three-pointers in all but one 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 Dec. 26, CU ranked sixth in the country in two-point percentage (.616) 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 vs. Central Michigan 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 three losses, it scored 19 (vs. CSU), 28 (at UNLV) and 34 (vs. Villanova) and averaged just 59.33 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 462 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 58.3 percent marksmanship from three-point land while Traudt is second at 48.6 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 997 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 (12/26)
Rk. Streak School Next Game
1. 1,203 UNLV 12/31
2. 1,200 Duke 12/30
3. 1,136 East Tennessee State 12/29
4. 1,110 Oakland 12/28
1,110 Pacific 12/30
6. 1,105 Texas 12/29
7. 1,048 Marshall 12/31
8. 1,033 Princeton 12/30
1,033 Gonzaga 12/29
10. 997 Creighton 12/30
11. 996 Long Island 12/28
12. 986 Mount St. Mary's 12/30
Triple Trouble
During Creighton's current streak of 997 straight games with a three-pointer, the Jays have drained 7,917 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 29-27 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: 104 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 eight 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 10.83 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 first in the BIG EAST Conference in scoring at 18.3 points per game.
The Aurora, Neb., product is one of two BIG EAST players to have scored in double-figures every team game this season, joining St. John's Joel Soriano.
Scheierman is just the third Creighton player in the last 25 seasons to score in double-figures each of the first 12 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 1,805 points, 1,031 rebounds, 495 assists and has made 280 career three-pointers in 139 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 1,031 280
1,000+ Rebounds, 490 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 1,031 495
Can't Stop Scheierman
Baylor Scheierman made a three-point basket in all 37 games he played last season and each of his first 11 contests 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. The streak ended on Dec. 20, 2023 vs. Villanova, when Scheierman went 0-for-7 from deep.
Scheierman's streak of 48 straight as a Bluejay was 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.
Consecutive Games With A 3-Pointer, Creighton History
Streak Name Dates of Streak
48 Baylor Scheierman Nov. 7, 2022 - Dec. 16, 2023
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
Scheierman Drains 275th Trey
Baylor Scheierman has made 280 three-pointers in his college career, doing so at a 38.7 percent clip.
Scheierman also owns 1,805 points, 1,031 rebounds, 495 assists and 129 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 1,031 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.
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.
Sultan of Swat
Ryan Kalkbrenner ranks second in program history in blocked shots with 227.
Most Creighton Blocked Shots, Since 1979-80
Blk. Name Years
411 Benoit Benjamin 1982-85
227 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 551 of 827 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 (551-827) 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 12 72
20-Point Games 6 5
Dunks 5 2
Double-Doubles 2 0
Points Per Game 15.7 10.6
Rebounds Per Game 6.9 4.0
Assists Per Game 4.3 2.5
Nationally Speaking
Through games of Dec. 26th, Creighton is all over the NCAA stat leaders. The Bluejays rank in the top 10 of six different categories and the top 15 in eight different categories.
Rank Category Stat
1 Fouls Per Game 10.2
4 Effective FG% .590
4 Total Home Attendance 118,371
6 Average Home Attendance 16,910
7 Three-Pointers Per Game 11.0
8 Defensive Rebounds Per Game 30.67
11 Three-Point Attempts Per Game 29.3
16 Field Goal Percentage .498
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. 26, 2023
Category CU Stat CU Rank
3FG Made 4,075 2nd
2-Point FG Percentage .548 3rd
FG Percentage .477 4th
3-Point FG Percentage .375 6th
Assists 7,364 6th
FG Made 12,611 7th
Points 35,276 9th
Wins 309 24th
Winning Percentage .669 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 130 times in program history, with 102 of those under the direction of McDermott. Creighton is 161-66 all-time as a ranked team, including a 127-54 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. 20 in the Dec. 25th 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.
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.
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 previous 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, Previous 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 .669 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. 309-153 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
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.
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 345 regular and postseason contests at CHI Health Center Omaha all-time in the 21-year-old facility.
The Bluejays own a 284-61 (.823) 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 27,046-22,589 in games at CHI Health Center Omaha, an average margin of 12.92 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 187-43 (.813) 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 303-61 (.832) at home since the start of the 2002-03 campaign.
Home Run
Under Greg McDermott Creighton is averaging 80.66 points per home game (18,552 points in 230 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 17 22 17
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
Creighton Retires McDermott's No. 3 Jersey
Creighton Men's Basketball retired Doug McDermott's No. 3 jersey prior to its Dec. 20 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.
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 hangs 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).
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 5.9 points per game this season and shooting 44.1 percent from three-point range for the Spurs, which ranks 16th in the NBA.
In his career, McDermott has played in 617 games and averaged 9.2 points per game. He ranks 21st in NBA history with 41.1 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."
#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.
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
C
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
C
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
C
/ Men's BasketballCreighton Men's Basketball Availability - 1/30/26
Friday, January 30
Creighton Men's Basketball Press Conference - 1/27/26
Wednesday, January 28
Creighton Men's Basketball Media Availability - 1/26/26
Monday, January 26
Creighton Men's Basketball vs. Xavier Press Conference - 1/20/26
Wednesday, January 21
