#13 Men's Basketball Opens February on Friday vs. Butler

Game #22: Butler Bulldogs (14-7, 5-5) at #13 Creighton Bluejays (16-5, 7-3)
Friday, Feb. 2, 2024 • 8:00 p.m. • Omaha, Neb. • CHI Health Center Omaha
| LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES | BU NOTES | PROGRAM | TICKETS |

Next Game
No. 13 Creighton (16-5, 7-3 BIG EAST) starts the second half of BIG EAST play on Friday when it closes a three-game homestand against Butler (14-7, 5-5 BIG EAST).
   Tip-off at CHI Health Center Omaha (17,352) in Omaha, Neb., is scheduled for 8 p.m.
   Creighton's 10-time BIG EAST regular-season champion volleyball team, which finished the 2023 season 29-5 and reached the Sweet 16, will be recognized at halftime.

Radio Broadcast Information
KOZN (1620 AM) and KOOO (101.9 FM) will carry all Creighton men's basketball games during the 2023-24 season. John Bishop and Tyler Clement will call the action.
   The audio is webcast at 1620thezone.com and can also be heard on SiriusXM channel 106 or 201 as well as https://sxm.app.link/964.

Telecast Information
Friday's game will be called by Connor Onion and Nick Bahe and televised on FS1. The game will also be video webcast at https://FoxSports.com/live. Cable authorization may be required.

Live Stats Information
All of Creighton's games this season will have free live stats. Visit www.gocreighton.com and click on the small bar graph icon on the scoreboard at the top of the page for the event of your choosing.
Scouting No. 13 Creighton
Creighton is 16-5 this season, including home wins over Iowa (92-84), Alabama (85-82), No. 23 Providence (69-60), St. John's (66-64) and Xavier (85-78), and road victories at Oklahoma State (79-65), Nebraska (89-60) and Seton Hall (97-94 in 3OT). The Bluejays lost their first two BIG EAST games this season by a combined seven points, but are 7-1 since the calendar turned to 2024.
   The nucleus of the team is formed by three returning starters as senior forward Baylor Scheierman (17.8, 8.1 rpg., 3.8 apg), senior center Ryan Kalkbrenner (16.6 ppg., 7.7 rpg., 2.6 bpg., 62.6 FG%), and junior guard Trey Alexander (17.0 ppg., 6.0 rpg., 4.7 apg.) all put their professional aspirations on hold and came back.
   Add in senior transfer Steven Ashworth (9.2 ppg,. 3.8 apg.), 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.
   The Bluejays boast an offense that shoots 48.0 percent from the floor and 35.6 percent from three-point land while draining 10.4 three-pointers per contest (ninth-best nationally), which contributes to CU's 79.7 points per game. The Jays also outrebound foes by 5.3 caroms per contest.
   CU's defense has held teams to 67.2 points per game and allowed opponents to make just 111 three-pointers all year. Creighton's 11.14 fouls per game are the fewest in the nation.

Scouting Butler
Butler is 14-7 this year and has evened its BIG EAST record at 5-5 after wins over DePaul (74-60), Georgetown (90-66) and Villanova (88-81 in 2OT) in its last three games. The Bulldogs also own a 69-62 win at Marquette and a 103-95 overtime victory vs. Texas Tech.
   Michigan State transfer Pierre Brooks leads the Bulldogs in scoring (16.6 ppg.) and three-pointers made (57). Also in double-figures are Northeastern transfer Jahmyl Telfort (13.9 ppg.), UC Irvine transfer DJ Davis (13.6 ppg.) and St. John's transfer Posh Alexander (11.4 ppg., 5.1 apg.). Rounding out the starting five is versatile center Jalen Thomas (6.8 rpg., 1.4 bpg.).
   The Bulldogs are averaging 80.8 points per game (its best figure sine 1990-91), but also allow 72.7 per contest (it's most since 1991-92). BU shoots 45.8 percent from the field, 35.5 percent from deep and 78.7 percent at the line while outrebounding foes by 1.1 caroms per contest.

The Series With Butler
Creighton is 17-11 all-time vs. Butler in a series that dates to a 27-22 Bluejay win in 1933. The home team has won 11 of the last 12 meetings not played on a neutral site.
   Creighton is 11-2 all-time in Omaha against the Bulldogs, including a 9-1 mark since the schools became BIG EAST rivals.
   Greg McDermott is 13-10 in his career vs. Butler, including a 13-8 mark on the Creighton sideline. He is 2-1 against teams coached by Thad Matta (2-0 when Matta's been at Butler).
   Since joining the BIG EAST, Creighton is 11-1 when scoring 72 or more points against the Bulldogs and 2-7 when scoring 71 points or less.

The Creighton Coaches
Greg McDermott (Northern Iowa, 1988) owns a 316-155 record in his 14th season with the Bluejays. He ranks 16th among active coaches in victories with a career mark of 596-350 in his 30th season, and is 465-286 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 win its 34th straight home game played on a Friday, a streak that started in 1977.
- Creighton would improve to 10-1 at home against Butler since both schools joined the BIG EAST in 2013.
- Creighton would improve to 11-1 this season at home, and 289-61 in 350 all-time games inside CHI Health Center Omaha.
- Creighton would improve to 8-1 since the calendar turned to 2024.
- Creighton would improve to 8-0 in BIG EAST games this season when Bill Raftery isn't on the call.
- Greg McDermott could tie Rick Pitino for ninth in BIG EAST history with his 117th regular-season league win, but only if Pitino's St. John's team first loses on Wednesday at Xavier.
- Creighton would start exactly 17-5 for the third time in the last five seasons (also 2019-20 and 2020-21).
- Creighton would win its 11th BIG EAST game of the season for the fifth straight year.
- Creighton would clinch its 25th winning season in the past 26 years.

Milestone Watch
Baylor Scheierman is 40 points shy of 2,000 career points, which would make him the first men's player in Division I history with career totals exceeding 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 500 assists and 300 three-pointers.
   Fredrick King owns 198 career points as the sophomores eyes 200.
   Steven Ashworth is six three-pointers shy of 250 in his college career.
   Ryan Kalkbrenner is 12 rebounds from 750.
   Creighton head coach Greg McDermott could tie Rick Pitino for ninth in BIG EAST history with his 117th regular-season league win, but only if Pitino's St. John's team first loses on Wednesday at Xavier.

BIG EAST Honors Black Fives
Friday's game vs. Butler will be the first Black Fives game of the 2023-24 BIG EAST season. Creighton will represent the Cudahy Rex, while Butler will honor Shorts Café 5.
   For a third consecutive season, the BIG EAST Conference will celebrate Black History month by renewing its partnership with the Black Fives Foundation, a nonprofit public charity whose mission is to inspire excellence by preserving, teaching and honoring the pre-NBA history of African Americans in basketball.
   For 22 games, the BIG EAST Men's and Women's Basketball Teams will be wearing shooting shirts with the Black Fives mantra "Make History Now". Women's basketball coaches will wear "Make History Now" lapel pins and men's basketball coaches will wear lapel pins that recognize the 100 Year Anniversary of the Black Fives Era's most prolific team, the New York Rens.
   Black basketball teams, known as Black Fives, were prevalent from 1904 through 1950 when the game, like society, was racially segregated. The men and women of the Black Fives Era opened doors for generations of African American basketball players, coaches, and contributors while staging culturally rich, socially meaningful events that strengthened and inspired Black communities, many of which are situated within the footprint of BIG EAST schools.
   This year's partnership will begin with an educational webinar entitled "Basketball and Dance: The Business of Black Fives Basketball" led by Founder of the Black Fives Foundation and award-winning author, Claude Johnson. BIG EAST basketball players, coaches and staff will hear about the groundbreaking strategies between basketball, entertainment (music and dance), the Harlem Renaissance and other business innovations that not only left an enduring impact on the Black Fives legacy but have also become an integral part of a modern-day fan engagement.

Scheierman Drains 300th Trey
Baylor Scheierman has made 312 three-pointers in his college career, doing so at a 39.1 percent clip.
   Scheierman also owns 1,960 points, 1,112 rebounds, 522 assists and 141 career steals.
   Scheierman is 40 points from becoming the nation's first Division I men's player in history with career totals of at least 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 500 assists and 300 three-pointers.
   Scheierman is one of 28 players since 1992-93 with 500 or more assists and 300 or more three-pointers. Scheierman's 1,112 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).

A True Unicorn
Just how good are Baylor Scheierman's career numbers?    Here's where the fifth-year senior would rank in Creighton history if all his stats were attained with the Bluejays:
   Category   CU Career Rank*   Baylor's Totals
   Games Played   2nd   148
   3-Point Field Goals Att.   2nd   797
   3-Point Field Goals   3rd   312
   Rebounds   3rd   1,112
   Assists   3rd   522
   Points   5th   1,960
   Field Goals Made   7th   668
   Field Goals Attempted   7th   1,450
   Free Throw Percentage   7th   .810
   Steals   10th   141
*if all of Scheierman's stats had come at Creighton

Coaching Giants Meet Up
Both Greg McDermott and Thad Matta rank among the best coaches in the college game today.
   McDermott is 16th among active Division I coaches with 596 career victories, trailing only Rick Pitino (724 before Wednesday) among active BIG EAST coaches.
   Matta ranks 14th among active Division I coaches with a .723 winning percentage, a figure that moves up to seventh if you include coaches with 100 or more games coached, and tops among active BIG EAST coaches.

Friday Night Lights
Creighton doesn't play many Friday home games, but judging by its success, it might not be a bad idea for the future, as CU has won 33 straight Friday home games and is 22-0 at CHI Health Center Omaha on the final day of the work week.
   Creighton has won every Friday home game it's played since a loss on Dec. 12, 1975, back when Greg McDermott was 11 years old, and more than 28 years before current Bluejay redshirt freshman Isaac Traudt was born.
   The Butler contest is Creighton's first and only Friday home game this regular-season.

Alexander Named BIG EAST Player of the Week
Trey Alexander was named BIG EAST Player of the Week for the second time this season on Monday after leading Creighton to a pair of wins last week.
   Alexander averaged 25.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game to help the Bluejays pick up victories over Xavier (85-78) and DePaul (85-62) last week. He shot 52.6 percent from the field (20-38) and was perfect on six free-throw attempts at the line.
   The Oklahoma City native had a season-high 27 points and added nine rebounds and four assists in Tuesday's win over Xavier. He contributed 16 points, six rebounds and three assists in the second half as Creighton overcame a seven-point deficit in the final 12 minutes.
   Alexander closed his week with 23 points, seven assists and four rebounds against DePaul. He scored 10 points during Creighton's 26-4 run early in the second half as the Bluejays put away the Blue Demons.
   The Oklahoma City, Okla., product was previously recognized on November 20th.

Trey x 3
Trey Alexander has scored 23, 27 and 23 points in the last three games. In the last 25 seasons, he's just the second Creighton player with three straight games of 23+ points, joining Doug McDermott (who did it EIGHT different times).
Longest CU Streaks of 23+ Points, Last 25 Seasons
   Streak   Name   Dates of Streak
   9   Doug McDermott   11/16/11-12/22/11
   8   Doug McDermott   1/28/14-3/1/14
   5   Doug McDermott   3/8/14-3/21/14
   4   Doug McDermott   12/1/12-12/15/12
   4   Doug McDermott   2/27/13-3/9/13
   3   Doug McDermott   1/25/12-2/1/12
   3   Doug McDermott   1/11/13-1/19/13
   3   Doug McDermott   11/23/13-11/29/13
   3   Trey Alexander   1/20/24-Present

Ryan Rebounder
Ryan Kalkbrenner has grabbed eight or more rebounds in each of the past eight games, scooping up caroms at a 9.4 rebounds per game clip in that time.
   In the last 20 seasons, the only Bluejay with a longer streak of games of eight or more rebounds is Doug McDermott.
Longest CU Streaks of 8+ Rebounds, Last 20 Seasons
   Streak   Name   Dates of Streak
   9   Doug McDermott   1/1/11-1/26/11
   8   Martin Krampelj   12/27/18-1/25/19
   8   Ryan Kalkbrenner   2/26/22-11/7/22
   8   Baylor Scheierman   11/23/22-12/25/22
   8   Ryan Kalkbrenner   1/2/24-1/27/24
   6   Ryan Hawkins   2/12/22-2/26/22
   6   Baylor Scheierman   12/20/23-1/13/24

Can't Stop Them All
Creighton has three different men who have scored in double-digits each of the last five games or more, as Ryan Kalkbrenner (8), Baylor Scheierman (6) and Steven Ashworth (5) have all done so.
   It's the first time CU's had three men with active double-digit streaks of five or longer since last year at this time, when Trey Alexander (10), Ryan Kalkbrenner (7) and Ryan Nembhard (5) did so before it was snapped on Feb. 8 at Seton Hall.

Shoot & Defend The 3
Creighton ranks second in the BIG EAST in three-point percentage (.356), just ahead of third-place Butler (.355).
   Defensively, Creighton leads the BIG EAST by holding foes to 30.2 percent shooting from deep, while Butler is second-best while holding teams to 31.3 percent marksmanship from deep.

Watch This
A pair of Bluejays (so far) have made the Midseason Top 10 Lists at their respective position
   Trey Alexander is one of 10 men up for the Jerry West Award, given to the nation's top shooting guard.
   Baylor Scheierman is one of 10 men up for the Julius Erving Award, given to the nation's top small forward.

Give Me 10
Currently 10-1 inside CHI Health Center Omaha, Creighton now owns at least 10 home wins for the 27th time in the last 28 seasons. The only exception in that time came in 2014-15, when the Jays won nine times at home.
   Creighton should also surpass 200,000 total home fans for the season on Friday. It would be the 18th time in the last 19 years that's happened. The only exception was the 2020-21 season that was impacted by COVID-19, which restricted crowds nationwide.

No Stopping Us Now
Creighton has scored 97, 85 and 85 points in its past three games. Believe it or not, it ties a program record for consecutive 85 point games in conference play.
   Creighton also scored 94, 87 and 93 from Feb. 8-15, 2020 and 93, 85 and 95 from Jan. 15-20, 2003.

The BIG EAST Is Booming
Through games of Sunday, the BIG EAST....
- Leads the nation in Q1 wins per team (2.73).
- Leads the nation in combined Q1 + Q2 wins per team (5.0).
- Leads the nation with eight teams owning a combined Q1 + Q2 wins.
- Leads the nation with most Q1 games played per team (7.73).
- Is tied for the national lead with three teams owning four or more Q1 wins.

Might We See A Running Clock?
Creighton leads the nation with just 11.1 fouls per game, but Friday's foe Butler isn't far behind. The Bulldogs average just 13.6 fouls per contest, 10th-best nationally,
   Creighton leads the nation with 10 games this season of 10 fouls or less, while Butler is tied for second with six such contests.

Yearly Pink Out Totals
Creighton has raised $605,089.18 since the start of the 2011-12 season during its annual men's basketball Pink Out auctions, plus additional money collected on gameday, underwriting or matching donations.
2011-12:   $20,600
2012-13:   $24,444
2013-14:   $48,247.11
2014-15:   $16,384.03
2015-16:   $16,527.90
2016-17:   $26,361.64
2017-18:   $28,796
2018-19:   $19,595
2019-20:   $31,803.18
2020-21:   $40,381
2021-22:   $24,165
2022-23:   $27,432
2023-24:   $36,002.46
Additional Donations:   $244,349.86
13-Year Totals: $605,089.18

Pink Out Auction Raises $36,002.46
When Creighton hosted DePaul on Saturday, January 27th in its 14th Annual Pink Out game, Bluejay players wore pink shooting shirts and pink-trimmed jerseys for the game.
   Fans had the opportunity to honor a friend or family member who has battled cancer or is currently battling cancer by purchasing the apparel via auction.
   All funds raised went to benefit American Cancer Society Hope Lodge Omaha, which provides a free home away from home for cancer patients and their caregivers who must travel to Omaha to receive their lifesaving treatment. More than just a roof over their heads, it's a nurturing community that helps patients access the care they need. This year Nebraska Cancer Specialists generously agreed to match all donations to Hope Lodge raised at the game, up to $30,000.
   The annual Creighton Men's Basketball Pink Out game has raised over $605,089.18 (including the 2023-24 auction) benefiting the Hope Lodge facility in Omaha and the guests it serves.
   This year's auction ran from Jan. 11-21 and raised $36,002.46, while the matching donation and in-game donations generated an additional $72,119.54.
   Below is the final numbers for each jersey/item in the auction this year.
#0   $945   #1   $2025   #2   $1050
#4   $887   #5   $1725   #10   $870
#11   $3600   #12   $847.46   #13   $2000
#14   $872   #15   $2250   #23   $3650
#32   $1005   #33   $1675   #41   $1825
#55   $3150   Golf:   $3250
Greg McDermott's Shoes   $935   Ball 1: $710
Ball 2: $710 Ball 3: $680 Ball 4: $655   Ball 5: $686

Horseshoes & Hand Grenades
Creighton's first 11 years in the BIG EAST have featured 21 games against Butler decided by an average of 13.95 points.
   Creighton has won three of the past four meetings in Omaha by 20 or more points, and six of the past seven Omaha encounters by 11 points or more.
   Avg. Margin   CU W-L   Opponent
   5.63   6-2   Connecticut
   6.82   11-11   Marquette
   8.36   12-13   Xavier
   10.17   10-13   Providence
   10.32   12-10   Seton Hall
   13.48   16-5   St. John's
   13.95   13-8   Butler
   14.08   8-16   Villanova
   14.30   13-10   Georgetown
   17.29   22-1   DePaul

Jumpin' In January
Creighton went 7-1 in January, a feat made all the more impressive that the Jays played four road games. Ryan Kalkbrenner (18.6 ppg., 9.4 rpg.) and Baylor Scheierman (16.5 ppg., 9.1 rpg.) nearly averaged double-doubles in that span, while Trey Alexander (18.8 ppg., 5.0 rpg.) and Steven Ashworth (11.0 ppg.) also scored at a double-figure clip.
   In the past two seasons, Creighton is 12-3 in the month of January. That .800 win percentage ranks tied for fifth-best nationally among Power 6 schools.
   Also encouraging? Creighton's February record since 2020 is the nation's fifth-best winning percentage among "Power 6" schools, and one of those teams (Houston) did it before joining the Big 12.
Best January Records Since 2023, Power 6 Schools
(through 1/30/24)
   Rk.   Pct.   Team   W-L
   1.   .882   Purdue   15-2
   2.   .875   Alabama   14-2
       .875   North Carolina   14-2
   4.   .813   Tennessee   13-3
   5.   .800   Creighton   12-3
       .800   Virginia   12-3
       .800   Houston   12-3

Best February Records Since 2020, Power 6 Schools
(through 1/31/24)
   Rk.   Pct.   Team   W-L
   1.   .853   Kansas   29-5
   2.   .765   UCLA   26-8
   3.   .759   Houston   22-7
   4.   .750   Baylor   21-7
   5.   .733   Creighton   22-8
       .733   Michigan   22-8
   7.   .714   BYU   20-8
   8.   .710   Kentucky   22-9

Terrific Trio
The trio of Baylor Scheierman (17.8 ppg.), Trey Alexander (17.0) and Ryan Kalkbrenner (16.6) have accounted for 64.4 percent of Creighton's points this season.
   Creighton has not had three men finish a season averaging 14 points per game or more in the same year since 1983-84, when Benoit Benjamin (16.2), Vernon Moore (15.0) and Gregory Brandon (14.5) did it.
   Creighton has not had three men finish a season averaging 15 points per game or more in the same year since 1966-67, when Bob Portman (18.3), Tim Powers (17.5) and Wally Anderzunas (15.5) did it.
   Creighton has not had three men finish a season averaging 16 points per game or more in the same year since 1953-54, when Ray Yost (19.9), Eddie Cole (19.6) and Elton Tuttle (18.5) did it.

The Power of 3
Per Elias Sports Bureau, Creighton is one of four "Power 6" teams in the nation to have three players averaging 15 points per game or more, but the only "Power 6" squad with three men scoring 16 points or more per game.
3 Men Over 15 PPG, Power 6 Schools
Creighton   Alexander, Kalkbrenner, Scheierman
Iowa   Perkins, Sandfort, Krikke
Ole Miss   Murrell, Murray, Flanigan
Wake Forest   Hildreth, Miller, Sallis

3 Men Over 16 PPG, All Schools
Creighton   Alexander, Kalkbrenner, Scheierman
Belmont   Dia, Tyson, Gillespie
Furman   Foster, Pegues, Williams

Give Me Twenty
Creighton has had 26 individual scoring performances of 20 or more points this season, including seven such outings in the past three games alone.
   On all but two occasions, Creighton has won the game, losing only when Baylor Scheierman scored 23 points in a loss at No. 10 Marquette and Ryan Kalkbrenner put up 22 at UNLV.
   Creighton is 17-2 all-time when Kalkbrenner scores 20 points or more.
   Creighton is 10-2 when Scheierman scores 20 points or more.
   Creighton is also 16-0 all-time when Trey Alexander scores 20 points or more.
   Nationally, Alexander is the only active player who's team is unbeaten when he scores 20 points or more (min. 15 games of 20+ points), as seen below in this list from Elias Sports Bureau:
Best Team Record When Scoring 20+ Points
(Min. 15 games of 20+ points, active players only)
   Win Pct.   W-L   Player, Team
   1.000   16-0   Trey Alexander, Creighton
   .944   17-1   LJ Cryer, Houston/Baylor
   .933   14-1   Austin Crowley, Southern Miss
   .903   28-3   Tucker DeVries, Drake
   .895   17-2   Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton
   .895   17-2   Justin Wright, Loyola Marymount

Twenty Is Plenty
Trey Alexander owns 11 games this season with 20 points or more, while Baylor Scheierman has done it nine times.
   In 14 seasons under Greg McDermott, only Doug McDermott (3x), Marcus Foster (2x), Ryan Kalkbrenner and Marcus Zegarowski have also done that nine or more times in an entire season.
Most Games With 20+ Points, Season, Since 2010-11
   20+ Pts.   Name   Season
   30   Doug McDermott, Sr.   2013-14
   26   Doug McDermott, Jr.   2012-13
   24   Doug McDermott, So.   2011-12
   18   Marcus Foster, Sr.   2017-18
   12   Marcus Foster, Jr.   2016-17
   11   Trey Alexander, Jr.   2023-24
   9   Marcus Zegarowski, So.   2019-20
   9   Ryan Kalkbrenner, Jr.   2022-23
   9   Baylor Scheierman, Sr.   2023-24

.500 Or Better
Creighton is 7-3 in the BIG EAST at the midpoint of BIG EAST play, giving it a winning percentage of .500 or better at the halfway point in league play for the 26th time in the past 28 seasons.
   Here's how Creighton's teams have fared in the various halves of the MVC/BIG EAST season since 1995-96.
Year   Midway Thru League Play   League
2023-24   7-3   BIG EAST
2022-23   7-3   BIG EAST
2021-22   5-5   BIG EAST
2020-21   7-3   BIG EAST
2019-20   6-3    BIG EAST
2018-19   4-5   BIG EAST
2017-18   6-3   BIG EAST
2016-17   6-3   BIG EAST
2015-16   5-4   BIG EAST
2014-15   1-8   BIG EAST
2013-14   8-1   BIG EAST
2012-13   7-2   Missouri Valley
2011-12   8-1   Missouri Valley
2010-11   5-4   Missouri Valley
2009-10   5-4   Missouri Valley
2008-09   5-4   Missouri Valley
2007-08   5-4   Missouri Valley
2006-07   6-3   Missouri Valley
2005-06   7-2   Missouri Valley
2004-05   5-4   Missouri Valley
2003-04   7-2   Missouri Valley
2002-03   8-1   Missouri Valley
2001-02   8-1   Missouri Valley
2000-01   5-4   Missouri Valley
1999-00   5-4   Missouri Valley
1998-99   6-3   Missouri Valley
1997-98   5-4   Missouri Valley
1996-97   5-4   Missouri Valley
1995-96   4-5   Missouri Valley
Total   168-97 (.634)

11th Heaven
Creighton has won its 11th game on the BIG EAST slate in each of the previous four seasons.
   Additionally, a win on Friday would make Creighton 8-3 in league play. the only better start since the program joined the BIG EAST was its 9-2 open in 2013-14 during its debut season in the league. Creighton also started 8-3 in 2020-21 and 2022-23.

McDermott Among The Best
Greg McDermott ranks 10th in league history with 116 regular-season league wins, putting him just one behind Rick Pitino entering the week (Pitino plays at Xavier on Wednesday).
   McDermott, along with Ed Cooley and 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 (thru 1/30)
   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.   122   Ed Cooley, Providence/G'Town
   9.   117   Rick Pitino, Prov./Louisville/SJU
   10.   116   Greg McDermott, Creighton
   11.   115   Jamie Dixon, Pittsburgh

Kalkbrenner & Alexander Shoot Up Points List
Trey Alexander became the 46th player in Creighton history to reach 1,000 career points on Jan. 6 vs. No. 23 Providence. The milestone came in Alexander's 87th career contest.
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.   1,515   Ryan Kalkbrenner   2020-Pres.
   14.   1,500   Kevin McKenna   1977-81
   15.   1,437   Eddie Cole   1951-55
   16.   1,369   Gene Harmon   1971-74
   17.   1,361   Duan Cole   1987-92
   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.   1,117   Trey Alexander   2021-Pres.
   36.   1,116   Kenny Evans   1982-87

Fun With Numbers
Ryan Kalkbrenner played 53:34 on Jan. 20th at Seton Hall, including the final 45:57 without a break. Since 2005-06, the only other 7-footer to play 53 minutes or more in any college game was former Connecticut center Hasheem Thabeet. The 7-foot-3 UConn big man played 53 minutes in a memorable six-overtime loss to Syracuse that started on March 12, 2009 at the BIG EAST Tournament.
   Speaking of Kalkbrenner, his seven blocked shots that day tied the most ever by one of Greg McDermott's players in his 751 games as a Division I head coach. Gregory Echenique had seven vs. Missouri State on Jan. 22, 2011.
   Kalkbrenner became the first player from a "Power 6" conference with at least 28 points, nine rebounds and seven blocks in a game since Providence's Herbert Hill (29/15/8) vs. Syracuse on Feb. 24, 2007.
   Last but not least on Kalkbrenner, his 23 field goal attempts were a career-high and came on the heels of a season-low five attempts in a loss at UConn.
   Baylor Scheierman (20/10/6/0) became the first BIG EAST player since Georgetown's Jessie Govan (20/10/6/0) vs. UNC Greensboro on Dec. 22, 2016) to finish with at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and no turnovers.
   Kadary Richmond attempted 32 field goals were the most against Creighton by a single player in at least 40 seasons, four more than the 28 by Western Michigan's Jim Havrilla on Dec. 8, 1990.
   Creighton had 82 field goal attempts at Seton Hall, its most in a game in at least 35 years. Seton Hall had 86 field goal attempts on Saturday, the most by a Creighton opponent in at least 35 years. It was the first BIG EAST game since at least 2010 in which both teams attempted 80 or more shots.
   Creighton made 13 three-pointers and blocked 10 shots in that game vs. Seton Hall. It was its first time with 10 or more in both categories since Feb. 17, 2002 vs. Wichita State.
   Creighton is the nation's only team from a "Power 6" conference with five road wins in both men's and women's basketball this season. The only 14 teams nationally that can say that are Albany, Chattanooga, Charleston, Creighton, Eastern Washington, Fairfield, Grand Canyon, Green Bay, Montana, Niagara, Princeton, St. Thomas, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Toledo.

Working Overtime
Creighton's 97-94 triple-overtime win at Seton Hall on Jan. 20th was its second overtime contest of the season, having also gone an extra five minutes to Villanova one month earlier (losing 68-66) on Dec. 20th in Omaha.
   It was just the second triple-overtime game in history for Creighton, joining a Feb. 1, 1978 loss (85-82) in Omaha to No. 13 DePaul in a non-conference contest.
   Creighton's last overtime win had been its 72-69 win over San Diego State during the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
   Creighton is 62-52 all-time in all games with at least one overtime, including a 12-8 mark under Greg McDermott.

On The Triple
The Jan. 20th triple-overtime thriller was the first BIG EAST game to go three overtimes or longer since No. 11 Providence beat Xavier 99-92 on Feb. 23, 2022.
   In fact, that's the only other triple-overtime game since the BIG EAST reconfigured on July 1, 2013.
   This season, there's only been six games nationally to go three overtimes or longer, as seen below:
Date   Winner   Loser   Score
11/16/23   Nicholls   at South Alabama   102-97
11/29/23   at Temple   La Salle   106-99
01/03/24   Fordham   at George Washington   119-113
01/13/24   at Winthrop   Radford   92-88
01/20/24   #18 Creighton   at Seton Hall   97-94

Doing It All
Creighton's Baylor Scheierman and Providence's Devin Carter are the only two men in the BIG EAST to average at least 15.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game this season.
   Prior to this year, only eight BIG EAST players have ever accomplished that feat over the course of a full season.
BIG EAST Players To Average 15 PPG, 8 RPG, 3 APG
Season   Name, School   PPG   RPG   APG
1979-80   Louis Orr, Syracuse   16.0   8.5   3.5
1989-90   Billy Owens, Syracuse   18.2   8.4   4.6
1990-91   Billy Owens, Syracuse   23.3   11.6   3.5
1995-96   Adrian Griffin, Seton Hall   19.5   8.3   3.1
1999-00   Ricardo Greer, Pitt   18.1   9.8   3.2
2004-05   Ryan Gomes, Providence   21.6   8.2   3.2
2009-10   Greg Monroe, Georgetown   16.1   9.6   3.8
2018-19   Alpha Diallo, Providence   16.0   8.1   3.1
2023-24   Baylor Scheierman, CU   17.8   8.1   3.8
2023-24   Devin Carter, Providence   18.6   8.0   3.3

55 Minutes For Number 55
Baylor Scheierman played all 55 minutes on Jan. 20th at Seton Hall, setting a Creighton single-game record.
   He's the first BIG EAST player to play 55 minutes or more in a game since four men 60 by Eric Atkins; 56 each by Pat Connaughton, Chane Behanan and Russ Smith) did in a five-overtime Louisville/Notre Dame game on Feb. 9, 2013.
   He's the first BIG EAST player to play 55 minutes or more without leaving the floor since DePaul's Will Walker played all 55 minutes vs. St. John's on March 5, 2010.
   Scheierman is the second player in the country to play 55 minutes or more this season in a game, joining La Salle's Khalil Brantley at Temple on Nov. 29th.
   Scheierman leads the BIG EAST with 39.3 minutes per game in conference action this winter, a number made even more preposterous when you consider he logged only 60 of a possible 80 minutes in two games vs. DePaul this year.

Overtime Is Trey Time
Trey Alexander's three-pointer with 28.4 seconds left in triple-overtime gave Creighton a 93-91 lead it would not surrender at Seton Hall, but it's not the first time he's provided overtime heroics. He had also given CU a 90-89 lead with 55.6 left on a jumper.
   Alexander has been on the field for all 35 overtime minutes of each of Creighton's last four games to go beyond 40 minutes, and he's been excellent each time.
   He's shot 10-for-16 from the field (.625), including 1-for-2 from three-point range (.500) while making 7-of-8 free throws (.875). Alexander also has two assists and two blocked shots in that span.
   Alexander has scored 28 of Creighton's 61 overtime points in those four contests.

Block Party
Ryan Kalkbrenner owned a career-high seven blocked shots on Jan. 20 at Seton Hall. That made him the first Bluejay since Gregory Echenique had seven rejections on Jan. 22, 2011 at Missouri State.
   The only other Bluejays in the last 30 seasons with seven or more rejections in a game are Kenny Lawson Jr. (7 at Evansville on Jan. 3, 2010) and Doug Swenson (8 at UMKC on Nov. 18, 1998).
   Benoit Benjamin dominates Creighton's single-game blocked shot list, as seen below:
   Blk.   Name, Opponent   Date
   12   Benoit Benjamin at Bradley   02/02/85
   11   Benoit Benjamin vs. Tulsa   02/16/84
   10   Benoit Benjamin vs. Omaha   12/22/83
       Benoit Benjamin at Illinois State   03/08/84
       Benoit Benjamin vs. Southern Illinois   01/17/85
   9   Benoit Benjamin vs. West Texas A&M   01/21/84
   8   Benoit Benjamin vs. Iowa State   12/10/83
       Benoit Benjamin at Chaminade   12/19/84
       Benoit Benjamin at Tulsa   01/12/85
       Doug Swenson at UMKC   11/18/98

What's Your 20?
Last Tuesday's game vs. Xavier was Creighton's 20th contest of the season. Creighton was .500 or better after 20 games for the 28th time in the last 29 seasons.
Creighton -- First 20 Games, Since 1997-98
Year   First 20 W-L   Final W-L   Postseason
2023-24   15-5   ? ? ?   ? ? ?
2022-23   12-8   24-13   NCAA
2021-22   13-7   23-12   NCAA
2020-21   15-5   22-9   NCAA
2019-20   15-5   24-7   Canceled
2018-19   12-8   20-15   NIT
2017-18   15-5   21-12   NCAA
2016-17   18-2   25-10   NCAA
2015-16   14-6   20-15   NIT
2014-15   9-11   14-19   --
2013-14   17-3   27-8   NCAA
2012-13   17-3   28-8   NCAA
2011-12   18-2   29-6   NCAA
2010-11   13-7   23-16   CBI
2009-10   10-10   18-16   CIT
2008-09   15-5   27-8   NIT
2007-08   14-6   22-11   NIT
2006-07   13-7   22-11   NCAA
2005-06   15-5    20-10   NIT
2004-05   13-7   23-11   NCAA
2003-04   17-3   20-9   NIT
2002-03   18-2   29-5   NCAA
2001-02   14-6   23-9   NCAA
2000-01   14-6   24-8   NCAA
1999-00   14-6   23-10   NCAA
1998-99   14-6   22-9   NCAA
1997-98   14-6   18-10   NIT

Ashworth Doing His Job
Steven Ashworth is second in the BIG EAST with a 3.7 assist/turnover ratio in BIG EAST play as he's dished 44 assists against just 12 turnovers in league action.
   In the last six games he's been even better with 29 helpers and just six miscues.
   Creighton is 12-1 this year when Ashworth has one turnover or less.

The Road Difference
Creighton has outscored teams by 55 points in its eight true road games this season. That's the eighth-best mark in the nation, and better than all other "Power 6" schools (North Carolina is next-closest at +52).
Best Point Differential, True Road Games (1/30)
   Rk.   Team   Road W-L   Differential
   1.   UMass-Lowell   8-3   +84
   2.   Gonzaga   3-2   +70
   3.   Akron   6-2   +66
   4.   McNeese State   7-2   +62
   5.   James Madison   7-2   +61
   6.   Princeton   7-2   +60
   7.   Saint Mary's   5-0   +59
   8.   Creighton   5-3   +55
   9.   UC-San Diego   5-5   +54
   10.   North Carolina   5-1   +52

The Road Less Traveled
Creighton and North Carolina are the nation's only teams in the top 19 of the NET with five or more true road wins this season.
   Creighton, North Carolina and Saint Mary's are the nation's only teams with five or more true road wins and three or more Quad 1 wins.
   Creighton and North Carolina are the nation's only "Power 6" team with five or more true road wins this season.
   Creighton's four true road wins by 14 points or more are tied for the most the country. Purdue (3), Auburn (2), Duke (2), Illinois (2) and Kansas State (2) are the only other "Power 6" schools with more than one against "Power 6" competition.
   This season marks the first time that Creighton has picked up multiple road wins by 25 points or more since 1963-64.

Pure Charity
Creighton has shot 70 percent or better at the free throw line in each of its last 17 conference games.
   That's the program's longest such streak since at least 1987-88, and is also the nation's longest active such streak, two games longer than Ball State and five more than Clemson's 12.
   Creighton is shooting 76.1 percent from the line this season, while last year's team set a program-record by converting 78.3 percent of its charity tries.

Scheierman Makes Wooden Award Cut
Creighton's Baylor Scheierman has landed a spot on the Midseason Top 25 for the John R. Wooden® Award presented by Principal®. Chosen by a poll of national college basketball experts, the list is comprised of 25 student-athletes who are the early front-runners for college basketball's most prestigious individual honor.
   This year marks the seventh time in the past 13 seasons that Creighton is represented on the Wooden Award Midseason 25 list. Creighton's Doug McDermott won the Wooden Award following the 2013-14 season after also being a finalist in both 2011-12 and 2012-13. Maurice Watson Jr. was on the list of 25 in 2016-17 and Marcus Foster was among those listed a year later, as was Marcus Zegarowski in 2020-21. None of those three most recent men advanced to the final cut.
   The only other BIG EAST players to make the Midseason Top 25 list are Tyler Kolek and Tristen Newton.

Chairmen Of The Boards
Ryan Kalkbrenner owns 738 rebounds, and has grabbed eight or more boards in 11 of his last 12 games.
   He enters Friday's contest eighth in program history after moving up two spots last month.
   Reb.   Name   Years
   1,751   Paul Silas   1961-64
   1,126   Bob Harstad   1987-91
   1,088   Doug McDermott   2010-14
   1,005   Benoit Benjamin   1982-85
   979   Bob Portman   1966-69
   891   Chad Gallagher   1987-91
   762   Kenny Lawson Jr.   2006-11
   738   Ryan Kalkbrenner   2020-Pres.
   716   Rodney Buford   1995-99
   709   Rick Apke   1974-78

Sultan of Swat
Ryan Kalkbrenner ranks second in program history in blocked shots with 254.
Most Creighton Blocked Shots, Since 1979-80
   Blk.   Name   Years
   411   Benoit Benjamin   1982-85
   254   Ryan Kalkbrenner   2020-Pres.
   183   Chad Gallagher   1987-91
   174   Gregory Echenique   2010-13
   153   Kenny Lawson Jr.   2006-11

Miscellaneous Stats to Watch
Creighton's has won 38 straight games when scoring 16 or more bench points.
   Creighton is 11-0 when scoring 30 or more paint points this season.
   Creighton is 13-0 this year when it isn't outscored by 10 or more points in the paint this year.
   Creighton is 10-0 this year when scoring 11 or more second chance points and 19-3 since the start of last season when scoring 11 or more second chance points.
   Creighton is 9-0 this season and has won 12 straight games overall when Trey Alexander shoots 50 percent or better from the field.

Baylor Ball
Of the 1,112 career rebounds that Baylor Scheierman has snared, only 107 of them (9.6 percent) have come on the offensive glass.
   Scheierman leads all BIG EAST players with 154 defensive rebounds this season, but is tied for 45th with 16 offensive rebounds.
   Last year Scheierman became the only "Power 6" player in the last 25 seasons with at least 270 defensive rebounds and less than 40 offensive rebounds.
   Per Basketball-Reference.com, Scheierman owns 23 career games of 10 or more rebounds without snaring an offensive board. That makes him one of just two players nationally since 2010-11 with more than 10 such contests, joining Weber State's Dillon Jones (23).
   One other quirky stat about Scheierman? He owned 1,088 career rebounds in his first 145 career games. Those are the exact same numbers that Doug McDermott finished his college career with.

Meet The Alexander's
Though they're not related, the stats of Ty-Shon Alexander (2017-20) and Trey Alexander (2021-Present) are pretty similar through 93 career games.
   That's a positive development considering that Ty-Shon was a First Team All-BIG EAST choice who helped Creighton to a share of the 2020 BIG EAST title and later played for the 2021 NBA runner-up Phoenix Suns.
Through 93 Career Games
Name   PTS   REB   AST   BLK   STL   FG%   3FG%   FT%
Ty-Shon   1152   342   209   21   84   .418   .370   .807
Trey   1117   414   280   41   86   .441   .350   .815

Scheierman The Scorer?
Baylor Scheierman is third in the BIG EAST Conference in scoring at 17.8 points per game, but does own a league-high 374 points scored.
   Before being held to nine points on Jan. 6 vs. Providence, Scheierman had become just the third Creighton player in the last 25 seasons to score in double-figures each of the first 14 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.

Triple Trouble
Baylor Scheierman has made 312 three-pointers over the course of 148 collegiate games, but he'd never had seven three-pointers in the same game until Dec. 30th at Marquette.
   Scheierman's performance was tied for 10th-most in program history. The only other Bluejay to make seven triples against a top 10 foe had been Ethan Wragge's nine trifectas at No. 4 Villanova on Jan. 20, 2014.
   3FG   Name, Opponent   Date
   11   Mitch Ballock vs. DePaul   03/09/19
   9   Kyle Korver vs. Evansville   01/15/03
       Ethan Wragge at Villanova   01/20/14
   8   Tad Ackerman at Drake   01/23/95
       Kyle Korver at Xavier   12/31/02
       Terrell Taylor vs. Florida   03/15/02
       Isaiah Zierden at DePaul   01/17/16
       Mitch Ballock vs. Marquette   12/14/20
       Ryan Hawkins at Georgetown   02/12/22
   7   Gary Swain vs. Nebraska-Omaha   12/11/86
       Ryan Sears vs. Wyoming   12/06/97
       Kyle Korver vs. Notre Dame   11/26/02
       Kyle Korver vs. Fresno State   02/22/03
       Nate Funk at Nebraska   11/18/06
       Booker Woodfox at Saint Joseph's   12/06/08
       Ethan Wragge at Saint Joseph's   11/16/13
       Doug McDermott vs. DePaul   03/13/14
       Cole Huff vs. Seton Hall   03/10/16
       Ty-Shon Alexander vs. Clemson   11/21/18
       Mitch Ballock at Nebraska   12/08/18
       Marcus Zegarowski vs. Butler   02/23/20
       Mitch Ballock at Seton Hall   01/27/21
       Trey Alexander vs. DePaul   12/25/22
       Trey Alexander vs. Georgetown   03/01/23
       Baylor Scheierman at Marquette   12/30/23

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)

Among The Best
Creighton owns more BIG EAST wins (60) than any other school in the last five seasons, six more than Villanova's 54.
   Since the league's 2013 realignment, Villanova has 143 league wins to lead the BIG EAST by a wide margin, but Creighton's 116 league victories are second-most.
Most Men's Basketball BIG EAST Wins
(2019-20 to 1/30/24)
Team   W   L   Pct.
Creighton   60   27   .690
Villanova   54   29   .651
Providence   53   30   .639
Marquette   51   35   .593
Seton Hall   51   36   .586
UConn   45   20   .692
Xavier   41   38   .519
St. John's   35   50   .412
Butler   35   53   .398
Georgetown   15   67   .183
DePaul   14   69   .1769

Most Men's Basketball BIG EAST Wins
(2013-14 to 1/30/24)
Team   W   L   Pct.
Villanova   144   47   .754
Creighton   116   79   .595
Providence   111   80   .581
Xavier   107   80   .572
Seton Hall   104   91   .533
Marquette   103   91   .531
Butler   89   107   .454
St. John's   75   118   .389
Georgetown   61   129   .321
UConn   45   20   .692
DePaul   39   152   .204

Jays Don't Foul...Do You Follow?
Creighton leads the nation with just 11.14 fouls per game...let's take a minute to appreciate just how few that is.
   Lipscomb is second-best at avoiding fouls, committing 12.6 per game.
   Creighton is one of three teams nationally (with Vermont and Campbell) that has not had a player foul out this season, and the only "Power 6" team.
   Creighton has committed three fouls or less in nine halves this year.
   Creighton has had more than nine fouls in just three halves (including OT) this season, which means its opponents have been in the double-bonus just three times.
   Creighton has allowed just 15 made free throws in a 1-and-1 situation all year, and just 10 made free throws in the double bonus all season (6 of those came in an overtime session).
   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)
#10 Marquette   5   11
Georgetown   4   6
#23 Providence   5   6
St. John's   3   5
DePaul   6   10
#1 Connecticut   5   9
Seton Hall   3   5 (6 more in 3 OT's)
Xavier   6   8
DePaul   5   4
Total   94   130 (10 more in OT)

3 & D
Creighton leads the nation in fewest fouls per game (11.14) and is ninth in three-pointers per game (10.4).
   In its Dec. 9 romp over Central Michigan the Jays became the nation's only team since at least 2005-06 to score 102+ points and commit 5 fouls or less in the same game against a Division I opponent.

Biggest in the BIG EAST
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 27,351 points all-time at CHI Health Center Omaha, passing the 27,000 mark on Dec. 20 vs. Villanova.
   Creighton has outscored the opposition 27,351-22,854 at the 21-year old facility in 349 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, then did it again on Jan. 17 at No. 1 UConn. He notched a career-high seven rejections on Jan. 20 in a triple-OT win at Seton Hall.
   That's now 11 times 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 254 career blocked shots rank third among the nation's active players.
   In January, Kalkbrenner had four or more blocks in four straight games, Creighton's longest such streak since Benoit Benjamin did it in an incredible 12 straight games from Jan. 12-, Feb. 20, 1985. The streak featured games of 8, 10, 5, 4, 7, 12, 6, 5, 5, 6, 4 and 4 blocks.

Seeing Three's
Creighton has made 14 or more three-pointers in five different games this year, tied for sixth-most nationally. 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 is also second-most behind Liberty (5).
   The Bluejays have had three different games this season in which they've made 10 or more triples before halftime.
   Creighton has made three or more three-pointers in all but three halves this season.

Circling The Target
Benoit Benjamin has the only three triple-doubles in Creighton 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
Alexander   at #10 Marquette   18   6   6
Alexander   at Seton Hall   23   8   7
Scheierman   at Seton Hall   20   10   6
Kalkbrenner   at Seton Hall   28   9   7 blk

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 Jan. 30, CU ranked fifth in the country in two-point percentage (.598) 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 third-most among all Power 5/BIG EAST teams nationally in that span, trailing only North Carolina (37) and Iowa (26).
   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 16 wins, Creighton has scored 691 points before halftime (43.19 per game), and put up 40 or more points in the first half 11 of the 16 contests.
   In its five losses the Jays have averaged just 58.6 points per game, and 26.4 first half points.
   Creighton has won 16 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 tenure 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 is second in the BIG EAST with 45.1 percent marksmanship from three-point land while Traudt is fifth at 42.0 percent.

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 a BIG EAST – Big 12 Battle victory at Oklahoma State. The 79-65 loss was OSU'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 twice this season.
   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 9.71 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.

Ain't Life Grand?
Baylor Scheierman owns 1,960 points, 1,112 rebounds, 522 assists and has made 312 career three-pointers in 148 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
Baylor Scheierman, SDSU/Creighton   1,112   312
Doug McDermott, Creighton   1,088   274

1,050+ Rebounds, 500 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
Baylor Scheierman, SDSU/Creighton   1,112   522

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

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

Among The Best...EVER!
Ryan Kalkbrenner has made 611 of 929 career shots, putting him at 65.8 percent overall. That places the senior center fifth 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
   .664 (702-1058)   Todd MacCulloch, Washington   1995-99
   .658 (611-929)   Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton   2020-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   21   72
20-Point Games   11   5
Dunks   5   2
Double-Doubles   2   0
Points Per Game   17.0   10.6
Rebounds Per Game   6.0   4.0
Assists Per Game   4.7   2.5

Nationally Speaking
Through games of Jan. 30th, Creighton is all over the NCAA stat leaders. The Bluejays rank in the top 20 of seven different team and seven individual categories.
   Rank   Category   Stat
   1   Fouls Per Game   11.1
   3   Defensive Rebounds Per Game   30.71
   6   Average Home Attendance   17,141
   6   Blocks (Kalkbrenner)   55
   6   Blocks Per Game (Kalkbrenner)   2.62
   9   Three-Pointers Per Game   10.4
   10   Total Home Attendance   188,554
   10   Three-Point Attempts Per Game   29.3
   12   3FG Attempts (Scheierman)   174
   12   Effective FG%   .567
   13   3FG Made (Scheierman)   66
   13   Def. Rebounds/Game (Scheierman)   7.33
   19   Field Goal Pct. (Kalkbrenner)   .626
   20   Minutes Per Game (Alexander)   36.00

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 Jan. 30, 2024
Category   CU Stat   CU Rank
3FG Made   4,162   2nd
2-Point FG Percentage   .548   3rd
FG Percentage   .476   4th
Assists   7,507   6th
3-Point FG Percentage   .374   7th
FG Made   12,859   7th
Points   35,954   9th
Wins   316   24th
Winning Percentage   .671   30th

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.

Bahamas Bounce
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.
       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.

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%)

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.

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 ranked 13th in the January 29th 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.
   Creighton has been ranked in the Top 10 on 27 different occasions in program history, 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 133 times in program history, with 106 of those under the direction of McDermott. Creighton is 166-68 all-time as a ranked team, including a 132-56 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 13th in the Jan. 29th 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.

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

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

23 of 25 Seasons With 20 Wins
Creighton has won 20 or more games in 23 of the 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

Release, Rotation, Splash, Repeat
Creighton has made at least one three-pointer in 1,006 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 (1/30)
   Rk.   Streak   School   Next Game
   1.   1,214   UNLV   2/3
   2.   1,209   Duke   2/3
   3.   1,145   East Tennessee State   1/31
   4.   1,119   Oakland   2/1
   5.   1,118   Pacific   2/1
   6.   1,115   Texas   2/3
   7.   1,057   Marshall   2/1
   8.   1,042   Gonzaga   2/3
   9.   1,038   Princeton   2/2
   10.   1,006   Creighton   2/2
   11.   1,003   Long Island   2/1
   12.   994   Mount St. Mary's   2/2

Triple Trouble
During Creighton's current streak of 1,006 straight games with a three-pointer, the Jays have drained 8,004 trifectas, an average of 7.96 treys per game.
   That's not surprising since during the streak, Creighton has made exactly seven three-pointers 148 times, more than any figure.
   Only five times in the streak has Creighton made just one three-pointer, but on 295 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 76-17 when making eight or more three-pointers, compared to a 31-28 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: 105 times
7:   148 times   8:   126 times   9: 93 times
10: 84 times   11: 58 times   12: 60 times
13: 46 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

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.   18,571   DePaul   01/27/24
   10.   18,525   Marquette   12/31/13
   11.   18,519   #8 Seton Hall   03/07/20
   12.   18,518   Georgetown   01/27/18
   13.   18,509   Villanova   02/04/23
   14.   18,495   Marquette   02/17/18
   15.   18,494   Illinois State   02/09/13
   16.   18,458   Evansville   12/29/12
   17.   18,436   Bradley   01/28/12
   18.   18,323   DePaul   02/07/14
   19.   18,321   #3 Villanova   02/24/18
   20.   18,294   #19 Iowa State   12/04/21

CHI Health Center Omaha Success
Creighton has played 349 regular and postseason contests at CHI Health Center Omaha all-time in the 21-year-old facility.
   The Bluejays own a 288-61 (.825) 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 27,351-22,854 in games at CHI Health Center Omaha, an average margin of 12.89 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 41-29 when trailing at halftime at CHI Health Center Omaha.
   Creighton is 191-43 (.815) 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 307-61 (.834) at home since the start of the 2002-03 campaign.

Home Run
Under Greg McDermott Creighton is averaging 80.59 points per home game (18,857 points in 234 home games), a figure that climbs to 84.37 points in non-conference home games (9,281 points in 110 home games).
   Creighton is 143-6 all-time at CHI Health Center Omaha when scoring 80 or points.

McDermott Ranks Second On CU Wins List
Greg McDermott has 316 victories at Creighton, good for second place on CU's all-time wins list.
   McDermott's .671 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.   316-155   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

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   38   14   16

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

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

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 6.1 points per game this season and shooting 44.9 percent from three-point range for the Spurs, which ranks sixth in the NBA.
   In his career, McDermott has played in 633 games and averaged 9.1 points per game. He ranks 21st in NBA history with 41.3 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.

#13 Men's Basketball Opens February on Friday vs. Butler

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