Tag: Basketball

By: Rob Anderson

Game #21: Creighton Bluejays (15-6, 8-2) at Villanova Wildcats (12-9, 5-5)

Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025 • 12:00 p.m. Central • Philadelphia, Pa. • Wells Fargo Center

| LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES | VU NOTES |

Next Game

Creighton (15-6, 8-2 BIG EAST) opens February with a Saturday afternoon road game against Villanova (12-9, 5-5 BIG EAST).

    Wells Fargo Center (21,000) in Philadelphia, Pa., will host the action, which tips off at 12 p.m. Central.

Radio Broadcast Information

KOZN (1620 AM) and KOOO (101.9 FM) will carry Creighton men’s basketball games during the 2024-25 season. John Bishop will call the action.  

    The audio is webcast at 1620thezone.com and can also be heard on SiriusXM channel 386 as well as https://sxm.app.link/SXM976.

Television Broadcast Information

Saturday’s game will be televised on FOX with Tim Brando and Donny Marshall on the call.

    A live stream of the contest can also be viewed at http://foxsports.com/live.

    

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.

    Stats to all home games can also be followed at www.gocreightonstats.com.

Scouting Creighton

Creighton is 15-6 this year and 8-2 in BIG EAST play after six straight wins. The Bluejays are the only team in the last 15 years to post a win over the defending national champion (#14 UConn on Jan. 18), defending NIT champion (Seton Hall on Jan. 25) and the nation’s top-ranked team (#1 Kansas on Dec. 4) in different games of the same season.

    Senior Ryan Kalkbrenner (18.3 ppg., 8.4 rpg., 2.9 bpg., .668 FG%) was named Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year and has been named a Preseason First Team All-American by CBS Sports, Fox Sports and Field of 68. In addition to being one of the most efficient shooters in NCAA history, Kalkbrenner is also a three-time BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year.  He’s been named BIG EAST and National Player of the Week on both Nov. 11 and Jan. 21, and became the third player in CU history to surpass 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds.

    Senior Steven Ashworth (16.6 ppg., 6.8 apg., .973 FT%) is back at point guard, and is joined on the wing by Jamiya Neal (11.6 ppg., 5.7 rpg., 4.1 apg.). Also coming on strong is super-sub Isaac Traudt (5.9 ppg,. .433 3FG%), who has scored in double-figures in four of the last five games.

    Creighton averages 76.0 points per game and shoots 47.9 percent from the field, 35.4 percent from three-point range and 75.6 percent at the line while outrebounding foes by 3.1 caroms per game.

Scouting Villanova

Villanova is 12-9 on the season and 5-5 in BIG EAST play after losing four of its last five games.

    Senior center Eric Dixon has scored 16 points or more in every game and leads the nation in scoring with 24.6 points per game. The big man leads the team with 67 three-pointers and ranks sixth nationally with his 46.2 percent marksmanship from downtown.

    Wooga Poplar (13.6 ppg., 6.5 rpg.), Jordan Longino (11.7 ppg.) and Jhamir Brickus (11.0 ppg.) also score in double-figures.

    The Wildcats average 76.8 points per contest and allow just 68.7 per game. VU shoots 47.3 percent from the field, 40.0 percent from three-point range and 79.5 percent at the line, and also is +5.1 rebounds per game.

The Series With Villanova

Villanova leads the all-time series with Creighton, 19-10, including an 11-3 mark in Pennsylvania. CU is 3-2 inside Wells Fargo Center against the Wildcats.

    Seven of the last 12 meetings at all sites have been decided by double-figures, but last year the road team won each meeting by exactly two points.

    Greg McDermott is 10-15 against Villanova and 4-2 against Kyle Neptune.

The Creighton Coaches

Greg McDermott (Northern Iowa, 1988) owns a 340-166 record in his 15th season with the Bluejays, as he passed Dana Altman (327-176) as the winningest coach in program history on Nov. 13, 2024. He owns a career mark of 620-361 in his 31st season, and is 489-297 in his 24th 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 its 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, Derek Kellogg and Trey Zeigler.

With A Win…

– Creighton would start BIG EAST play 9-2, matching its best start through 11 league games since joining the BIG EAST. CU also opened 9-2 in 2013-14 in its first BIG EAST campaign.

– Creighton would win its seventh straight game, its longest streak in BIG EAST play since winning eight in a row from Jan. 14 – Feb. 11, 2023.

– Creighton would pick up its 11th win vs. Villanova since the start of the 2013-14 season, tied for the most nationally with Marquette.

– Creighton would improve to 4-2 in games at Wells Fargo Center against Villanova, and 5-3 in the facility under Greg McDermott.

– Creighton would win its ninth straight game on FOX.

– Creighton would win its fourth straight BIG EAST road game for the first time since Jan. 27 – Feb. 9, 2021.

Milestone Watch

– Steven Ashworth has made at least one three-pointer in 39 consecutive contests, CU’s second-longest streak in program history.

– Mason Miller is 10 points away from 300 in his career, and his next three-pointer will be the 75th of his career.

– Jamiya Neal has made 96 three-pointers in his career (28 at Creighton).

– Isaac Traudt owns 95 career rebounds and is five shy of 100.

Kalkbrenner Goes For 29

Ryan Kalkbrenner had 29 points and nine rebounds on Wednesday against Xavier. The fifth-year center has played in 88 career BIG EAST games, but the 29 points were the most he’s ever had against a league foe.

    Kalkbrenner previously had 28 at Seton Hall on Jan. 20, 2024 in a triple-overtime win, and also had 28 at Xavier on Feb. 10, 2024 last season.

Sixth Man Emerging

Isaac Traudt has scored in double-figures in four of his last five games. His four gams in double-figures as a reserve during league play are tied for the BIG EAST lead this season.

    Traudt and Jackson McAndrew, who typically share the minutes at the “4” for Creighton, have averaged a combined 14.0 points and 5.3 rebounds per game in 39.0 minutes per contest during CU’s six-game win streak.

10+ Points As A Reserve in BE Play, 2024-25

    G    Name, School

    4    Isaac Traudt, Creighton

    4    Layden Blocker, DePaul

    4    Curtis Williams, Georgetown

    3    Jabri Abdur-Rahim, Providence

    3    Dante Maddox, Jr., Xavier

    3    Aidan Mahaney, UConn

    3    Tarris Reed Jr., UConn

    3    Andre Screen, Butler

Round Two Begins

Creighton and Villanova have both reached the midpoint of the BIG EAST schedule having played all 10 other schools once each.

    That’s in stark comparison to a team like Xavier, which has already played both meetings with title contenders such as Marquette, St. John’s and UConn.

FOX Rocks

Saturday will mark Creighton’s third appearance on FOX this season, which already features road wins at Butler and UConn.

    After a rough start on FOX, the network has been a good luck charm for the Bluejays in recent seasons, helping CU improve to 20-17 on the channel since joining the BIG EAST.

    Creighton lost its first seven appearances and was 2-10 on FOX in its first six seasons as a BIG EAST member. Since then, Creighton is 18-7 on the network, including eight straight victories.

Creighton’s Record on FOX Since 2013-14

Year    W-L

2013-14    0-0

2014-15    0-0

2015-16    0-1

2016-17    0-4

2017-18    1-3 (lost first 2)

2018-19    1-2 (won last 1)

2019-20    2-0

2020-21    5-2 (won first 4)

2021-22    0-3

2022-23    3-2

2023-24    6-0

2024-25    2-0 (so far)

Road Vibes

Creighton has won each of its last three BIG EAST road games, the first time it’s done that since Jan. 17 – Feb. 8, 2023 when it upended Butler, Georgetown and Seton Hall consecutively.

    Creighton has not won four BIG EAST road games in a row since Jan. 27 – Feb. 9, 2021, when it defeated Seton Hall, DePaul, Marquette and Georgetown on the road during the COVID-19 season with minimal crowds.

    Creighton last won four straight conference road games against crowds when it won its final two Missouri Valley Conference road games (Feb. 16 & 27, 2013) and its first two BIG EAST road games Jan. 4 & 7, 2014).

Last Shot Wins?

Creighton and Villanova traded gut punches last season, as both visiting teams won on a shot in the final 30 seconds.

    In the first meeting last December, Creighton led by as much as 14 but scored just six points in the final 10:45 of regulation. In overtime, Eric Dixon made a three-pointer with 28.3 seconds left to help Nova to a 68-66 win as Creighton missed on three chances in the final seconds to tie or take the lead.

    The second meeting on March 9 to end the regular-season was just as unique. Creighton made eight three-pointers in the first eight minutes and raced to a 32-8 lead to stun the Wells Fargo Center crowd, but Villanova fought all the way back to tie the score on three free throws by Dixon with 23.6 seconds left. Creighton guard Trey Alexander then won it as he floated across the lane to hit a fadeaway jumper with 0.2 left for the win.

    Villanova’s last three home games have been decided by a total of five points.

Dixon Doing It All

Eric Dixon leads the nation with 24.6 points per game, a scary sight considering his history against Creighton.

    Dixon has scored 183 points in nine all-time meetings against the Bluejays, good for 20.3 points per game. That’s his most points and highest scoring average against any other BIG EAST foe. Since 1996-97, the only player to score more points against Creighton was former Evansville star Colt Ryan’s 201.

    Creighton is the only team that Dixon has ever scored 20 points against more than three straight meetings. He has made 25-of-50 three-pointers  (.500) in his career against CU, 11 more makes than what he’s done against any other school.

    Dixon has scored 20 points or more in each of his last six meetings against Creighton, the longest streak by any Bluejay opponent since at least 2009-10.

    The only other BIG EAST player in the last 20 seasons to score 20 points or more in six straight meetings against the same league opponent was Marquette’s Markus Howard, who did it in seven straight meetings vs. Villanova and six in a row against Seton Hall.

    Dixon enters Saturday having scored in double-figures in 36 games in a row, the nation’s third-longest active streak and one behind Marquette’s Kam Jones for the longest in the league.

Endless Range In Philly in 2014

Creighton set a BIG EAST and school-record with 21 three-point baskets in a 28-point win at No. 4 Villanova in 2014 the first time the teams met as BIG EAST rivals at Wells Fargo Center.

    Creighton’s previous mark was 20, done vs. Chattanooga in 2005. The previous BIG EAST mark was 20, done by West Virginia vs. Marquette in 2006 and matched by Notre Dame vs. Villanova in 2011.

    Creighton broke the Wells Fargo Center record for three-pointers by a Villanova opponent late in the first half (the old mark was 12), and also set a mark for most points against ‘Nova at the Wells Fargo Center with 96, passing the old mark of 90.

What A Start!

Creighton made a three-pointer on each of its first nine possessions in its 2014 win at No. 4 Villanova at Wells Fargo Center.

    Creighton started the game 7-for-7 from deep, missed a two-pointer but turned an offensive rebound into another trey, and then sank a trifecta on its ninth trip, as well. Seven of those triples came from  Ethan Wragge.

Poss. #    Time    Result    Score

1    19:37    Wragge 3FG    CU 3-0

2    18:57    Wragge 3FG    CU 6-0

3    18:20    Manigat 3FG    CU 9-2

4    17:45    McDermott 3FG    CU 12-5

5    17:03    Wragge 3FG    CU 15-5

6    16:13    Wragge 3FG    CU 18-5

7    15:49    Wragge 3FG    CU 21-5

8    15:10    McDermott 2FG miss (off. rebound)

    14:39    Wragge 3FG    CU 24-5

9    13:55    Wragge 3FG    CU 27-8

    

Repeat After Three

Few teams in the country have made as many three-pointers in the last 12 seasons as the teams featured in Saturday’s match-up. Since Creighton joined the BIG EAST in 2013, Villanova leads the nation in that category with 3,848 trifectas, while Creighton is fourth with 3,651.

    Creighton is 1-15 all-time when making eight three-pointers or less against Villanova (including three meetings in the 1950’s long before the 3-point line existed), but 9-4 when making nine or more trifectas. CU has hit 120-of-261 treys (46.0%) in the 10 wins, but 104-of-386 triples (26.7%) in the 19 losses.

    Villanova has made nine or more three-pointers against Creighton in 15-of-26 meetings as BIG EAST rivals.

    Per BartTorvik.com, Villanova ranks 46th  nationally with 44.6 percent of its shot attempts coming from three-point range, while Creighton is 10th at 49.5 percent.

    Creighton is 27-2 in its last 29 games (against all teams) when attempting 15 or fewer three-pointers, though its season-low this year is 19 trifecta tries (vs. DePaul).

    Since Greg McDermott was hired in 2010, Creighton has made 4,525 three-pointers in 506 games, good for second-most nationally behind Belmont (4,642). Villanova is fourth on that list with 4,458 treys.

Most 3FG Made Since 2010-11 (thru 1/29/25)

Rk.    Team    3FG    Games

1.    Belmont    4,642    483

2.    Creighton    4,525    506

3.    North Florida    4,470    471

4.    Villanova    4,458    504

5.    VMI    4,387    458

Most 3FG Made Since 2013-14 (thru 1/29/25)

Rk.    Team    3FG    Games

1.    Villanova    3,848    405

2.    North Florida    3,816    373

3.    Belmont    3,727    380

4.    Creighton    3,651    396

5.    Fort Wayne    3,591    379

Triple Trouble

In league play this season, Creighton leads the league with 10.00 three-pointers per game and is second with 37.9 percent marksmanship from deep.

    Villanova is second with 9.50 three-pointers per game, while the Wildcats are tops with 39.4 percent accuracy from downtown.

    The first time these teams met this season, Creighton made 14-of-25 trifectas (56 percent), while Villanova was 8-for-20 (40 percent).

    Defensively, Creighton has allowed a league-low 64 three-pointers in BIG EAST play, but Villanova’s 96 allowed are second-most.

Something About Creighton

Since the start of the 2013-14 season, Villanova has suffered only 95 losses, with just 15 of those coming by 15 points or more.

    Five of those lopsided setbacks have come against Creighton, while 10 other teams have done it once each.

Villanova’s Largest Margins of Defeat Since 2013-14

    Margin    Score    Date

    28    Creighton 96, Villanova 68    1/20/14

    27    Michigan 73, Villanova 46    11/14/18

    26    Purdue 87, Villanova 61    3/23/19

    25    Ohio State 76, Villanova 51    11/13/19

    24    Connecticut 78, Villanova 54    2/24/24

    23    Oklahoma 78, Villanova 55    12/7/15

    21    Creighton 101, Villanova 80    2/16/14

    21    Baylor 57, Villanova 36    12/12/21

    20    Georgetown 78, Villanova 58    1/19/15

    20    Creighton 79, Villanova 59    12/17/21

    20    St. John’s 70, Villanova 50    1/24/24

    16    Creighton 86, Villanova 70    2/13/21

    16    Syracuse 78, Villanova 62    12/28/13

    16    Kansas 81, Villanova 65    4/2/22

    15    Creighton 76, Villanova 61    2/1/20

The Cats Meow

Villanova has the fifth-best win percentage in the country since the start of the 2013-14 season, which coincides with the realignment of the BIG EAST. Villanova is 310-95 (.765), just behind a Gonzaga program that is 358-56 (.865) and Kansas 322-89 (.783).

    Of the 97 different schools to play Villanova in that time, only 36  have actually beaten the Wildcats.

    Creighton is one of 15 schools to post multiple victories over the Wildcats in that time.  Creighton’s 10 victories over Villanova are the second-most by any Wildcat opponent in that span, one behind Marquette and three more than Butler.

The Race To 79

Creighton is 10-0 this season when scoring 79 points or more and 12-0 when scoring more than 75 points.

    Creighton is 7-0 all-time when scoring 79 points or more against the Wildcats, compared to a 3-19 record when scoring 78 points or fewer.

    Creighton has averaged 83.50 points in 10 all-time wins over Villanova, but just 61.42 in 19 losses against the Wildcats.

    Villanova has surrendered 68.7 points per game this season.

It’s A WWWWWWinning Streak

Creighton has established a season-high by winning six games in a row, and can grow that total with a seventh straight win on Saturday.  

    Creighton has now had at least one streak of five or more wins (including non-conference games) in 26 of the last 28 seasons (including 2024-25).

    Here’s a list of Creighton’s longest single-season win streaks in BIG EAST play since joining the league in 2013.

CU’s Longest Same Season BIG EAST Win Streaks

    Wins    Dates    Snapped by

    8    Jan. 14 – Feb. 11, 2023    at #24 Providence

    6    Dec. 17, 2020 – Jan. 9, 2021    at Butler

    6    Feb. 8-23, 2022    at #11 Providence

    6    Jan. 3, 2025 – Present    TBD

    5    Dec. 31, 2013 – Jan. 14, 2014    at Providence

    5    Feb. 20-March 9, 2019    End of League Play

    5    Feb. 8-23, 2020    at St. John’s

Protecting The Home Court

Creighton has won nine straight conference home games dating to last season, tying its program record in BIG EAST play.

    Besides Creighton, the only other BIG EAST teams to enter the weekend without a home loss since the calendar turned to 2025 are St. John’s and Providence.

    And if you’re curious, Creighton’s longest conference win streak in school history (in any league) is 15 from Feb. 28, 2000 – Jan. 30, 2002 while a member of the Missouri Valley Conference.

Creighton – Most Consecutive BIG EAST Home Wins

    Rank    Wins    Started    Ended

    1.    9    Dec. 31, 2013    March 8, 2014

        9    Feb. 13, 2024    Present

    3.    8    Dec. 22, 2022    Feb. 11, 2023

Kalkbrenner Passes 1,000 at CHI

Ryan Kalkbrenner’s 29 points on Wednesday give him 1,030 career points inside CHI Health Center Omaha. He’s the second player to score 1,000 points in the facility, joining Doug McDermott (1,573 points).

Most Career Points at CHI Health Center Omaha

    Rk.    Name, Years    Points (Games)

    1.    Doug McDermott, 2010-14    1,573 (71)

    2.    Ryan Kalkbrenner, 2020-Pres.    1,030 (72)

    3.    Nate Funk, 2003-07    735 (47)

    4.    Marcus Zegarowski, 2018-21    728 (50)

    5.    Ty-Shon Alexander, 2017-20    727 (55)

    6.    Marcus Foster, 2016-18    723 (35)

    7.    Mitch Ballock, 2017-21    721 (69)

    8.    Kenny Lawson Jr., 2006-11    707 (76)

    9.    Trey Alexander, 2021-24    655 (43)

    10.    Antoine Young, 2008-12    634 (71)

    Kalkbrenner owns the facility records for career field goal percentage (.729), offensive rebounds (187) and blocks (163) and also ranks second in arena history in field goals made (412; McDermott has 563), field goal attempts (565; McDermott has 999), free throws made (188; McDermott has 313), free throws attempted (265; McDermott has 376), and rebounds (473; McDermott has 534).

Chairmen Of The Boards

Ryan Kalkbrenner owns 1,011 rebounds in his career, far ahead of Eric Dixon’s 830 to rank tops among active BIG EAST players.

    Kalkbrenner enters Saturday’s contest fourth in program history, after passing Benoit Benjamin’s 1,005 vs. Xavier.

    Reb.    Name    Years

    1,751    Paul Silas    1961-64

    1,126    Bob Harstad    1987-91

    1,088    Doug McDermott    2010-14

    1,011    Ryan Kalkbrenner    2020-Pres.

    1,005    Benoit Benjamin    1982-85

       979    Bob Portman    1966-69

Into The Top 50

Ryan Kalkbrenner enters Saturday tied for 46th in NCAA history with 363 career blocked shots.

    He’s six rejections from a spot in the Top 40.

      Rank    Blk.    Name    Years

    1.    564    Jarvis Varnado    Mississippi State

—

    35.    375    Jason Lawson    Villanova

    36.    374    Pervis Ellison    Louisville

    37.    372    KC Nedfo    Saint Peter’s, Seton Hall

    38.    369    Keith Benson    Oakland

        369    Reggie Lynch    Illinois St., Minnesota

    40.    368    Zeke Marshall    Akron

    41.    367    Amida Brimah    UConn

        367    Rhamel Brown    Manhattan

    43.    366    Damian Eargle    UNCG, Youngstown St.

        366    Peter Aluma    Liberty

    45.    365    Acie Earl    Iowa

    46.    363    Hayden Koval    Cent. Arkansas, UNCG, Cincinnati

        363    Jerome James    Florida A&M

        363    Michale Kyser    Louiaiana Tech

        363    Ryan Kalkbrenner    Creighton

Kalkbrenner Passes 2,000 Points

Ryan Kalkbrenner owns 2,137 career points after passing the 2,000 point milestone on Jan. 3 at Marquette.

    He is the fourth player to surpass 2,000 career points for Creighton, joining Doug McDermott (3,150), Rodney Buford (2,116) and Bob Harstad (2,110).

    McDermott reached 2,000 points in 101 games, Buford needed 111 games, Harstad  required 121 contests to reach 2,000 points, and Kalkbrenner did it in 148 games.

    If you’re curious, Kalkbrenner reached 1,000 career points in his 91st career game on Feb. 25, 2023. McDermott got to 1,000 in 57 games, Buford needed 59 and Harstad reached that milestone in 73 games.

    Here’s a list of Creighton’s top scorers ever.

Most Career Points, Creighton History

    Rank    Pts.    Name    Years

    1.    3,150    Doug McDermott    2010-14

    2.    2,137    Ryan Kalkbrenner    2020-Pres.

    3.    2,116    Rodney Buford    1995-99

    4.    2,110    Bob Harstad     1987-91

    5.    1,983    Chad Gallagher     1987-91

KKalkbrenner

Ryan Kalkbrenner enters Saturday with 2,137 points and 1,011 career rebounds after becoming the 132nd men’s player in NCAA history have recorded at least 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in a career on Jan. 25 vs. Seton Hall.

    He joins Doug McDermott (3,150/1,088) and Bob Harstad (2,110/1,126) as the third player in CU history in the exclusive 2,000/1,000 club.

    Creighton is now the seventh school in NCAA history to have three different men reach 2,000 points & 1,000 rebounds with only one school, joining Duke (4), Kansas (3), La Salle (3), North Carolina (3), Syracuse (3) and Utah (3).

    Baylor Scheierman surpassed 2,000 career points and 1,000 rebounds last year, but that combined three years at South Dakota State with two campaigns at Creighton.

All He Does Is Win

Ryan Kalkbrenner has appeared in 108 wins over the past five seasons and is now the winningest player in program history.

    Here’s a list of the only players on record to have appeared in at least 98 wins in a Creighton uniform:

Most Wins Played In For Creighton

    Games    Name    Years

    108    Ryan Kalkbrenner    2020-Pres.

    107    Ethan Wragge    2009-14

    107    Jahenns Manigat    2010-14

    107    Doug McDermott    2010-14

    98    Kyle Korver    1999-03

    98    Austin Chatman    2011-15

Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop

Ryan Kalkbrenner has played in 154 games in his career, a Creighton record.  Fellow fifth-year senior Steven Ashworth has played in 152 career games, but the first 97 of those came with Utah State.

Most Games Played For Creighton

    Games    Name    Years

    154    Ryan Kalkbrenner    2020-Pres.

    149    Ethan Wragge    2009-14

    145    Jahenns Manigat    2010-14

    145    Doug McDermott    2010-14

    143    Kenny Lawson Jr.    2006-11

Kalkbrenner Honored, Thrice More

Ryan Kalkbrenner was named the BIG EAST Player of the Week on Jan. 20 and the Associated Press National Player of the Week a day later after helping Creighton to a 2-0 week in which he averaged 16.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 4.0 blocks per game.

    It was the second time Kalkbrenner has earned each honor, also picking up the acclaim on Nov. 11, 2024 after opening the year with a 49 point game.

    On Jan. 22nd, Kalkbrenner was named a Midseason Second Team All-American by The Sporting News.

New Year, Same Success

Creighton is 6-1 since the calendar turned to 2025, continuing a recent trend of January success. CU was 7-1 in January last year, 5-2 in 2022-23, 3-4 in 2021-22, 6-2 in 2020-21 and 5-3 in 2019-20 in the month of January.

    That gives Creighton a league-best 18-4 record in the past three seasons in January, as well as a 32-13 mark in the first month of the year in the past six seasons.

Best January Records Among BIG EAST Teams Since 2023

    Rk.    W    L    Pct.    Team

    1.    18    4    .818    Creighton

    2.    17    4    .810    Marquette

Best January Records Among BIG EAST Teams Since 2020

    Rk.    W    L    Pct.    Team

    1.    32    13    .711    Creighton

    2.    32    14    .696    Marquette

Give Me 10

Creighton owns 11 home wins this season, the 28th time in the last 29 seasons that CU has won at least 10 games at home.

    The only exception in that time came in 2014-15, when the Jays won nine times at home.

Filling The Building

Saturday[s Pink Out was Creighton’s fourth home sellout of the season, and the loyal support of Bluejay faithful remains a key reason the Bluejays currently rank sixth nationally in average home attendance.

    Excluding the 2020-21 season that had limited fans due to COVID, this would be Creighton MBB’s 13th straight season in the  Top 10 in average home attendance.

Average Home Attendance Leaders (1/30)

    Rk.    Avg.    Team    Next Home Game

    1.    20,162    Kentucky    2/1

    2.    19,807    North Carolina    2/8

    3.    19,417    Tennessee    2/1

    4.    18,918    Arkansas    2/8

    5.    17,908    Syracuse    2/5

    6.    17,195    Creighton    2/8

    7.    16,790    BYU    2/4

    8.    16,149    Indiana    2/8

    9.    15,300    Kansas    2/3

    10.    15,235    Marquette    2/1

Yearly Pink Out Totals

Creighton has raised $1,000,074.65  since the start of the 2011-12 season during its annual men’s and  basketball Pink Out auctions, plus additional money collected on gameday, underwriting, matching donations and volleyball/women’s basketball jersey auctions.

    The numbers below show the annual figures for the men’s basketball jersey auction unless otherwise noted, but do not include the matching totals or donations collected at the door in 2025, as those were still being calculated at press time.

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

2024-25:    $43,995.92

MBB Auction Totals = $404,735.24

WBB/VB Auctions + Additional Donations: $595,339.41

14-Year Totals: $1,000,074.65

It’s Suits And Sneakers Week

The NABC and Coaches vs. Cancer host one of their biggest initiatives of the year from Jan. 27-Feb. 2 for Suits and Sneakers Week.

    It’ll see the Creighton coaching staff wear suits with sneakers to bring awareness of the importance of cancer screening and health equity.

    One-third of people in the United States will be diagnosed with cancer, but regular screening increases the chances of detecting certain cancers early before it has a chance to spread. More information about screening and saving lives can be found at Cancer.org.

    In 2018 Coaches vs. Cancer presented Greg McDermott with the Champion Award, which recognizes a college coach who has shown extraordinary leadership and a commitment to the American Cancer Society’s mission of saving lives, celebrating lives and leading the fight for a world without cancer.

Veteran Duo

Ryan Kalkbrenner (18.3) and Steven Ashworth (16.5) have played in a combined 306 collegiate games, and they’ve used that experience to make Creighton one of four Power 5 teams nationally with multiple players averaging 16.5 points per game or more.

    Northwestern (Brooks Barnhizer & Nick Martinelli) Pittsburgh (Ishmael Legett, Jaland Lowe) and Rutgers (Ace Bailey & Dylan Harper) are the only other Power 5 teams that can say that.

    Last year Kalkbrenner, Trey Alexander and Baylor Scheierman gave Creighton three players scoring 17.0 points per game or more, the first Power 5 team to do so since Duke in 2009-10 (Jon Scheyer, Kyle Singler, Nolan Smith).

12 Blocks, No Fouls?

Ryan Kalkbrenner’s fifth year of college could see him winning a fourth BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year award, something only Patrick Ewing has done in league history.

    Kalkbrenner had back-to-back games with six blocked shots and no fouls on Jan. 11 & 14, making him just the third player nationally since 2005-06 to do that in  consecutive games, joining Southeastern Louisiana’s Jalyn Hinton (March 11 & 12, 2022) and Washington’s Robert Upshaw (Nov. 14 & 21, 2014).

    Kalkbrenner (on Jan. 11 and Jan. 14) now owns two games in the last couple weeks with six blocks and no fouls. All other Creighton players since 1991-92 combined for one such game (Gregory Echenique vs. Drake on March 8, 2013).

20 & 10 For Kalkbrenner

Ryan Kalkbrenner had 20 points and 10 rebounds vs. Providence on Jan. 14, the eighth time in his career he’s had at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in the same contest.

    In the last 20 seasons, the only other two Creighton basketball players (men or women) with five or more 20/10 career  games were both First Round NBA Draft picks.

CU’s Most Career Games With 20 Points & 10 Rebounds

(Since 2005-06)

    Qty.    Name    Years

    25    Doug McDermott    2010-14

    8    Baylor Scheierman    2022-24

    8    Ryan Kalkbrenner    2020-Pres.

    Kalkbrenner now owns 22 double-doubles, the third-most by any Bluejay under Greg McDermott.

Most CU Double-Doubles Under Greg McDermott

    Qty.    Name    Years

    37    Doug McDermott    2010-14

    29    Baylor Scheierman    2022-24

    22    Ryan Kalkbrenner    2020-Pres.

    13    Martin Krampelj    2015-19

    11    Ryan Hawkins    2021-22

Taking Down The Champs, And #1

Creighton beat No. 1 Kansas on December 4th, defeated defending NCAA champion UConn on Jan. 18th and defending NIT champion Seton Hall on Jan. 25th. For good measure, CU also topped defending runner-up Purdue in an exhibition game this season.

    Even when you take out the Purdue win, Creighton is first team to defeat the defending NCAA champ, the defending NIT champ and the No. 1 team in the country in the same season since Michigan State in 2008-09. The Spartans beat NCAA champ Kansas (twice), NIT champ Ohio State (twice) and No. 1 Louisville.

Winning Plays Lead To Miller Time

Mason Miller led the BIG EAST in three-point percentage last year, when he started every league game, but he continues to contribute to winning even though his shot has not fallen at the same rate.

    Miller now comes off the bench and has averaged 1.6 points and 1.8 rebounds per game in his last eight outings. He was subbed in for defense on multiple occasions on Jan. 18 at UConn, something that rarely happened his first three years as a Bluejay, and took a crucial charge on Alex Karaban in the final two minutes.

    Miller owns a +76 plus/minus in the past eight games in 128 minutes of action, with CU outscoring teams by five points in the 192 minutes he’s been on the bench in that same span.

Traudt Uses The 4’s

Isaac Traudtt is 16-for-19 from the field and 11-of-14 from deep in the past four home games.

    Traudt made 4-of-4 three pointers in a four-minute span on Jan. 14 vs. Providence, scoring 13 points when you add in a four-point play after his second bucket.

    Traudt was Creighton’s first player to shoot 100 percent from deep with four or more attempts since Marcus Zegarowski shot 5-for-5 from distance vs. Seton Hall on March 7, 2020, a day that Creighton clinched a share of its lone BIG EAST title to date.

    The hot streak has seen Traudt up his career three-point marksmanship at home to 50.6 percent (42-83), a CHI Health Center Omaha record among players with 25 or more made trifectas.

    Since his arrival on The Hilltop, when Traudt plays Creighton is 23-4 when he scores and 15-10 when he’s scoreless.

Best 3FG%, CHI Health Center Omaha History

(min. 25 3FG’s)

    Pct.    Name    3FG-3FGA

    .506    Isaac Traudt    42-83

    .483    Booker Woodfox    83-172

    .457    Ethan Wragge    156-341

    .449    Marcus Zegarowski    122-272

    .448    Doug McDermott    134-299

Hands Off

Creighton leads the nation with 12 games this season of 10 fouls or less, and is the only team nationally with more than three league games with 10 fouls or less this winter. Creighton has done it 7-of-10 BIG EAST games, while all other BIG EAST teams have done it a combined total of six times.

    Since the start of the 2021-22 season, Creighton owns 41 games with 10 fouls or less, with Appalachian State second with just 23 such contests.

    Since the start of last season, Creighton owns a nation-leading 11 conference games with nine fouls or less. No other team has done it more than five times.

Guarding The Paint

The presence of three-time BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year Ryan Kalkbrenner is key to Creighton’s success in defending the paint.

    While Creighton opponents shoot a respectable 60.11 percent at the rim, that number falls off from there. Bluejay foes are shooting 36.6 percent from the paint outside the charge circle, and just 38.6 percent from two-point range outside the paint.

Area    Opp.    FG%    CU    FG%

Inside Circle    193-316    .611    223-315    .708

Paint No Circle    138-377    .366    111-210    .529

2FG Outside Paint    81-210    .386    25-73    .342

3-Point FG’s    147-479    .307    207-585    .354

Kalkbrenner Chases BIG EAST Legends

Ryan Kalkbrenner owns the career record for field goal percentage in BIG EAST play (min. 5 FG/game) among multi-year players at 63.9 percent.

    Kalkbrenner owns 225 career blocks in BIG EAST play, fourth-most in league history.

    Kalkbrenner also became the 49th player in league history to score 1,000 career points in BIG EAST play on Dec. 18 and now owns 1,185 to rank 19th all-time.

    Kalkbrenner also owns 573 career rebounds in BIG EAST play, which is 11th-most in league history.

    Kalkbrenner is the 11th man with 1,000+ points and 500+ rebounds in BIG EAST action over a career, but the only man in history with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 200 blocked shots in BIG EAST play during a career.

Best Career FG% in BIG EAST Play (min. 5 FG/game)

    Pct.    FG-FGA    Name, School

    .639    466-729    Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton

    .608    377-620    Patrick Ewing, Georgetown

    .593    270-455    Emeka Okafor, UConn

    .575    337-586    Otis Thorpe, Providence

    .571    182-319    Chris Taft, Pittsburgh

1,000 Career Points & 500 Rebounds in BIG EAST Play

    PTS    REB    Name, School

    1,329    662    Luke Harangody, Notre Dame

    1,185    573    Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton

    1,177    561    Bill Curley, Boston College

    1,173    534    Ryan Gomes, Providence

    1,170    582    John Wallace, Syracuse

    1,152    580    Zendon Hamilton, St. John’s

    1,148    609    Danya Abrams, Boston College

    1,071    563    LaDontae Henton, Providence

    1,062    545    Tim James, Miami (Fla.)

    1,047    502    Charles Smith, Pittsburgh

    1,033    701    Derrick Coleman, Syracuse

Most Career Points in BIG EAST Play

    Rk.    Points    Name, School

    1.    1,587    Markus Howard, Marquette

    2.    1,405    Lawrence Moten, Syracuse

    3.    1,388    Troy Bell, Boston College

    4.    1,329    Luke Harangody, Notre Dame

    5.    1,320    Terry Dehere, Seton Hall

    6.    1,316    Jeremy Hazell, Seton Hall

    7.    1,290    Chris Mullin, St. John’s

    8.    1,288    Kerry Kittles, Villanova

    9.    1,257    Dana Barros, Boston College

    10.    1,254    Myles Powell, Seton Hall

    11.    1,222    Felipe Lopez, St. John’s

    12.    1,221    Scottie Reynolds, Villanova

    13.    1,185    Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton

    14.    1,178    D’Angelo Harrison, St. John’s

Most Career Rebounds in BIG EAST Play

    Rk.       Rebounds    Name, School

    1.    828    Angel Delgado, Seton Hall

    2.    701    Derrick Coleman, Syracuse

    3.    662    Luke Harangody, Notre Dame

    4.    630    Michael Smith, Notre Dame

    5.    609    Danya Abrams, Boston College

    6.    598    Geoff McDermott, Providence

    7.    597    Patrick Ewing, Georgetown

    8.    582    John Wallace, Syracuse

    9.    580    Zendon Hamilton, St. John’s

        580    Jeff Adrien, Connecticut

    11.    573    Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton

    12.    563    LaDontae Henton, Providence

Most Career Blocks in BIG EAST Play

    Rk.    Blocks    Name, School

    1.    247    Patrick Ewing, Georgetown

    2.    243    Hasheem Thabeet, UConn

    3.    232    Etan Thomas, Syracuse

    4.    225    Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton

    5.    224    Alonzo Mourning, Georgetown

He Shoots, He Scores

There’s been 700 players in NCAA history to score 2,000 career points, but Ryan Kalkbrenner ranks second among that list in field goal percentage.

    The top seven men on that list combined to win six AP National Player of the Year awards.

Best FG%, 2,000 Point Scorers, NCAA History

    FG%    FG-FGA    Name    School

    .678    828-1222    Steve Johnson    Oregon State

    .662    854-1291    Ryan Kalkbrenner    Creighton

    .639    943-1476    Lew Alcindor    UCLA

    .621    925-1490    Zach Edey    Purdue

    .620    857-1382    Patrick Ewing    Georgetown

    .618    910-1473    Drew Timme    Gonzaga

    .613    1032-1683    David Robinson    Navy

The McDermott Era

Greg McDermott owns 340 wins in 506 games at Creighton since his arrival in 2010-11.

    That gives Creighton the 24th-most wins nationally in that span, but it’s eighth-most of programs that have had the same coach the entire time.

Schools With Most Wins Since 2010-11, Only 1 Coach

(After 1/29/25)

Rk.    Wins    School    Coach    Next

1.    441    Gonzaga    Mark Few    2/1

2.    420    Kansas    Bill Self    2/1

3.    372    Saint Mary’s    Randy Bennett    2/1

4.    361    Oregon    Dana Altman    1/30

    361    Michigan State    Tom Izzo    2/1

6.    351    Purdue    Matt Painter    1/31

7.    350    Baylor    Scott Drew    2/1

8.    340    Creighton    Greg McDermott    2/1

9.    307    Colorado    Tad Boyle    2/2

10.    304    Boise State    Leon Rice    2/1

    McDermott’s 339 wins since the start of the 2010-11 season started are 12th-most nationally among all coaches at the Division I level, including those at multiple schools and/or retired coaches.

Most Division I Coaching Wins Since 2010-11

(Can Include Multiple Schools  – after 1/29/25)

Rk.    W-L    Coach    Next

1.    441-76    Mark Few    2/1

2.    416-105    Bill Self    2/1

3.    387-128    John Calipari    2/1

4.    368-116    Randy Bennett    2/1

5.    365-138    Mick Cronin    1/30

6.    361-156    Dana Altman    1/30

    361-151    Tom Izzo    2/1

8.    351-152    Matt Painter    1/31

9.    350-148    Scott Drew    2/1

10.    349-120    Tony Bennett    —

11.    342-131    Sean Miller    2/4

12.    340-166    Greg McDermott    2/1

13.    338-166    Shaka Smart    2/1

14.    334-89    Mike Krzyzewski    —

Horseshoes & Hand Grenades

Creighton and Villanova have been two of the best teams in the BIG EAST over the last dozen years, but  the team’s haven’t played a ton of close games.

    Avg. Margin    CU W-L    Opponent

    6.90    8-2    Connecticut

    7.17    12-12    Marquette

    8.33    14-13    Xavier

    10.11    12-15    Providence

    11.38    14-10    Seton Hall

    12.96    17-6    St. John’s

    13.33    15-9    Butler

    13.35    10-16    Villanova

    15.00    14-11    Georgetown

    17.16    24-1    DePaul

Video Game Numbers

Ryan Kalkbrenner’s numbers defy logic. Take a look:

    In his career, Kalkbrenner has been fouled 519 times, owns 363 blocked shots, 290 dunks and just 247 career personal fouls in 154 games played.

    This year only, he’s been fouled 90 times and has 57 blocks, 54 dunks and committed 22 fouls.

    The only major conference men’s players in history besides Kalkbrenner (+113) to block 325 shots and own at least 100 more blocks than fouls are Jarvis Varnado (+220), Tim Duncan (+178), Emeka Okafor (+170), Calvin Booth (+165), Hasheem Thabeet (+159), Benoit Benjamin (+147), Jamarion Sharp (+141), Shaquille O’Neal (+125) and Dikembe Mutombo (+120).

Starting Strong

Including this winter, Creighton has started 8-2 or better after 10 league games in four of Greg McDermott‘s first 15 seasons on The Hilltop, and 7-3 or better nine times.

    On Saturday, the Jays will look to match their best 11-game BIG EAST start ever, having also started 9-2 in 2013-14..

Year    League W-L After 10    League W-L After 11

2010-11 (MVC)    5-5    6-5

2011-12 (MVC)    9-1    10-1

2012-13 (MVC)    8-2    9-2

2013-14 (BIG EAST)    9-1    9-2

2014-15 (BIG EAST)    1-9    2-9

2015-16 (BIG EAST)    5-5    5-6

2016-17 (BIG EAST)    7-3    7-4

2017-18 (BIG EAST)    7-3    7-4

2018-19 (BIG EAST)    4-6    4-7

2019-20 (BIG EAST)    6-4    7-4

2020-21 (BIG EAST)    7-3    8-3

2021-22 (BIG EAST)    5-5    6-5

2022-23 (BIG EAST)    7-3    8-3

2023-24 (BIG EAST)    7-3    7-4

2024-25 (BIG EAST)    8-2    TBD

Neal Passing The Rock

Jamiya Neal played 93 games in the previous three seasons at Arizona State and had just one outing with five assists in a game.

    He’s transformed his game in Omaha, where he’s now 10th in the BIG EAST with his 4.1 assists per game average, and he’s the only player in the BIG EAST that’s top 11 in the league in both rebounds and assists per game.

    Neal owns six assists or more in seven games this season, with Creighton going 6-1 in those contests.

    Neal’s 87 assists are already the most for any season of his career.

    Neal opened his senior season with 17 straight games of three assists or more before it was snapped in the win at UConn, when he scored a career-high 24 points.

More Kalkbrenner Unicornisms

Ryan Kalkbrenner owns 2,137 points and 363 blocks in his career.

    Per Basketball-Reference.com, he is the seventh player in Division I men’s basketball history with at least 2,100 points and 350 blocked shots in a career.

    Each of the first five men to do it were picked No. 1 in the NBA Draft. The other, Auburn star Johni Broome, is currently active.

2,100 Points & 350 Career Blocks, NCAA History

    PTS    BLK    DRAFT    Name, School

    2,669    516    1    David Robinson, Navy

    2,184    493    1    Patrick Ewing, Georgetown

    2,117    481    1    Tim Duncan, Wake Forest

    2,228    462    1    Ralph Sampson, Virginia

    2,357    393    Active    Johni Broome, Morehead St./Auburn

    2,143    374    1    Pervis Ellison, Louisville

    2,137    363    Active    Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton

Eyebrow Raising Numbers

Ryan Kalkbrenner had quite the stat line on Jan. 11 at Butler, finishing with 26 points, nine rebounds, six blocked shots, three steals and no fouls while also making three three-pointers.

    Before Kalkbrenner that game at Butler, the nation’s last player with 26 points, nine rebounds and six blocked shots in a game…was also Kalkbrenner, who had a 28/9/7 line in a triple-overtime win at Seton Hall on Jan. 20, 2024.

    Digging deeper, Kalkbrenner became the nation’s first Division I men’s player with at least 26 points, nine rebounds and six blocked shots while not committing a foul in a conference game since Kentucky’s Anthony Davis had 27/14/7 vs. Arkansas on Jan. 17, 2012.

    Kalkbrenner was the first high major player with at least 26 points, nine rebounds and six blocked shots in a game that he made three or more three-pointers since Oregon’s Chris Boucher had a 26/10/7/4 line at Arizona State on Jan. 31, 2016.

    And if you combine his whole line of 26 points, nine rebounds, six blocks, three steals and three three-pointers and you’ll learn Kalkbrenner is the nation’s only high-major player since 2005-06 with such a box score line like that.

Rare Air

Ryan Kalkbrenner and National Player of the Year frontrunner Johni Broome (Auburn) are in rare company as the nation’s only high major players to average at least 17.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.6 blocked shots per game this season.

    In the last 25 seasons, only eight high-major players have finished a season hitting each of those benchmarks, with five of those men hailing from the BIG EAST.

High Major Players to Average 17 PPG, 8 RPG & 2.6 BPG

(Last 25 Seasons)

Name, School    Year    PPG    RPG    BPG

Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton    ’24-25    18.3    8.4    2.9

Johni Broome, Auburn    ’24-25    18.2    11.2    2.8

Trayce Jackson-Davis, Indiana    ’22-23    20.9    10.8    2.9

Herbert Hill, Providence    ’06-07    18.1    8.8    2.9

Shelden Williams, Duke    ’05-06    18.8    10.7    3.8

Emeka Okafor, UConn    ’03-04    17.6    11.5    4.1

David Harrison, Colorado    ’03-04    17.1    8.8    2.9

Mike Sweetney, Georgetown    ’02-03    22.8    10.4    3.2

Ryan Humphrey, Notre Dame    ’01-02    18.9    10.9    2.8

Eddie Griffin, Seton Hall    ’00-01    17.8    10.8    4.4

Ashworth Passes Century Mark

Steven Ashworth’s owns 6.80 assists per game this season, a figure that ranks eighth nationally.

    Earlier this year Ashworth became just the second Creighton player in the last 40 seasons to reach the 100 assist mark in his first 16 games of a season, as seen below.

Fewest Season Games to 100 Assists, Since 1985-86

Name, Year    GP to 100 AST

Maurice Watson Jr., 2016-17    11

Steven Ashworth, 2024-25    15

Grant Gibbs, 2011-12    17

Maurice Watson Jr., 2015-16    17

Latrell Wrightsell, 1991-92    18

Grant Gibbs, 2012-13    18

On The Double

After not having a double-double in the first 143 games of his career, Steven Ashworth has had three double-doubles in his last nine games.

    He’s one of just five Bluejay men to have multiple points/assists double-doubles in a season since 1992-93.

    Ashworth, who is now averaging 16.5 points and 6.8 assists per game, is also on pace to be the seventh different BIG EAST player in the last 40 years to average at least 16.5 points and 6.5 assists per game. Of that grouping, he’d be the first to do it while making at least 2.90 three-pointers per game.

Most Points/Assists Double-Doubles, Season (Since 1992-93)

    P/A D-D    Name    Years

    6    Maurice Watson Jr.    2016-17

    3    Maurice Watson Jr.    2015-16

    2    Edward St. Fleur    1995-96

    2    Marcus Zegarowski    2020-21

    2    Trey Alexander    2023-24

    2    Steven Ashworth    2024-25

BIG EAST Seasons With 16.5 PPG & 6.5 APG (Since 1986-87)

    PPG    APG    3FG/G    Name, School    Year

    17.3    7.8    —    Pearl Washington, Syracuse    1985-86

    20.6    7.1    2.9    Billy Donovan, Providence    1986-87

    17.3    7.6    0.4    Sherman Douglas, Syracuse    1986-87

    18.2    8.6    1.0    Sherman Douglas, Syracuse    1988-89

    18.7    6.9    2.4    Chris Thomas, Notre Dame    2002-03

    17.4    6.7    1.2    Jonny Flynn, Syracuse    2008-09

    16.5    6.8    3.1    Steven Ashworth, Creighton    2024-25

Sniper!

Jackson McAndrew made a three-pointer in each of his first nine BIG EAST games before being blanked on Wednesday vs. Xavier. He was Creighton’s first freshman in the BIG EAST era to make a triple in nine straight league games.

    Before McAndrew, no CU freshman had made a triple in at least nine straight league games since Ethan Wragge’s streak of 16 in a row from Jan. 3 – Feb. 27, 2010 when the Bluejays were part of the Missouri Valley Conference.

    McAndrew is the only freshman in the BIG EAST to make a three-pointer in nine straight league games this season, and is the league’s first man to do it in nine straight conference games since Villanova’s Cam Whitmore’s 11 game streak in 2022-23.

Consecutive BIG EAST Games With A 3FG

Creighton Freshmen

    3FG Streak    Name    Year

    9    Jackson McAndrew    2024-25

    6    Marcus Zegarowski    2018-19

Let’s Compare

How do Jackson McAndrew’s league stats as a freshman compare to some other Creighton power forwards of note in recent years?

    Let’s have a look…

Name, Year    MPG    PPG    RPG    3FG    3FG%

Jackson McAndrew, 2024-25    20.1    7.5    4.0    17    .340

Arthur Kaluma, 2021-22    26.5    9.9    5.1    14    .304

Toby Hegner, 2014-15    16.8    5.5    3.4    22    .373

Doug McDermott, 2010-11    30.6    15.3    8.1    23    .442

Ethan Wragge, 2009-10    15.4    5.8    1.9    32    .390

Dane Watts, 2004-05    19.3    6.3    3.1    17    .370

Anthony Tolliver, 2003-04    6.1    0.6    1.1    0    .000

Kyle Korver, 1999-00    18.6    10.5    3.3    41    .526

McAndrew Making History

Jackson McAndrew scored 13 points in each of his first two BIG EAST games and has now scored in double-figures nine times this winter.

    McAndrew was Creighton’s first true freshman with 13 or more points in each of Creighton’s first two conference games since Chad Gallagher in 1988-89 when CU was a member of the Missouri Valley Conference. Gallagher is now Creighton’s fifth-leading scorer in program history with 1,983 career points.

    CU’s only other freshman in the last 35 years to score 13+ in his first four league games was redshirt freshman Justin Patton, who did it in his first four BIG EAST games in 2016-17. Patton would go on to earn BIG EAST Freshman of the Year honors and went on to become the No. 16 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.

    McAndrew’s nine games this season with 10 or more points ranks tied for 10th-most among Creighton true freshmen in the last 25 seasons. Of the 13 most recent players to do it (before McAndrew), 11 went on to be named to the conference’s All-Freshman Team other than two men who eventually played in the NBA.

    This season, the only other BIG EAST players with more than five double-digit performances this season have been UConn’s Liam McNeeley (11) and Georgetown’s Thomas Sorber (14).

Most 10+ Point Games, Creighton True Freshmen

Since 1999-2000

    Rk.    10+ Pts    Player (All-Frosh Team?)    Year

    1.    32    Doug McDermott (Y)    2010-11

    2.    21    P’Allen Stinnett (Y)    2007-08

    3.    17    Marcus Zegarowski (Y)    2018-19

        17    Ryan Nembhard (Y)    2021-22

    5.    14    Arthur Kaluma (Y)    2021-22

    6.    13    Kyle Korver (Y)    1999-00

    7.    11    Trey Alexander (Y)    2021-22

        11    Terrell Taylor (Y)    1999-00

    9.    10    Mitch Ballock (Y)    2017-18

    10.    9    Ethan Wragge (Y)    2009-10

        9    Ty-Shon Alexander (N)    2017-18

        9    Jackson McAndrew    2024-25

    13.    8    Jahenns Manigat (Y)    2010-11

        8    Khyri Thomas (N)    2015-16

Kalkbrenner On Midseason Wooden Award List

Ryan Kalkbrenner was named to the John R. Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 Watch List by the Los Angeles Athletic Club on January 7th.

    Selected by a preseason poll of national college basketball experts, the list comprises 25 student-athletes who are frontrunners for the most prestigious honors in college basketball: the Wooden Award All-American Team and the Wooden Award® Most Outstanding Player.

    The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2025 John R. Wooden Award® Men’s Player of the Year. Players not selected for the midseason list remain eligible for inclusion on the Wooden Award® late-season list, and the National Ballot. The National Ballot will feature 15 top players who have demonstrated to their universities that they meet or exceed the Wooden Award® qualifications.

    Nearly 1,000 voters will be invited to rank 10 of the 15 players on the ballot in order of preference when voting opens during the NCAA Tournament. Voters will also consider performances in the tournament’s early rounds, players’ contributions to their teams and their character. The Wooden Award All-American Team will be announced during the week of the NCAA Tournament’s “Elite Eight.”

    The winners and the All Americans of the 2025 John R. Wooden Award®, presented by Principal, will be honored at the Los Angeles Athletic Club on April 11.

Big Deficits, No Big Deal

Creighton owns 28 victories since the start of the 2010-11 season after trailing by double-figures at some point, including a New Year’s Eve comeback win after trailing 18-7 early vs. St. John’s.

    Thirteen of those 28 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

11    St. John’s    12/31/24

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

Stat Leaders, Nationally

Here’s a list of the categories that Creighton is in the Top 20 in, through games of Jan. 29th.

Category    Rank    Stat

Team Fouls Per Game    1st    10.4

FT Pct. (Ashworth)    1st    .973

Blocks (Kalkbrenner)    2nd    57

Field Goal Percentage (Kalkbrenner)    3rd    .668

Blocks Per Game (Kalkbrenner)    4th    2.85

Team Defensive Rebounds Per Game    5th    29.24

Assists Per Game (Ashworth)    8th    6.8

Assists (Ashworth)    12th    136

Effective FG% (Team)    17th    .566

Assists Per Game (Team)    20th    17.2

300 In The Books

Creighton is 303-63 all-time inside CHI Health Center Omaha.

    Creighton needed 118 games to reach 100 victories, with that coming on Nov. 17, 2010, a 63-58 win over Louisiana.        Creighton’s Nov. 25, 2017 win over SIU Edwardsville was the program’s 200th at the facility and came in its 242nd home game.

    Creighton won its 300th game vs. St. John’s on Dec. 31, 2024 in its 363rd game.

Thomas Earns Scholarship Under Xmas Tree

Redshirt freshman guard Shane Thomas was surprised on Christmas morning, as one of the gifts he received was an envelope from the Creighton Basketball program.

    Thomas opened the letter and read it to himself with a puzzled look. After his family asked him what the letter said, Thomas recited aloud “full grant in aid, spring of 2025…I think it’s a scholarship.”

    Thomas’ guess was accurate, as the former walk-on will now be on scholarship for the spring semester.

Among The Best

Creighton owns more BIG EAST wins (75) than any other school in the last six seasons, eight more than Marquette’s 67.

    Since the league’s 2013 realignment, Villanova has 156 league wins to lead the BIG EAST by a wide margin, but Creighton’s 130 league victories are second-most.

Most Men’s Basketball BIG EAST Wins

(2019-20 to Jan. 30, 2025)

Team    W    L    Pct.

Creighton    75    32    .701

Marquette    67    39    .632

Villanova    65    38    .631

Providence    63    41    .606

UConn    61    24    .718

Seton Hall    58    48    .547

Xavier    51    50    .505

St. John’s    50    56    .472

Butler    41    67    .380

Georgetown    20    83    .194

DePaul    15    89    .144

Most Men’s Basketball BIG EAST Wins

(2013-14 to Jan. 30, 2025)

Team    W    L    Pct.

Villanova    155    56    .735

Creighton    131    84    .609

Providence    121    91    .571

Marquette    119    95    .556

Xavier    117    92    .560

Seton Hall    111    103    .519

Butler    95    121    .440

St. John’s    90    124    .421

Georgetown    66    145    .313

UConn    61    24    .718

DePaul    40    172    .189

Automatic Ashworth

Steven Ashworth set a Creighton single-game record on Nov. 6 vs. UTRGV when he was a perfect 17-for-17 at the free throw line. It’s the most attempts without a miss in a game in CU history.

    The last previous power conference player to make 17+ free throws without a miss was Tennessee’s Grant Williams vs. Vanderbilt on Jan. 23, 2019, who was 23-for-23.

    The 17 makes at the line were an arena record (two others had made 15), and tied for second-most in a game in CU history behind only Bob Portman’s 19 vs. UW-Milwaukee on Dec. 16, 1967.

    Ashworth’s 17 attempts are 10th-most in CU history, and the most by a Bluejay since Nate Funk shot 18 in a double-overtime win vs. Dayton on Nov. 26, 2005.

    Ashworth’s streak of 41 consecutive made free throws was snapped on Nov. 27th vs. Texas A&M, four shy of the record set by Doug McDermott in 2013-14. Ashworth shook off that rare miss and then made 38 free trows in a row, CU’s third-longest streak ever.

    Ashworth is the lone player in program history with multiple streaks of 30 free throws made or more.

Most Consecutive Free Throws Made Since 1980

    FT    Name    Dates of Streak

    45    Doug McDermott    Dec. 1, 2013-Jan. 4, 2014

    41    Steven Ashworth    March 2 – Nov. 22, 2024

    38    Steven Ashworth    Nov. 27, 2024 – Jan. 11, 2025

    36    Booker Woodfox    Dec. 6, 2008-Jan. 6, 2009

    35    Bob Portman    1967-68

    32    Michael Lindeman    Jan. 23-Nov. 29, 2003

    31    Baylor Scheierman    Feb. 17-March 29, 2024

    28    Kyle Korver    Jan. 27-March 15, 2001

    28    Doug McDermott    March 10-Nov. 8, 2013

    27    Matt West    Nov. 27, 1999-Jan. 15, 2000

    27    Kyle Korver    Jan. 29-Nov. 20, 2000

    27    Nate Funk    Dec. 30, 2006-Jan. 12, 2007

Steven’s Streaks    Speaking of streaks owned by Steven Ashworth, the senior has buried a three-pointer in 39 games in a row. That’s the longest active streak in the BIG EAST, and the second-longest in program history. The longest streak in CU history, Baylor Scheierman’s 48 in a row (which doesn’t include his final 10 games at South Dakota State).

    His streak of 16 straight games with multiple three-pointers was snapped on Jan. 3 at Marquette, but it was still tied for the second-longest in the BIG EAST since 2005-06.

Nation’s Longest Active Streaks With A 3FG (1/29)

    Streak    Name, School    Next Game

    43    Walter Clayton Jr., Florida    Feb. 1

    41    John Poulakidas, Yale    Jan. 31

    39    Steven Ashworth, Creighton    Feb. 1

    

Consecutive Games With A 3-Pointer, Creighton History

    Streak    Name    Dates of Streak

    48    Baylor Scheierman    Nov. 7, 2022 – Dec. 16, 2023

    39    Steven Ashworth    Jan. 13, 2024 – Present

    33    Ty-Shon Alexander    Feb. 27, 2018-March 6, 2019

    31    Booker Woodfox    Nov. 25, 2008-March 23, 2009

    28    Kyle Korver    Feb. 4, 2001-Feb. 6, 2002

Consecutive Games With Multiple 3-Pointers

BIG EAST  Players Since 2005-06

    Streak    Name, School    Streak

    25    Frank Young, WVU    Nov. 18, 2006 – Feb. 20, 2007

    16    Steven Ashworth, CU    March 21 – Dec. 31, 2024

    16    Ethan Wragge, CU    Nov. 28, 2013 – Jan. 25, 2014

    16    Taquan Dean, LOU    Jan. 25-March 28, 2006

    16    Steve Novak, MU    Nov. 25, 2005 – Jan. 20, 2006

    15    Baylor Scheierman, CU    Nov. 7, 2022 – Jan. 1, 2023

    15    Myles Powell, SHU    Jan. 30 – Nov. 2019

Kalkbrenner A Top Defender

Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner was named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year in 2023-24 for the third straight season.

    Kalkbrenner is just the third player in league history to win the recognition three times or more, joining Georgetown greats Patrick Ewing (4x) and Alonzo Mourning (3x).

    Between Kalkbrenner and 2017 & 2018 winner Khyri Thomas, Creighton has now had a BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year in five of the previous eight 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

    3    Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton    2022, 23, ’24

    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

McDermott Among The Best

Greg McDermott enters Saturday tied for sixth in BIG EAST history with 131 regular-season league wins, putting him even with John Thompson III, and Rick Pitino.

    McDermott, along with Ed Cooley and Rick Pitino, are the only three active coaches with 100 regular-season BIG EAST wins. The list contains six different coaches who have won at least one national title.

    McDermott has been at his current job (15 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 14 years in the BIG EAST lead all active league coaches.

Most League Wins, BIG EAST MBB Coaches

    Rk.    Wins    Name, School

    1.    366    Jim Boeheim, Syracuse

    2.    274    Jim Calhoun, UConn

    3.    244    Jay Wright, Villanova

    4.    198    John Thompson Sr., Georgetown

    5.    136    Mike Brey, Notre Dame

    6.    131    John Thompson III, Georgetown

        131    Greg McDermott, Creighton

        131    Rick Pitino, Prov./Louisville/SJU

    9.    127    Lou Carnesecca, St. John’s

    10.    125    Ed Cooley, Providence/G’Town

    11.    115    Jamie Dixon, Pittsburgh

Isaacs To Miss Remainder Of Season

Junior guard Pop Isaacs will miss the remainder of the 2024-25 season as the Las Vegas native underwent hip surgery on Dec. 11th.

    Isaacs ranked second on the team with 16.3 points per game in eight appearances, including a season-high 27 points in CU’s victory over No. 1 Kansas on Dec. 4 in his final game, which helped him earn BIG EAST Player of the Week honors.

Combo #7

The season is just 21 games old, but Creighton has already used seven different starting line-up combinations thanks to a variety of injuries and other circumstances.

    That’s quite different than how Greg McDermott has typically run his program, when he finds a starting line-up and sticks with it.

    In McDermott’s 15 years patrolling the Bluejay sideline, this year’s seven different line-ups are the second-most he’s used over the course of an entire campaign.

    Different Starting Lineups Under Greg McDermott

Year        Entire Season

2010-11        5

2011-12        1

2012-13        1

2013-14        3

2014-15        10

2015-16        6

2016-17        4

2017-18        5

2018-19        5

2019-20        3

2020-21        3

2021-22        4

2022-23        2

2023-24        2

2024-25        7 so far

A Dozen Will Do

Creighton has owned a .500 mark or better in league play 28 times in the previous 29 seasons, one of seven schools nationally that can say that.

    The only BIG EAST teams to finish .500 or better in league play each of the previous nine seasons are Creighton, Villanova and Seton Hall.

    Among the other “Power 5”  Conference schools, only Virginia (7 straight years) also has an active streak of five years or longer with 12 or more league wins.

Most Seasons .500 or Better League Record

Previous 29 Seasons

    Seasons    Team    

    29    Duke    

    29    Kansas    

    29    Gonzaga    

    28    Kentucky    

    28    Michigan State    

    28    Creighton    

    28    Murray State    

Consecutive Seasons .500 or Better League Record

Power 5 Schools

    Seasons    Team    

    35    Kansas    

    29    Duke    

    13    Virginia    

    13    Oregon    

    12    Villanova    

    9    Creighton    

    9    Houston    

    9    Seton Hall    

    9    Florida    

Consecutive Seasons 12+ League Wins

Power 5 Schools

    Seasons    Team    

    7    Virginia    

    5    Creighton

Preseason BIG EAST Poll

The Creighton men’s basketball team has been 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 marks the second straight year CU has been picked second, and fourth time in the past five seasons the Bluejays have been tabbed for a top-two finish. CU’s 2020-21 squad and 2023-24 teams were also both picked second, and eventually finished in second place, while the 2022-23 squad that eventually reached the Elite Eight was picked first and finished in third place.

    Connecticut, the defending BIG EAST regular season and tournament champion and the reigning national champion, was chosen to finish first in the poll. The Huskies received all possible 10 first-place votes and 100 points from the league’s head coaches who were not permitted to vote for their own teams.

    Creighton will be led by Ryan Kalkbrenner, who is a Preseason First Team All-BIG EAST selection for the third time and also earned his first Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year accolade. Kalkbrenner remains the only player in program history to earn Preseason First Team All-BIG EAST honors multiple times. The only other Bluejays to be named Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year have been Doug McDermott (2013-14) and Marcus Zegarowski (2020-21).

    Joining Kalkbrenner with Preseason First Team All-BIG EAST acclaim was Connecticut’s Alex Karaban, Marquette’s Kam Jones, Providence’s Bryce Hopkins, St. John’s Kadary Richmond and Villanova’s Eric Dixon.

    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 a ninth straight finish in the top four of the league standings. CU’s team three years ago was predicted to finish eighth in the BIG EAST, then ended up in fourth. Five years ago, a team picked seventh in the BIG EAST’s preseason poll went 13-5 in league play to share its first league title with Villanova and Seton Hall. That Bluejay team ended the year ranked seventh in the entire nation.

Creighton’s BIG EAST Preseason Poll History

Year     Preseason     Actual     Preseason All-BIG EAST

2013-14     3rd     2nd     Doug McDermott (POY, 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 (POY, 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)

2024-25    2nd    ??    Ryan Kalkbrenner (POY, 1st); Steven Ashworth (3rd)

Top 10 Wins Come Under McDermott

Creighton went 14,588 days from Feb. 10, 1974 to Jan. 19, 2014 without a win over a Top 10 team.

    Since Jan. 20, 2014, it has 15 such wins, including at least one Top 10 win in each of the last 10 seasons.

    Here’s a list of all 20 Top 10 wins in program history. Six have come against Villanova, while CU also owns multiple Top 10 wins over Marquette (3) and Seton Hall (2).

Creighton’s Top 10 Wins All-Time

Date    Opponent    Score    Head Coach

12/13/63    #4 Arizona State    W 84-83    McManus

12/01/65    #10 Kansas State    W 83-75    McManus

01/29/70    #5 New Mexico State    W 72-68    Sutton

02/17/73    #7 Houston    W 78-77    Sutton

02/09/74    at #6 Marquette    W 75-69    Sutton

01/20/14    at #4 Villanova    W 96-68    McDermott

02/16/14    #6 Villanova    W 101-80    McDermott

02/09/16    #5 Xavier    W 70-56    McDermott

11/15/16    #9 Wisconsin    W 79-67    McDermott

02/24/18    #3 Villanova    W 89-83 (OT)    McDermott

03/03/19    at #10 Marquette    W 66-60    McDermott

02/01/20    at #8 Villanova    W 76-61    McDermott

02/12/20    at #10 Seton Hall    W 87-82    McDermott

03/07/20    #8 Seton Hall    W 77-60    McDermott

02/13/21    #5 Villanova    W 86-70    McDermott

12/17/21    #9 Villanova    W 79-59    McDermott

11/22/22    vs. #9 Arkansas    W 90-87    McDermott

02/20/24    #1 Connecticut    W 85-66    McDermott

03/02/24    #5 Marquette    W 89-75    McDermott

12/04/24    #1 Kansas    W 76-63    McDermott

Neal’s Near Triple-Double

Jamiya Neal nearly had Creighton’s second points/rebounds/assists triple-double in program history on Dec. 7th vs. UNLV when he turned in 19 points, nine rebounds and nine assists (along with a career-high four blocked shots).

    Neal’s nine assists were a career-high and led directly to 22 points.

    Steven Ashworth came even closer on Jan. 11 at Butler, finishing with 22 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists.

    Creighton’s only points/rebounds/assists triple-double in program history came on Feb. 13, 2024 when Baylor Scheierman had a 15/11/11 line in a win over Georgetown.

Reserves Get It Done

Creighton’s bench combined for a season-high 33 points in its Dec. 7th win vs. UNLV, making 13-of-20 shots overall and 7-of-9 three-pointers.

    The 33 bench points were CU’s most since scoring 47 on Dec. 9, 2023 vs. Central Michigan.

    Creighton scored 29 bench points vs. Providence on Jan. 14th, its most in a league game since also scoring 29 vs. St. John’s on Jan. 25, 2023.

    Creighton has won 45 straight games when scoring 17 bench points or more.

Did You Know?

Ryan Kalkbrenner had 17 points and 10 rebounds vs. No. 1 Kansas on Dec. 4th, making him Creighton’s first player ever with a double-double against a top-ranked team.

    Kalkbrenner’s 10 rebounds also tied the most ever by a Bluejay against a No.1 squad, as George Morrow also had 10 boards vs. DePaul on Jan. 28, 1980.

    Pop Isaacs’ 27 points tied a program-record for the most by any Bluejay against a top-ranked team, something Ty-Shon Alexander also did vs. Gonzaga on Dec. 1, 2018. Isaacs is also the first player since Marquette’s Dwyane Wade (vs. Kentucky in 2003) with at least 27 points, seven rebounds and four assists in a win over the No. 1 ranked team.

Something Special

Per OptaStats, Creighton became the first team to beat two different AP No. 1 teams by double digits in the same calendar year since Oklahoma did it in back-to-back games in February 1990 (beat Missouri & Kansas). In addition to the 76-63 win over Kansas on Dec. 4, CU also topped UConn 85-66 on Feb. 20th.

    Per ESPN, the Dec. 4 loss to Creighton was the third-largest margin in 105 all-time losses by a top-ranked Kansas team to an unranked foe, and the most since losing by 16 in 2011 to Kansas State.

    At the time, the only other unranked team in the last five seasons (2020-21 to 2024-25) to beat the No. 1 team by 13+ points was Nebraska vs. Purdue on Jan. 9, 2024.

    Elias Sports Bureau has confirmed that Creighton is the nation’s third team in the last 20 seasons to beat a top-ranked program with a +13 advantage in both scoring and rebounding, joining No. 5 Kentucky vs. #1 Tennessee on Feb. 16, 2019 as well as No. 3 Baylor over No. 1 Gonzaga in the 2021 national title game.

    Creighton became just the fourth unranked BIG EAST school to beat the AP’s No. 1 team by double-digits, joining Louisville over Syracuse (78-68 on March 10, 2006), UConn over Texas (88-74 on Jan. 23, 2010) and Villanova over Syracuse (93-74 on Jan. 6, 1990), which means CU is the second to do so in a regular-season non-conference game.

Down Goes #1

Creighton is one of just eight teams in the last 15 seasons to defeat a No. 1 team in the country in back-to-back seasons. Here’s a list at the others to have done it:

Creighton    2023-24 (UConn) and 2024-25 (Kansas)

Northwestern    2022-23 (Purdue) and 2023-24 (Purdue)

Rutgers    2021-22 (Purdue) and 2022-23 (Purdue)

Kentucky    2018-19 (Tennessee) and 2019-20 (Michigan State)

Butler    2016-17 (Villanova) and 2017-18 (Villanova)

UCLA    2015-16 (Kentucky) and 2016-17 (Kentucky)

West Virginia    2015-16 (Kansas) and 2016-17 (Baylor)

Indiana    2011-12 (Kentucky) and 2012-13 (Michigan)

Unsung Heroes

Creighton has the luxury of bringing three veterans off the bench who can play a variety of positions and shoot it from deep in Mason Miller, Isaac Traudt and Jasen Green.

    The trio has scored 197 points in Creighton’s 15 wins, but have a total of 19 points in CU’s six losses to date.

Denied!

Ryan Kalkbrenner had at least one blocked shot in 27 straight games played, the second-longest streak by a Bluejay since 1984-85, before being held without a swat at Marquette on Jan. 3rd.

    It was Kalkbrenner’s third career streak of 25 or more games with a swat, making him the nation’s only player since 2005-06 with three such streaks.

    Kalkbrenner’s six blocked shots on Jan. 11 at Butler and Jan. 14 vs. Providence were a season-high, and the 21st game of his career with five or more rejections.  All other Bluejay players since 2005-06 have combined for 16 such games (7 by Gregory Echenique, 4 by Anthony Tolliver, 2 by Kenny Lawson Jr. and 1 each by Fredrick King, Jacob Epperson and Justin Patton).

Creighton’s Longest Streaks With A Block, Since 1984-85

    Streak    Name    Dates

    28    Benoit Benjamin    12/14/84 – 3/5/85

    27    Ryan Kalkbrenner    2/2/24  – 12/31/24

    26    Ryan Kalkbrenner    11/16/21 – 2/26/22

    25    Ryan Kalkbrenner    11/14/22 – 3/1/23

    17    Brody Deren    2/4/03 – 12/6/03

    17    Gregory Echenique    2/16/11 – 11/25/11

Action Jackson

Jackson McAndrew had 12 points and 14 rebounds on Nov. 26 vs. San Diego State, then followed that up with a season-high 16 points vs. No. 20 Texas A&M a day later.

    McAndrew was the first Bluejay freshman with a double-double since Fredrick King had 16 points and 10 rebounds at Marquette on Dec. 16, 2022.

    McAndrew is the first Bluejay with a double-double in his first start at Creighton since South Dakota State transfer Baylor Scheierman had 11 points and 10 rebounds on Nov. 7, 2022 vs. Florida A&M.

    McAndrew was the first Bluejay freshman with a double-double in his first career start since Ryan Nembhard (15 points, 10 assists). No Bluejay freshman since at least 1987-88 had owned a points/rebounds double-double in his first career start.

    McAndrew is one of three freshmen in the BIG EAST this season to have a double-double in his first career start, joining UConn’s Liam McNeeley (18 & 10 vs. Sacred Heart) and Georgetown’s Thomas Sorber (20 & 13 vs. Lehigh).

    McAndrew’s 14 rebounds were the third-most by any freshman in Greg McDermott‘s 15 years as Creighton head coach (491 games). Doug McDermott had 17 at Bradley on Feb. 1, 2011 and 16 at Akron on Feb. 19, 2011.

    McAndrew was also the first Bluejay freshman since Fredrick King in December of 2022 to score 12+ points in consecutive games.

McDermott Passes Altman On CU Wins List

Greg McDermott has 340 victories at Creighton, passing his predecessor Dana Altman (327) for the most in program history in CU’s Nov. 13 win vs. Houston Christian.

    McDermott broke a different record on Jan. 21 at DePaul when he coached his 504th game on the Bluejay sideline, breaking the mark of 503 held by Altman.

    McDermott’s .672 winning percentage is Creighton’s best since Arthur A. Schabinger’s .714 win rate from 90 years ago.

    Below is a list of the most victorious Creighton coaches in program history, as well as the history of the Creighton Athletic Department.

Most Coaching Wins, Creighton MBB History

Rk.    W-L    Name    Years

1.    340-166    Greg McDermott    2010-Pres.

2.    327-176    Dana Altman    1994-2010

3.    165-66    Arthur A. Schabinger     1922-1935

4.    138-118    John J. “Red” McManus     1959-1969

5.    130-64    Tom Apke    1974-1981

Most Wins, Creighton Athletics History (after 1/29/25)

Coach, Sport    Victories

Brent Vigness, Softball    819

Ed Servais, Baseball    678*

Mary Higgins, Softball    564

Tom Lilly, Men’s & Women’s Tennis    543*#

Kirsten Bernthal Booth, Volleyball    502*

Jim Flanery, Women’s Basketball    444*

Ed Hubbs, Men’s & Women’s Tennis    347

Greg McDermott, Men’s Basketball    340*

Dana Altman, Men’s Basketball    327

*still active coaching at Creighton

#currently just the women’s tennis coach

Stability Is Key

One reason for Creighton’s extended run of success has been the continuity within its coaching staff. The Bluejays have had just two head coaches in the last 31 years, Dana Altman (1994-2010) and Greg McDermott (2010-Present).

    Here’s a list of major conference schools to have a coach with 300 wins at that school, and their predecessor also had 300 wins at the school:

School    Former Coach    Current Coach

Creighton    Dana Altman    Greg McDermott

Kansas    Roy Williams    Bill Self

Michigan State    Jud Heathcote    Tom Izzo

Purdue    Gene Keady    Matt Painter

The Launch Pad

Basketball-Reference.com did the math, and Creighton owns 9,508 three-pointers in 1,246 games since the rule went national in 1986-87.

    That ranks second-most in the country in that span, trailing only Duke (9,890 through Jan. 30).

    Additionally, Creighton’s 7.63 three-pointers per game in that time lead the nation among programs who are currently in a major conference.

7-Foot-1 Of Awesome

A few notes about Ryan Kalkbrenner.

    There’s only two BIG EAST players to score 73+ points in 60 minutes or less in any two game span since 2005-06. Ryan Kalkbrenner (73 points in 58 minutes) in the opening week this season and UConn’s Kemba Walker (73 points in 60 minutes) in 2010.

    Ryan Kalkbrenner is one of three major conference players since 2005-06 to score 73 points and block six shots in any two game span, joining Indiana’s Trayce Jackson-Davis and Kansas State’s Michael Beasley.

    There’s been only four BIG EAST players to score 73+ points to score any two-game span since 2012: Marquette’s Markus Howard (7x), DePaul’s Max Strus, Creighton’s Doug McDermott and Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner.

    Kalkbrenner is the nation’s second player since 2005-06 to score 24+ points and shoot 90 percent (min. 10 FGA) in consecutive games, joining Belmont’s Evan Bradds from November of 2015.

    Evan Bradds (7x) and Ryan Kalkbrenner (7x) are the only men in the country with five or more career games of 90 percent shooting (min. 10 FGA) since 2005-06.

Kalkbrenner Block Machine

Ryan Kalkbrenner ranks second in program history in blocked shots with 363. Kalkbrenner had 107 swats last year and is now 48 blocks behind Benoit Benjamin.

Most Creighton Blocked Shots, Since 1979-80

    Blk.    Name    Years

    411    Benoit Benjamin    1982-85

    363    Ryan Kalkbrenner    2020-Pres.

    183    Chad Gallagher    1987-91

Among The Best…EVER!

Ryan Kalkbrenner has made 854 of 1,291 career shots, putting him at 66.15 percent overall. That places the senior center fourth in field goal percentage in NCAA history among players to make 700 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….he’s taken 116.

Best Career FG%, NCAA History (min. 700 FG, 4FG/game)

    Pct. (FG-FGA)    Name, School    Years

    .678 (828-1222)    Steve Johnson, Oregon State    1976-81

    .667 (740-1109)    Evan Bradds, Belmont    2013-17

    .664 (702-1058)    Todd MacCulloch, Washington    1995-99

.662 (854-1291)    Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton    2020-Pres.

    .651 (747-1147)    Bill Walton, UCLA    1971-74

He Shoots, He Scores

Ryan Kalkbrenner had a night for the ages on Nov. 6 in the season-opener vs. UTRGV, finishing with 49 points on 20-of-22 shooting from the floor and 7-of-8 free throws while adding 11 rebounds and three blocked shots.

    Kalkbrenner’s 49 points were the second-most in program history, two behind Bob Portman’s 51 on Dec. 16, 1967 vs. Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Portman made 16-of-35 field goal attempts and 18-of-23 foul shots in his record-setting contest.

    Below is a list of the previous Bluejay performances of 40 points or more

Most Points, Creighton Game

    Pts.    Name, Opponent    Date    FG    FT

    51    Bob Portman vs. UW-Milwaukee    12/16/1967    16    19

    49    Ryan Kalkbrenner vs. UTRGV    11/06/2024    20*    7

    47    Eddie Cole vs. Morningside (OT)    11/29/1954    18    11

    46    Bob Portman vs. Weber State    12/23/1968    19    8

    45    Tim Powers at Idaho State    01/29/1966    17    11

    45    Benoit Benjamin vs. Indiana State    01/19/1985    18    9

    45    Doug McDermott vs. Providence    03/08/2014    17#    6

    44    Doug McDermott at Bradley    01/07/2012    18@    5

    43    Bob Portman at Kansas State    02/12/1968    16    11

    43    Benoit Benjamin vs. Southern Illinois    01/17/1985    18    7

    42    Bob Portman vs. LaSalle    01/30/1968    19    4

    42    Cavel Witter vs. Bradley (2OT)    03/01/2008    13%    12

    41    Doug McDermott vs. Wichita State    03/02/2013    15#    6

    40    Chad Gallagher vs. Wichita State    02/17/1990    14    12

    40    Rodney Buford vs. Bradley    12/30/1998    13$    8

*includes 2 three-pointers

@includes 3 three-pointers

%includes 4 three-pointers

#includes 5 three-pointers

$includes 6 three-pointers

Honors Roll In For Kalkbrenner

Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner was named the first BIG EAST Player of the Week of the 2024-25 season, the conference announced on Nov. 11. He also picked up National Player of the Week acclaim from ESPN’s Dick Vitale, NCAA.com’s Andy Katz, the USBWA, Associated Press as well as the Lute Olson Award.

    The 7-foot-1 center averaged 36.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.0 blocked shots per game as No. 15 Creighton posted a pair of double-digit victories to open the season. The three-time BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year shot 90.6 percent from the field (29-32), including 100 percent from three-point range (3-3), and also made 92.3 percent (12-13) of his free throw attempts.

    It was the first weekly honor from the BIG EAST of Kalkbrenner’s career, though he’s certainly no stranger to hardware. Kalkbrenner is one of three men to earn at least three BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year honors. He was named First Team All-BIG EAST in 2022-23, Second Team All-BIG EAST in 2023-24 and Honorable Mention All-BIG EAST in 2021-22. Prior to this season, Kalkbrenner was named the league’s Preseason Player of the Year. He is also a four-time member of the BIG EAST’s All-Academic Team.

Kalkbrenner Scoring Tidbits

Ryan Kalkbrenner’s 49 points vs. UTRGV on Nov. 6 bring up all sorts of notes.

– In the last 25 years, the only player nationally with more points in a season-opener than Kalkbrenner’s 49 was Arkansas’ Rotnei Clarke, who had 51 in 2009 against Alcorn State.

–    Kalkbrenner’s 49 points are the fourth-most ever in a season-opener by a player on a Top 25 team, trailing only LSU’s Bob Pettit (60 in 1953), UCLA’s Lew Alcindor (56 in 1966) and Jacksonville’s Artis Gilmore (50 in 1970). Those other three men are in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

– Kalkbrenner is the first Bluejay with 40+ points and 10+ rebounds in the same game since Chad Gallagher had 40 points and 11 rebounds vs. Wichita State on Feb. 17, 1990.

– Kalkbrenner’s 49 points were the fifth-most points in a game in BIG EAST history. Marquette’s Markus Howard had games of 53, 52 and 51, while Providence’s MarShon Brooks had a 52 point game as well.

– Kalkbrenner’s 49 points were the most in a double-double performance in BIG EAST history.

– Before Kalkbrenner’s 49 points and 11 rebounds, no other high major player has posted as many points and rebounds in any game over the past 30 years.

– Kalkbrenner is also the nation’s only player with 49+ points and 3+ blocks in the same game since at least 2005-06.

– Kalkbrenner scored Creighton’s first eight points and got better as the game went on. He had nine points in the first 10 minutes, then scored 11 in the final 10 minutes before half for the highest-scoring first half of his career.

    Kalkbrenner then scored 14 points in the first 10 minutes of the second half before closing his masterpiece with 15 points in the final 10 minutes.

– Kalkbrenner’s 49 points broke Doug McDermott’s record of 45 points by a Creighton player at CHI Health Center Omaha. The overall record is 53 by Marquette’s Markus Howard on Jan. 9, 2019.

Having A Field Day

Ryan Kalkbrenner’s 20 field goals made on Nov. 6 were a Creighton single-game record, eclipsing the previous mark of 19 done twice by Bob Portman in 1968.

    Kalkbrenner’s 20 field goals are the most in a season-opener by any player nationally in the last 15 seasons.

    Kalkbrenner is the only player in the BIG EAST in at least 30 years with 49+ points and 20+ field goals in a game.

    Kalkbrenner’s 20 field goals tied the single-game BIG EAST record held by Providence’s MarShon Brooks vs. Notre Dame in 2011.

    Kalkbrenner’s 20 field goals made were a CHI Health Center Omaha record, breaking the old mark of 17 done twice by Doug McDermott and once by Evansville’s Colt Ryan.

    Kalkbrenner’s 20 field goals made were the most by any player in a game against a Division I foe since Iowa State’s Melvin Ejim made 20 hoops vs. TCU on Feb. 8, 2014.

    Kalkbrenner’s 90.9 percent shooting from the field was the highest field goal percentage in a 45-point game by any Division I player in the past 25 seasons, and the highest by a player to attempt 20 or more shots in a game in the past 25 years.

– Kalkbrenner was the first player with 20 field goals on 90 percent shooting in a Division I game since UCLA’s Bill Walton made 21-of-22 shots vs. Memphis in the 1973 NCAA final.

– Kalkbrenner missed just three shots (2 FG, 1 FT). He’s the first Division I or NBA player to score 45+ points while missing no more than three shots (FG or FT) since Dirk Nowitzki did in the 2011 NBA playoffs.

– Kalkbrenner made his final three field goal attempts in the first half, then made 11-of-11 shots in the second half, giving him 14 buckets in a row. That’s two shy of the NCAA single-game record of 16 made field goals in a row set by Kent State’s Doug Grayson vs. North Carolina on Dec. 6, 1967.

 

Dynamic Duo

Ryan Kalkbrenner (49) and Steven Ashworth (25) combined for 74 points on Nov. 6th. It was the most points by any BIG EAST duo since at least 1996-97.

    It’s the second-most points by any Creighton pair in the same game, one point shy of the mark set on Jan. 19, 1985 when Benoit Benjamin (45) and Vernon Moore (30) combined for 75.

    It’s the most points by any Creighton duo in 15 seasons under Greg McDermott. The previous high was 62, done on March 9, 2019 by Mitch Ballock (39) and Martin Krampelj (23) vs. DePaul. Ballock is now a graduate manager on the Bluejay staff.

     In addition to Ballock and Krampelj, Creighton’s only other duo to combine for 62+ points in a game since 1996-97 was Nate Funk (38) and Johnny Mathies (24), who did it in double-overtime on Nov. 26, 2005 vs. Dayton.

    The last Division I duo to combine for 74+ points in a non-overtime game was Austin Peay’s Terry Taylor and Jordyn Adams (both with 37) vs. Tennessee State on Jan. 23, 2020.

Jays Don’t Foul…Do You Follow?

Creighton led the nation with just 11.5 fouls per game last year, well ahead of runner-up Lipscomb’s 12.9 per contest, and are averaging an 10.43 fouls per game this season to lead the country. That puts CU on pace to shatter the NCAA single-season record for fewest fouls per game, a mark currently held by the 1961-62 Air Force team that averaged 11.0 fouls per game.

    Creighton’s streak of 60 straight games without a foul out was snapped on Nov. 30 vs. Notre Dame. Per Elias, that streak had been the nation’s longest since at least 2005-06.

    Since the start of last year, Creighton has committed three fouls or less in 26 different halves.

    In 56 games since the start of last season, Creighton has allowed just 59 made free throws in a 1-and-1 situation, and just 18 made free throws in the double bonus (and 6 of those came in an overtime session). Only four of those free throws in a 1-and-1 situation came in the first half (2 each vs. Alabama and San Diego State).

    Here’s a look at how many fouls Creighton was called for this season by half:

Creighton Fouls By Half

Opponent    First Half    Second Half

UTRGV    4    7

FDU    5    7

Houston Christian    2    6

Kansas City    2    4

Nebraska    7    12

San Diego State    1    5

Texas A&M    9    8

Notre Dame    5    8

#1 Kansas    3    4

UNLV    4    4

#7 Alabama    7    11

Georgetown    4    4

Villanova    1    7

St. John’s    3    6

#8 Marquette    3    9

Butler    1    8

Providence    5    3

#14 UConn    3    5

DePaul    5    7

Seton Hall    4    5

Xavier    4    7

Total    82    137

Nifty Fifty Leads To Postseason?

Not counting 2019-20, when there was no postseason, Creighton has made the postseason each of the previous 11 times in which it has made at least 50 percent of its field goal attempts to open the year.  That’s a good sign since CU shot 60 percent on Nov. 6, its best mark since at least 1993-94 in a lid-lifter.

    Nine of those postseason trips were NCAA Tournament berths. The last time that didn’t hold true was 1991-92, when CU shot 51.0 percent in the opener but finished just 9-19.

    Creighton has shot 50 percent or better in nine of its last 13 season-openers.

CU Season-Opener Field Goal Percentage 50+%

Since 1993-94

FG%    Year    Opponent    Postseason

.541    1997-98    UMKC    NIT

.524    1998-99    Towson State    NCAA

.569    2000-01    Western Illinois    NCAA

.594    2002-03    UT Arlington    NCAA

.500    2012-13    North Texas    NCAA

.556    2013-14    Alcorn State    NCAA

.528    2015-16    Texas Southern    NIT

.508    2016-17    UMKC    NCAA

.558    2017-18    Yale    NCAA

.524    2019-20    Kennesaw St.    Postseason Ccd.

.585    2021-22    Ark.-Pine Bluff    NCAA

.567    2023-24    Florida A&M    NCAA

.600    2024-25    UTRGV    ? ? ?

The Push For 90

Of Creighton’s 25 all-time NCAA Tournament teams, 12 have scored 90 or more points in their season-opener.

    Put another way…of CU’s 19 teams (before 2024-25)  to score 90 points in an opener, 12 would reach the NCAA Tournament.

    Here’s a look at Creighton’s last 12 teams to score 90 or more points in a season-opener:

                Final    Post-

    Score    Opponent    Date    W-L    Season

    93-47    UT-San Antonio    11/30/90    24-8    NCAA

    93-48    Towson State    11/14/98    22-9    NCAA

    96-50    Western Illinois    11/20/00    24-8    NCAA

    106-50    Texas-Arlington    11/17/02    29-5    NCAA

    97-65    North Carolina A&T    11/11/11    29-6    NCAA

    107-61    Alcorn State    11/08/13    27-8    NCAA

    104-77    Central Arkansas    11/14/14    14-19    —

    93-70    Texas Southern    11/14/15    20-15    NIT

    92-76    Yale    11/10/17    21-12    NCAA

    90-77    Arkansas-Pine Bluff    11/09/21    23-12    NCAA

    105-54    Florida A&M    11/07/23    25-10    NCAA

    99-86    UTRGV    11/06/24    ? ? ?    ? ? ?

One Of The Best

Senior center Ryan Kalkbrenner has been named one of 20 candidates on the NABC Division I Player of the Year Preseason Watch List, one of 50 players up for the John R. Wooden Award, and one of 50 candidates for the Naismith Trophy Men’s Player of the Year Watch List.

    Kalkbrenner is four players named to the Naismith’s Preseason list each of the last three years (joining Hunter Dickinson, RJ Davis and Caleb Love). He’s also one of four players to make the NABC Preseason list each of the past two seasons, joining Dickinson, Oumar Ballo and Wade Taylor IV.

Who’s Back?

With Creighton returning six of the 11 men who appeared in a game last season, it’s no surprise that a similar ratio of the production from 2023-24 is also gone. Below is a breakdown of what is back:

Stat    Returners    Departures

Blocks    119 (83.2%)    24 (16.8%)

Starts    105 (60.0%)    70 (40.0%)

Minutes    3684 (51.3%)    3491 (48.7%)

Rebounds    636 (51.1%)    608 (48.9%)

Points    1383 (49.1%)    1432 (50.9%)

3FG Made    171 (45.6%)    204 (54.4%)

Assists    226 (38.4%)    362 (61.6%)

Steals    42 (31.3%)    92 (68.7%)

Charges Taken    4 (30.8%)    9 (69.2%)

Preseason Top 15

The Creighton men’s basketball team was ranked 15th in the Associated Press Preseason Top 25 poll, the third straight season the Bluejays have been ranked among the nation’s best in the preseason.

    This year’s announcement marks the seventh 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), 2022-23 (No. 9) and 2023-24 (No. 8). All six of those teams would end up in the NCAA Tournament, with the last three most recent squads making the Sweet 16.

    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 been ranked 146 times in program history, with 118 of those under the direction of McDermott. Creighton is 180-76 all-time as a ranked team, including a 146-64 mark under McDermott. Creighton has now been ranked at least one week in 11 of McDermott’s 15 seasons on The Hilltop after doing it just five different seasons in program history before his 2010 arrival.

    Creighton is one of 13 schools ranked in the Top 25 of the Preseason AP poll each of the last three years, joining Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Baylor, Creighton, Duke, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. Narrow that list to just the Preseason Top 15 the past three seasons and only seven schools can claim that, with Creighton joining Duke, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas, North Carolina and Tennessee.

    Creighton was one of three BIG EAST Conference schools in the preseason poll, joining No. 3 Connecticut and No. 18 Marquette. Two of Creighton’s December opponents, No. 1 Kansas (Dec. 4) and No. 2 Alabama (Dec. 14), are atop the poll. CU met preseason No. 13 Texas A&M on Nov. 27 in Las Vegas.

    Creighton was also 14th in the preseason USA Today Coaches poll.

    CU dropped out of both polls on Monday, Dec. 9.

Among The Nation’s Best

Below is where Creighton ranks nationally since the start of the 2010-11 season among teams to have played 100 or more Division I games, per Basketball-Reference.com.

2010-11 to Jan. 29, 2024

Category    CU Stat    CU Rank

3FG Made    4,525    2nd

2FG Percentage    .551    3rd

FG Percentage    .477    4th

Assists    8,110    5th

3FG Percentage    .374    5th

FG Made    13,836    7th

Points    38,691    9th

Wins    340    23rd

Winning Percentage    .672    29th

Who Are These Guys?

Creighton returns 105 starts from last year’s team, the fifth time in the past six seasons its returned at least 100 starts.

    Creighton has won 20 or more games each of the previous nine times (and 13 of the last 14 times) it has returned 100 or more starts.

    Returning    Returning Starts     Final

Year    Starters    From Previous Year    W-L

2024-25    3    105    ? ? ?

2023-24    3    111    25-10

2022-23    3    104    24-13

2021-22    0    2    23-12

2020-21    5    124    22-9

2019-20    4    136    24-7

2018-19    2    57    20-15

2017-18    2    72    21-12

2016-17    4    130    25-10

2015-16    1    64    20-15

2014-15    1    49    14-19

2013-14    4    144    27-8

2012-13    4    140    28-8

2011-12    3    101    29-6

2010-11    4    123    23-16

2009-10    3    106    18-16

2008-09    3    83    27-8

2007-08    1    44    22-11

2006-07    4    120    22-11

2005-06    4    134    20-10

2004-05    2    58    23-11

2003-04    3    101    20-9

2002-03    5    159    29-5

2001-02    2    65    23-9

2000-01    3    90    24-8

1999-00    3    84    23-10

1998-99    3    84    22-9

1997-98    4    72    18-10

1996-97    4    126    15-15

1995-96    4    100    14-15

1994-95    2    52    7-19

1993-94    3    73    7-22

1992-93    2    64    8-18

1991-92    2    51    9-19

1990-91    4    132    24-8

1989-90    4    127    21-12

1988-89    4    123    20-11

1987-88    3    83    16-16

1986-87    2    65    9-19

1985-86    1    48    12-16

1984-85    4    124    20-12

1983-84    3    72    17-14

1982-83    3    77    8-19

1981-82    2    78    7-20

1980-81    4    112    21-9

#ProJays

Creighton has three alums in the NBA this season.

    Former Creighton All-American Doug McDermott is with the Sacramento Kings as he begins his 11th year in the NBA.

    Baylor Scheierman was a First Round pick in the 2024 NBA Draft by the NBA champion Boston Celtics.

    Trey Alexander went undrafted, but was signed on a two-way contract by the Denver Nuggets.

    These men give Creighton at least one NBA player for the 41st time in the last 42 seasons.

    Other famous Bluejays to play in the NBA in the past include Paul Silas, Kyle Korver, Benoit Benjamin and Anthony Tolliver.

Let’s Go On A Run

Creighton has won at least one NCAA Tournament game in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. That makes CU one of five teams in the country to have a win in each of the last four NCAA Tournaments, joining Baylor, Gonzaga, Houston and Kansas.

    This is the first time that Creighton has won an NCAA Tournament game in four straight years.

Sweetness!

Creighton is one of just five teams to have reached at least three of the last four Sweet 16s.

    Gonzaga and Houston have done it each of the last four seasons, while Alabama, UCLA and Creighton have done it three times each.

    This is the first time Creighton has been in the Sweet 16 in back-to-back tournaments.

Most Sweet 16’s, Last Four Years

    #    Team    Years

    4    Gonzaga    2021    2022    2023    2024

    4    Houston    2021    2022    2023    2024

    3    Creighton    2021        –    2023    2024

    3    UCLA    2021    2022    2023         –

    3    Alabama    2021       –    2023    2024

Ain’t Too Proud To Brag

Creighton (9 straight seasons) is one of six schools with 20 or more wins in each of the previous nine seasons joining Kansas (35), Gonzaga (27), Belmont (14), Oregon (9) and Houston (9).

    Creighton (5 straight seasons) is also one of five teams to post 22 or more wins in each of the previous five seasons, joining Gonzaga (27), Houston (7), San Diego State (5) and Baylor (5).

    Creighton was one of six teams in the nation with 25 or more wins in both men’s basketball and women’s basketball last season. That list consists of Creighton, Gonzaga, NC State, South Carolina,  UConn and Vermont.

    Creighton is one of four schools to have men’s and women’s basketball programs to both own 22 wins or more each of the previous three seasons, a list that included Creighton, Gonzaga, Princeton and UConn.

24 of 26 Seasons With 20 Wins

Creighton has won 20 or more games in 24 of the previous 26 seasons (1998-99 to 2023-24), a feat that puts the Jays among an exclusive group, nationally.

    Just two schools have had 20 or more wins each of the last 26 years: Gonzaga and Kansas. Duke has done it 25 times, Creighton and Kentucky 24 times each.

Most 20-Win Seasons, Previous 26 Seasons

Team                 20-Win Seasons    

Gonzaga    26        

Kansas    26    

Duke    25    

Creighton    24    

Kentucky    24    

Arizona    22    

Florida    22    

Ohio State    22    

Michigan State    22    

BYU    21    

Memphis    21        

North Carolina    21    

Wisconsin    21        

Most Consecutive 22-Win Seasons

Team                 Consec. 22-Win Years

Gonzaga    27

Houston    7

Creighton    5

San Diego State    5

Baylor    5    

Top 25 Men & Women

Creighton was one of 12 schools with a preseason top-25 squad on both the men’s and women’s side in 2024-25, joining Alabama, Baylor, Connecticut, Duke, Indiana, Iowa State, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ole Miss, Texas and UCLA.

    The only five schools to be ranked in the preseason men’s and women’s basketball Top 25 of the AP Poll each of the last three seasons are Baylor, Creighton, North Carolina and Texas.

    Creighton is one of eight schools to make the NCAA Tournament in both men’s and women’s basketball each of the previous three seasons, a list that consists of Arizona, Baylor, Creighton, Gonzaga, Iowa State, Tennessee, Texas and UConn.

    Creighton is one of 14 schools that won an NCAA Tournament game last season in both men’s and women’s basketball: Alabama, Arizona, Baylor, Colorado, Creighton, Duke, Gonzaga, Iowa State, Kansas, North Carolina, NC State, Tennessee, Texas, and UConn.

Release, Rotation, Splash, Repeat

Creighton has made at least one three-pointer in 1,040 straight games. That ranks as 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 (through 1/29)

    Rk.    Streak    School    Next Game

    1.    1,248    UNLV    2/1

    2.    1,245    Duke    2/1

    3.    1,180    East Tennessee State    2/2

    4.    1,155    Oakland    1/30

    5.    1,151    Pacific    1/30

    6.    1,148    Texas    2/1

    7.    1,088    Marshall    1/30

    8.    1,081    Gonzaga    2/1

    9.    1,069    Princeton    1/31

    10.    1,041    Creighton    2/1

    11.    1,037    Long Island    1/30

    12.    1,025    Mount St. Mary’s    1/31

Triple Trouble

During Creighton’s current streak of 1,041 straight games with a three-pointer, the Jays have drained 8,367 trifectas, an average of 8.04 treys per game.

    Only five times in the streak has Creighton made just one three-pointer, but on 316 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 95-24 when making eight or more three-pointers, compared to a 35-32 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:  109 times

7:   152 times    8:   130 times    9:  95 times

10:  87 times    11:  63 times    12:  63 times

13:  50 times    14: 26 times    15:  9 times

16:  8 times    17: 4 times    18: 1 time

19:  2 times    20: 1 time    21:  1 time    22:  1 time

CHI Health Center Omaha Dramatics

Creighton is 8-8 in contests with a game-winning go-ahead score in the final 10 seconds at CHI Health Center Omaha, which opened in 2003.

    The last time such a game happened was in 2020 when Creighton’s Marcus Zegarowski hit a shot with 3.2 seconds left to beat Providence.

Creighton’s Go-Ahead Scores in Wins at

CHI Health Center Omaha, Last 10 Seconds

Date    Opponent    Score    Player/Score    Time

11/26/05    Dayton    W 91-90*    Funk FG    :5.7

01/28/06    Wichita St.    W 57-55    Tolliver FG    :0.0

11/25/06    George Mason    W 58-56    Watts FT    :7.5

03/18/08    Rhode Island    W 74-73    Witter 3FG    :3.2

01/13/10    Southern Illinois    W 71-69    Young FG    :1.3

02/18/12    Long Beach St.    W 81-79    Young FG    :0.3

01/28/14    St. John’s    W 63-60    McDermott 3FG    :2.8

01/18/20    Providence    W 78-74    Zegarowski 3FG    :3.2

*double-overtime

Opponent Go-Ahead Scores in CU Losses at

CHI Health Center Omaha, Last 10 Seconds

Date    Opponent    Score    Player/Score    Time

03/20/06    Miami (Fla.)    L 53-52    G. Diaz FT    :2.6

01/20/07    Southern Illinois    L 58-57    B. Mullins FG    :4.1

01/10/15    #19 Seton Hall    L 68-67    S. Gibbs 3FG    :2.2

02/16/15    #19 Butler    L 58-56    R. Jones FG    :1.9

03/07/15    Xavier    L 74-73    D. Davis FT’s    :6.3

01/12/16    #12 Providence    L 50-48    K. Dunn FG    :0.0

02/22/17    Providence    L 68-66    K. Cartwright 3FG    :2.4

02/10/18    #5 Xavier    L 71-72    Q. Goodin FT’s    :0.3

Top-20 Crowds

Here’s a look at Creighton’s top-20 home crowds all-time.

      Rank    Att.    Opponent    Date

    1.    18,868    Providence    03/08/14

    2.    18,859    Georgetown    01/25/14

    3.    18,831    #1 Villanova    12/31/16

    4.    18,797    #6 Villanova    02/16/14

    5.    18,759    #1 Gonzaga    12/01/18

    6.    18,742    Seton Hall    02/23/14

    7.    18,735    Wichita State    02/11/12

    8.    18,613    Wichita State    03/02/13

    9.    18,571    DePaul    01/22/24

    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.    18,475    Nebraska    11/22/24

    17.    18,458    Evansville    12/29/12

    18.    18,436    Bradley    01/28/12

    19.    18,430    SetonHall    01/25/25

    20.    18,323    DePaul    02/07/14

CHI Health Center Omaha Success

Creighton has played 366 regular and postseason contests at CHI Health Center Omaha all-time in the now 22-year-old facility.

    The Bluejays own a 303-63 (.828) record all-time at the facility.

    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 28,768-24,017 in games at CHI Health Center Omaha, an average margin of 12.98 points per game. Creighton has not trailed 93 different times, including twice this year (Kansas City, #1 Kansas).

    Incredibly, Creighton hasn’t trailed in its home opener in 10 of the past 24 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 33-37 all-time in the 70 games at the arena in which it’s fallen behind by double-figures at any point, 8-12 when down by 10+ points at halftime in the facility, and 42-30 when trailing at halftime at CHI Health Center Omaha.

    Creighton is 206-45 (.821) at CHI Health Center Omaha under Greg McDermott and hasn’t trailed in 66 of those games. In that same span, CU owns a 106-10 home record (.914) 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 321-63 (.836) at home since the start of the 2002-03 campaign.

Home Run

Under Greg McDermott Creighton is averaging 80.77 points per home game (20,274 points in 251 home games), a figure that climbs to 84.23 points in non-conference home games (9,855 points in 117 home games).

    Creighton is 153-7 all-time at CHI Health Center Omaha when scoring 80 or points.

Nine Is Divine

Greg McDermott has guided his team to the NCAA Tournament nine times at Creighton. 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    14

Bob Warming    Men’s Soccer    11

Greg McDermott    Men’s Basketball    9

Dana Altman    Men’s Basketball    7

Brent Vigness    Softball    7

Jim Flanery    Women’s Basketball    7

Firing On All Cylinders

Creighton finished the 2023-24 season ranked 11th overall by KenPom.com. That included the nation’s No. 9 offense, and No. 24 defense.

    Creighton has finished with a top-25 offense per KenPom eight times and a top-25 defense three times in 14 completed seasons under Greg McDermott.

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    9    24    11

2024-25    43    33    33

New Court Debuts

Creighton is playing home games on a new basketball court designed to tell the story of Creighton University and the program’s proud history.

    The court was designed by GLGR out of Beaverton, Ore., and produced by Ledford Sports Floors out of Jenks, Okla.

    The court includes multiple intricate features that merit up-close inspection to gain a full appreciation for the attention to detail in the new Creighton-centric design.

• Six numbers will appear on the west sideline, three in front of each bench, to recognize the retired jersey numbers for No. 3 (Doug McDermott), No. 25 (Kyle Korver), No. 30 (Bob Harstad), No. 33 (Bob Portman), No. 35 (Paul Silas) and No. 45 (Bob Gibson).

• Within the eye of the Bluejay logo at midcourt will be the number 1916, a nod to Creighton’s first recognized year of intercollegiate basketball.

• Just inside the three-point line on the South end will be text of seven core Jesuit values, such as “Women and Men For and With Others”. It is believed that Creighton is the nation’s first Division I team with its school motto included inside its basketball court.

• Also inside the three-point line on the North side of the court are Heritage logos to honor Creighton’s history.

• The new color scheme also features an updated courtside gradient, in addition to a feather pattern inside the three-point line, a nod to Creighton’s Bluejay nickname.

McDermott’s Coaching Tree

Greg McDermott‘s coaching tree owns 10 men who are currently a head coach at the Division I level. Seven of the 10 won 20+ games last season. Here’s a list:

Darian DeVries – West Virginia

Eric Henderson – South Dakota State

Alan Huss – High Point

Ben Jacobson – Northern Iowa

Steve Lutz – Oklahoma State

TJ Otzelberger – Iowa State

David Richman – North Dakota State

Daniyal Robinson – Cleveland State

Paul Sather – North Dakota

Patrick Sellers – Central Connecticut State

Ticket Information

Single-game tickets for the 2024-25 season went on sale on October 16th.

    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.