By: Rob Anderson

Game #15: Creighton Bluejays (9-5, 2-1) at #8 Marquette Golden Eagles (12-2, 3-0)

Friday, Jan. 3, 2025 • 8:00 p.m. • Milwaukee, Wis. • Fiserv Forum

| LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES | MU NOTES |

Next Game

Creighton (9-5, 2-1 BIG EAST) opens 2025 with its 100th meeting ever against No. 8 Marquette (12-2, 3-0 BIG EAST).

    Friday’s contest will take place at Fiserv Forum (17,500) in Milwaukee, Wis., and tip at 8 p.m.

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 385 as well as https://sxm.app.link/SXM975.

    Westwood One will also air the game nationally on its vast network, with Ryan Radtke and Will Perdue on the call.

Television Broadcast Information

Friday’s game will be televised on FS1 with Jeff Levering and Stephen Bardo 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 9-5 this year against a challenging schedule that includes three Top 25 opponents, in addition to San Diego State, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Villanova, Georgetown and St. John’s. CU’s top performance was a 76-63 win over then-No. 1 Kansas on Dec. 4th.

    Senior Ryan Kalkbrenner (17.2 ppg., 7.8 rpg., 2.7 bpg., .695 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 was named BIG EAST and National Player of the Week on Nov. 11.

    Senior Steven Ashworth (17.1 ppg., 6.2 apg.) is back to run the point guard spot, and is joined on the wing by Jamiya Neal (10.6 ppg., 6.1 rpg., 4.8 apg.). Also coming on strong is Jackson McAndrew (8.6 ppg., 4.4 rpg.), CU’s first true freshman in 35 years to score 13 points or more in his first two conference games.

    Texas Tech transfer Pop Isaacs (16.3 ppg., 4.8 rpg.) had 27 points in the win vs. Kansas, but he will miss the rest of the season following hip surgery.

    Creighton averages 75.4 points per game and shoots 46.7 percent from the field, 35.1 percent from three-point range and 76.3 percent at the line while outrebounding foes by 2.8 caroms per contest.

Scouting No. 8 Marquette

Marquette is ranked eighth nationally after a 12-2 start, opening BIG EAST play 3-0 for the first time since 2012-13.

    Dynamic guard Kam Jones (20.1 ppg., 6.6 apg.) leads the Golden Eagles in points and assists and is on a short list of National Player of the Year candidates.

    David Joplin (14.4 ppg.) ranks second on the team in scoring and hauls in a team-leading 5.4 rebounds per game. Also scoring in double-figures are Stevie Mitchell (11.6 ppg., 2.6 spg.) and Chase Ross (10.2 ppg.).

    MU owns victories over Maryland, Purdue, Georgia, Wisconsin, Butler, Xavier and Providence and has lost only in true road games at Iowa State and Dayton.

    The Golden Eagles average 80.5 points per game and surrender just 66.1 points per contest. MU shoots 46.6 percent from the field, 32.5 percent from deep and 74.2 percent at the line. Marquette also ranks seventh nationally with 10.4 steals per game.

The Series With Marquette

Marquette leads the 102-year old series with Creighton by a 59-40 margin, but Creighton has won eight of the past 12 meetings.

    Seventeen of the last 21 meetings have been decided by eight points or less.

    Creighton is 12-11 against MU since the teams became BIG EAST rivals, but the road team is 12-10 in those match-ups (CU is 6-5 in Milwaukee; MU is 6-5 in Omaha).

    Greg McDermott is 12-11 in his career against Marquette and 4-3 against Shaka Smart.

The Creighton Coaches

Greg McDermott (Northern Iowa, 1988) owns a 334-165 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 614-360 in his 31st season, and is 483-296 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 improve to 5-2 inside Fiserv Forum all-time.

– Creighton would win at least 10 games for the 30th straight season.

– Creighton would earn multiple Top 25 wins for a 10th straight season.

– Creighton would join Auburn, West Virginia, Dayton and Kentucky as the nation’s only teams with multiple Top 10 wins this season.

– Creighton would earn its sixth Top 10 road victory in team history, and third such win at Marquette.

– Greg McDermott would improve to 335-165 in 500 games as Creighton head coach.

– Greg McDermott would win his 40th game against a Top 25 opponent, compared to all other CU coaches who combined to beat 20 Top 25 foes.

Milestone Watch

– Ryan Kalkbrenner (1,994) is six points shy of 2,000 career points.

– Steven Ashworth has made multiple three-pointers in 16 straight games, and at least one three-pointer in 32 consecutive contests.

– Friday is Greg McDermott‘s 500th game as Creighton head coach.

Kalkbrenner Approaches 2,000 Points

Ryan Kalkbrenner owns 1,994 career points as he approaches 2,000 career points.

    He would be 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 and Harstad  required 121 contests to reach 2,000 points.

    Friday will be Kalkbrenner’s 148th career game. 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.    2,116    Rodney Buford    1995-99

    3.    2,110    Bob Harstad     1987-91

    4.    1,994    Ryan Kalkbrenner    2020-Pres.

    5.    1,983    Chad Gallagher     1987-91

    6.    1,876    Bob Portman     1966-69

    7.    1,801    Kyle Korver    1999-03

    8.    1,754    Nate Funk    2002-07

    9.    1,682    Rick Apke     1974-78

    10.    1,661    Paul Silas    1961-64

McDermott To Coach In 500th Game at CU

Greg McDermott will coach in his 500th game on the Creighton sideline on Friday at Marquette. He is currently 334-165.

    Only one previous person in program history has served as head men’s basketball coach for as many as 500 games, with that being McDermott’s predecessor Dana Altman. Altman finished his CU career in 2010 with a 327-176 record, and owned a 325-175 mark after 500 games with the Bluejays.

    Here’s a look at Altman and McDermott per each 50 games at Creighton:

Game # at CU    Altman W-L    McDermott W-L

50    20-30    33-17

100    45-55    72-28

150    82-68    112-38

200    116-84    135-65

250    155-95    168-82

300    194-106    198-102

350    226-124    234-116

400    260-140    267-133

450    294-156    300-150

500    325-175    334-165 after 499

The McDermott Era

Greg McDermott owns 334 wins in 499 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

Rk.    Wins    School    Coach

1.    435    Gonzaga    Mark Few

2.    414    Kansas    Bill Self

3.    364    Saint Mary’s    Randy Bennett

4.    357    Oregon    Dana Altman

5.    354    Michigan State    Tom Izzo

6.    346    Baylor    Scott Drew

7.    344    Purdue    Matt Painter

8.    334    Creighton    Greg McDermott

9.    307    Colorado    Tad Boyle

10.    301    Boise State    Leon Rice

    McDermott’s 334 wins since the start of the 2010-11 season started are tied for 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)

Rk.    W-L    Coach

1.    435-74    Mark Few

2.    410-103    Bill Self

3.    386-122    John Calipari

4.    361-134    Mick Cronin

5.    360-116    Randy Bennett

6.    357-153    Dana Altman

7.    354-151    Tom Izzo

8.    349-120    Tony Bennett

9.    346-144    Scott Drew

10.    344-151    Matt Painter

11.    338-127    Sean Miller

12.    334-165    Greg McDermott

    334-89    Mike Krzyzewski

Foul Play

Creighton has had nine fouls or less in each of its last four regular-season BIG EAST games dating back to last season. That’s the longest streak by any BIG EAST team in league play since  at least 1996-97.

    Nationally since 2005-06, the only other team to have four straight conference games of nine fouls or less was Western Kentucky’s streak of five games in a row from Feb. 17 – March 5, 2022 while the Hilltoppers were a member of Conference-USA.

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

Living Clean

Ryan Kalkbrenner has blocked 10 shots while playing in 103 minutes over the course of Creighton’s last three games.

    What makes that stretch notable is that he’s done all that without being called for a single foul in any of those three games.

    Kalkbrenner is the nation’s only Division I player (men’s or women’s) in the last 15 seasons who has had any three-game stretch with at least one made three-pointer, 10 blocks and no fouls.

    Of the nation’s 17 men’s players with 30 or more blocks through games of Dec. 31, Kalkbrenner’s 12 fouls made him the only player in that group with 18 personal fouls or fewer.

Won By One

Creighton defeated St. John’s 57-56 on Tuesday, its first win in a one-point game since defeating the Johnnies 66-65 on Jan. 13, 2024. Both games were in Omaha.

    Creighton improved to 3-1 all-time in games to end in an 57-56 score.

    Creighton is now 11-11 in one-point games under Greg McDermott and 84-79 in program history in one-point games.

    Creighton has not played consecutive one-point games since Feb. 7, 2018 (won at DePaul, 76-75) and Feb. 10, 2018 (lost to #5 Xavier, 72-71).

    Marquette is 5-1 all-time against Creighton in games decided by exactly one point, including a 7-6 victory on Feb. 23, 1923 in the fourth meeting ever between the schools.

    Marquette’s five one-point wins over Creighton are tied for its most over any school, and Creighton’s five one-point losses vs. Marquette are tied for its most against any opponent.

Horseshoes & Hand Grenades

Creighton’s first 11 years in the BIG EAST have featured 23 games against Marquette decided by an average of 7.13 points.  Only the games against UConn have been closer.

    Avg. Margin    CU W-L    Opponent

    7.11    7-2    Connecticut

    7.13    12-11    Marquette

    8.31    13-13    Xavier

    9.73    11-15    Providence

    10.78    13-10    Seton Hall

    12.96    17-6    St. John’s

    13.35    10-16    Villanova

    13.74    14-9    Butler

    15.00    14-11    Georgetown

    17.29    22-1    DePaul

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 tied for eighth in the BIG EAST with his 4.8 assists per game average.

    Neal owns six assists or more in six games this season, with Creighton going 5-1 in those contests.

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 64.1 percent.

    Kalkbrenner owns 203 career blocks in BIG EAST play, good for seventh 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 1,042 to rank 40th.

    Kalkbrenner also owns 506 career rebounds in BIG EAST play, which is 19th-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

    .641    414-646    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

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.    224    Alonzo Mourning, Georgetown

    5.    216    Jason Lawson, Villanova

    6.    207    Emeka Okafor, UConn

    7.    203    Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton

    8.    184    Dikembe Mutombo, Georgetown

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

    PTS    REB    Name, School

    1,329    662    Luke Harangody, Notre Dame

    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

    1,042    506    Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton

    1,033    701    Derrick Coleman, Syracuse

More Kalkbrenner Unicornisms

Ryan Kalkbrenner owns 1,994 points and 341 blocks in his career.

    Per Basketball-Reference.com, he is six points away from becoming the 11th player in Division I men’s basketball history with at least 2,000 points and 340 blocked shots in a career.

    Of the 10 previous men to do it, six were picked No. 1 in the NBA Draft, one was chosen second, one was selected third and one man was undrafted. The other, Auburn star Johni Broome, is currently active.

2,000 Points & 340 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

    2,001    453    2    Alonzo Mourning, Georgetown

    2,265    377    Active    Johni Broome, Morehead St./Auburn

    2,143    374    1    Pervis Ellison, Louisville

    2,187    349    –    Kyle Hines, UNC Greensboro

    2,175    349    1    Joe Barry Carroll. Purdue

    2,045    346    3    Charles Smith, Pittsburgh

We Meet Again

Friday will be the 100th all-time meeting between Creighton and Marquette in a series that dates back to 1923.

    Creighton has played 326 different schools in its history, but Marquette will be just the third different opponent that Creighton has faced 100 times or more, joining its 153 meetings vs. Drake and its 100 match-ups with Wichita State.

    If you’re curious, Creighton won its 100th meeting vs. Drake 54-49 in Wichita, Kan., in the 1989 MVC Tournament semifinals, and topped the Shockers in the 100th meeting by a 68-65 count in the 2013 MVC Tournament final.

    CU hasn’t played either the Bulldogs or Shockers since beating both in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament prior to leaving the league in 2013.

Most Played Series, Creighton History

Opponent    Meetings    CU Wins    CU Losses

Drake    153    94    59

Wichita State    100    55    45

Marquette    99    40    59

Southern Illinois    90    54    36

Bradley    87    46    41

Most Wins Over An Opponent, Creighton History

Opponent    Meetings    CU Wins    CU Losses

Drake    153    94    59

Wichita State    100    55    45

Indiana State    79    54    25

Southern Illinois    90    54    36

South Dakota    60    49    11

Bradley    87    46    41

Omaha    44    41    3

Marquette    99    40    59

Fiserv Fun

Creighton is 4-2 all-time inside Fiserv Forum, where Marquette is 85-19 against all other teams there.

    Besides Creighton’s four wins, the only other visiting teams to defeat MU at Fiserv Forum are UConn (3), Seton Hall (2), St. John’s (2), Butler (1), Georgetown (1), Villanova (1), Providence (1), Wisconsin (1), DePaul (1), Oklahoma State (1) and UCLA (1).

    Since joining the BIG EAST in 2013-14, Creighton’s six road wins at Marquette (at Fiserv Forum or BMO Center Bradley Center) are more than any other school (Villanova, with five, is the only other team with more than four).

Ringing In The New Year

Creighton’s first game ever in the BIG EAST was a New Year’s Eve tussle in Omaha in 2013, and it seems like Creighton & Marquette keep matching up around New Year’s Day.

    Friday marks the fifth time in 12 seasons  as league rivals that the teams will meet within two days of January 1st. Creighton won the first three battles.

Date    Site    CU Result    Score

12/31/13    at Creighton*    W    67-49

01/01/20    at Creighton*    W    92-75

01/01/22    at Marquette* (2ot)    W    75-69

12/30/23    at Marquette*    L    67-72

01/03/25    at Marquette*    TBD    8 p.m.

Ranking News & Notes

Friday’s contest at No. 8 Marquette is Creighton’s fourth Top 25 opponent of the year, but it almost certainly won’t be the last. A few notes about the Top 25.

– Creighton is 59-172 all-time against top 25 teams.

– Creighton is 39-55 under Greg McDermott against nationally-ranked teams, 32 more top 25 wins than any other coach in Creighton history. Prior to McDermott’s arrival, Creighton was 20-117 all-time against top 25 foes.

– Creighton’s 39 top 25 wins since McDermott took over in 2010 are 33rd-most nationally and more than schools like Arizona (37), Alabama (36), UCLA (35), Maryland (29), Arkansas (29), Auburn (26), Houston (23), Memphis (21), Nebraska (20), USC  (14) and Saint Mary’s (11) in that time.

– Creighton is 34-38 since the start of the 2016-17 season against ranked teams. The 34 wins over ranked teams in that time are tied for the 12th-most nationally. CU’s 34 Top 25 wins trail only Villanova (38) among BIG EAST programs in that span.

– Creighton’s 15 Top 25 wins since the start of the 2021-22 season are tied for 12th-most.

– Creighton has beaten at least one ranked team in each of the last 12 seasons (including 2024-25). On a national basis, the only teams with a top-25 win each of the last 12 seasons (including 2024-25) are Baylor, Creighton, Duke, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Michigan State, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Villanova, West Virginia and Wisconsin.  Florida State, Texas Tech and Virginia are still in search of their first Top 25 win this fall to join that group.

– Creighton has beaten multiple ranked foes in each of the previous nine seasons (entering 2024-25), something only Baylor, Gonzaga, Kansas, Michigan State, Purdue, Texas Tech and Villanova can also claim. A win on Friday would be Creighton’s second Top 25 win this season. Of that group, Creighton, Michigan State, Texas Tech and Villanova are still in search of their first Top 25 win this fall.

– Creighton owns at least one Top 10 win each of the last 10 seasons (including 2024-25). The only schools with at least one top-10 win every season from 2015-16 to 2024-25 have been Creighton and Kansas, while Texas Tech and Virginia Tech are trying to join that group with a Top 10 win this winter.

Big Mac Attack

Greg McDermott‘s teams have consistently battled some of the best teams in the country.

    The chart below shows how his teams have consistently outpaced some of his predecessors against top-25 foes.

Category    Pre-McDermott    Under McDermott

vs. Top 25 Teams    20-117    39-55

vs. Top 10 Teams    5-52    15-26

vs. Top 10 on Road    1-28    4-14

vs. Top 25 on Road    3-64    9-26

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

Consistent Producer

Senior Steven Ashworth has scored 17 points or more in each of the last six games. In the last 26 seasons, he’s just the fourth different player to have such a streak (though Doug McDermott did it six times and Nate Funk twice).

Consec. Games With 17+ Points, Creighton Since 1999-2000

    Streak    Name (PPG during streak)    Dates of Streak

    14    Doug McDermott (30.9)    Jan. 28-March 21, 2014

    12    Doug McDermott (24.8)    Dec. 3, 2013-Jan. 20, 2014

    11    Doug McDermott (25.9)    Nov. 13-Dec. 28, 2011

    9    Doug McDermott (26.1)    Nov. 18-Dec. 15, 2012

    8    Nate Funk (19.9)     Jan. 18-Feb. 10, 2007

    8    Doug McDermott (26.9)    March 22-Nov. 29, 2013

    7    Doug McDermott (27.0)    Jan. 11-Feb. 2, 2013

    7    Marcus Foster (25.3)    Jan. 17-Feb. 10, 2018

    6    Nate Funk (24.5)    Feb. 1-19, 2005

    6    Steven Ashworth (18.8)    Dec. 4, 2024-Present

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 Tuesday’s 11 point comeback 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 Dec. 31st.

Category    Rank    Stat

Team Fouls Per Game    1st    10.7

FT Pct. (Ashworth)    1st    .981

Field Goal Percentage (Kalkbrenner)    3rd    .695

Blocks (Kalkbrenner)    5th    35

Team Defensive Rebounds Per Game    7th    30.00

Blocks Per Game (Kalkbrenner)    8th    2.69

Assists Per Game (Ashworth)    16th    6.2

3-Pointers Per Game (Ashworth)    17th    3.38

Total 3FG Made (Ashworth)    17th    44

Assists (Ashworth)    18th    81

League (Arena) Bound

Creighton has played 59 games in a full-time NBA arena since Greg McDermott was hired in 2010.

    In that time, Creighton is 28-31 in such games, including a 4-5 mark in the NCAA Tournament and a 10-10 record in the BIG EAST Tournament.

     Creighton has played in 10 different NBA arenas under McDermott, including Madison Square Garden (10-13), Fiserv Forum (4-2), Verizon Center/Capital One Arena (5-6), Wells Fargo Center (4-3), Ball Arena (2-0), Bradley Center (2-3), AT&T Center (1-1), Spectrum Center (0-1), Golden 1 Center (0-1) and Little Caesars Arena (0-1).

Creighton in NBA Arenas Since 2010

Date    Score    NBA Arena

03/22/13    CU 67, Cincinnati 63    Wells Fargo Center#

03/24/13    Duke 66, CU 50    Wells Fargo Center#

01/20/14    CU 96, Villanova 68    Wells Fargo Center

02/09/14    St. John’s 70, CU 65    Madison Square Garden

02/19/14    CU 85, Marquette 70    Bradley Center

03/04/14    Georgetown 75, CU 63    Verizon Center

03/13/14    CU 84, DePaul 62    Madison Square Garden$

03/14/14    CU 86, Xavier 78    Madison Square Garden$

03/15/14    Providence 65, CU 58    Madison Square Garden$

03/21/14    CU 76, Louisiana 66    AT&T Center#

03/23/14    Baylor 85, CU 55    AT&T Center#

01/03/15    Georgetown 76, CU 61    Verizon Center

01/14/15    Marquette 53, CU 52    Bradley Center

02/07/15    St. John’s 84, CU 66    Madison Square Garden

03/11/15    CU 78, DePaul 63    Madison Square Garden$

03/12/15    Georgetown 60, CU 55    Madison Square Garden$

01/26/16    Georgetown 74, CU 73    Verizon Center

02/13/16    CU 65, Marquette 62    Bradley Center

03/10/16    Seton Hall 81, CU 73    Madison Square Garden$

01/25/17    Georgetown 71, CU 51    Verizon Center

03/04/17    Marquette 91, CU 83    Bradley Center

03/09/17    CU 70, Providence 58    Madison Square Garden$

03/10/17    CU 75, Xavier 72     Madison Square Garden$

03/11/17    Villanova 74, CU 60    Madison Square Garden$

03/17/17    Rhode Island 84, CU 72    Golden 1 Center#

01/06/18    CU 90, Georgetown 66    Capital One Arena

02/01/18    Villanova 98, CU 78    Wells Fargo Center

03/03/18    Marquette 85, CU 81    Bradley Center

03/08/18    Providence 72, CU 68    Madison Square Garden$

03/16/18    Kansas State 69, CU 59    Spectrum Center#

01/21/19    CU 91, Georgetown 87    Capital One Arena

03/03/19    CU 66, Marquette 60    Fiserv Forum

03/14/19    Xavier 63, CU 61    Madison Square Garden$

01/15/20    Georgetown 83, CU 80    Capital One Arena

02/01/20    CU 76, Villanova 61    Wells Fargo Center

02/18/20    CU 73, Marquette 65    Fiserv Forum

02/06/21    CU 71, Marquette 68    Fiserv Forum

03/11/21    CU 87, Butler 56    Madison Square Garden$

03/12/21    CU 59, UConn 56    Madison Square Garden$

03/13/21    Georgetown 73, CU 48    Madison Square Garden$

01/01/22    CU 75, Marquette 69 (2OT)    Fiserv Forum

02/12/22    CU 80, Georgetown 66    Capital One Arena

03/10/22    CU 74, Marquette 63    Madison Square Garden$

03/11/22    CU 85, Providence 58    Madison Square Garden$

03/12/22    Villanova 54, CU 48    Madison Square Garden$

12/16/22    Marquette 69, CU 58    Fiserv Forum

02/01/23    CU 63, Georgetown 53    Capital One Arena

02/25/23    Villanova 72, CU 60    Wells Fargo Center

03/09/23    CU 87, Villanova 74    Madison Square Garden$

03/10/23    Xavier 82, CU 60    Madison Square Garden$

03/17/23    CU 72, NC State 63    Ball Arena#

03/19?23    CU 85, Baylor 76    Ball Arena#

12/30/23    Marquette 72, CU 67    Fiserv Forum

01/02/24    CU 77, Georgetown 60    Capital One Arena

02/25/24    St. John’s 80, CU 66    Madison Square Garden

03/09/24    CU 69, Villanova 67    Wells Fargo Center

03/14/24    Providence 78, CU 73    Madison Square Garden$

03/29/24    Tennessee 82, CU 75    Little Caesars Arena#

12/18/24    Georgetown 81, CU 57    Capital One Arena

# NCAA Tournament    $ BIG EAST Tournament

McAndrew Making History

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

    McAndrew is 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.

Automatic Ashworth

Steven Ashworth is just the fourth Creighton player in the last 25 years to score in double-figures in each of his first 13 games of a season, joining Doug McDermott (all 35 games in 2011-12), Marcus Foster (first 15 in 2017-18) and Baylor Scheierman (first 14 in 2023-24).

    The only other BIG EAST players to score 10 or more points in every game they’ve played this season are Kam Jones, Eric Dixon and Zach Freemantle.

300 In The Books

Creighton is 300-63 all-time inside CHI Health Center Omaha after Tuesday’s 57-56 win vs. St. John’s.

    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.

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 (69) than any other school in the last six seasons, seven more than Villanova’s 62.

    Since the league’s 2013 realignment, Villanova has 152 league wins to lead the BIG EAST by a wide margin, but Creighton’s 125 league victories are second-most.

Most Men’s Basketball BIG EAST Wins

(2019-20 to Jan. 1, 2025)

Team    W    L    Pct.

Creighton    69    31    .687

Villanova    62    34    .646

Marquette    61    38    .616

Providence    59    38    .608

UConn    58    21    .734

Seton Hall    57    42    .576

Xavier    47    46    .505

St. John’s    43    56    .434

Butler    39    62    .386

Georgetown    18    77    .189

DePaul    14    82    .146

Most Men’s Basketball BIG EAST Wins

(2013-14 to Jan. 1, 2025)

Team    W    L    Pct.

Villanova    152    52    .745

Creighton    125    83    .601

Providence    117    88    .571

Xavier    113    88    .561

Marquette    113    94    .546

Seton Hall    110    97    .531

Butler    93    116    .445

St. John’s    83    124    .401

Georgetown    64    139    .315

UConn    58    21    .734

DePaul    39    165    .191

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 has since made 29 free throws in a row, CU’s seventh-longest streak ever. Ashworth is the lone player in program history with multiple streaks of 29 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

    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

    29    Steven Ashworth    Nov. 27, 2024 – Present

    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    And speaking of streaks owned by Steven Ashworth, the senior has buried a three-pointer in 32 games in a row. That’s the longest active streak in the BIG EAST, and the third-longest in program history. The longest streak in CU history, Baylor Scheierman’s 48 in a row at Creighton (plus 10 more at South Dakota State).

    He’s also made multiple three-pointers in 16 straight games, Creighton’s longest such streak since Ethan Wragge from Nov. 28, 2013 – Jan. 25, 2014, and tied for the second-longest in the BIG EAST since 2005-06.

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

    Streak    Name, School    Next Game

    44    Kaden Metheny, Liberty    Jan. 2

    41    Terence Harcum, Murray State    Jan. 2

    37    John Poulakidas, Yale    Jan. 11

    36    Walter Clayton Jr., Florida    Jan. 4

    33    Kino Lilly Jr., Brown    Jan. 5

    32    Steven Ashworth, Creighton    Jan. 3

    31    Tariq Francis, NJIT    Jan. 4

    31    Jalen Terry, Eastern Michigan    Jan. 4

    30    Jason Edwards, Vanderbilt    Jan. 4

    30    Isaac McKneely Virginia    Jan. 4

    29    Ryan Conwell, Xavier    Jan. 3

    

Consecutive Games With A 3-Pointer, Creighton History

    Streak    Name    Dates of Streak

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

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

    32    Steven Ashworth    Jan. 13, 2024 – Present

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

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

    27    Kyle Korver    Feb. 13, 2002-Jan. 20, 2003

Consecutive Games With A Multiple 3-Pointers, Nationally (Through 1/1)

    Streak    Name, School    Next Game

    23    Kino Lilly Jr., Brown    Jan. 5

    17    Reyne Smith, Louisville    Jan. 4

    16    Steven Ashworth, Creighton    Jan. 3

    15    Trent McLaughlin, Northern Arizona    Jan. 2

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, 2024-Present

    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

Video Game Numbers

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

    In his career, Kalkbrenner has been fouled 489 times, owns 341 blocked shots, 273 dunks and just 237 career personal fouls in 147 games played.

    This year only, he’s been fouled 56 times and has 35 blocks, 37 dunks and committed 12 fouls.

    The only nine major conference men’s players in history besides Kalkbrenner (+104) to block 315 shots and own at least 90 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), Dikembe Mutombo (+120), Jeff Withey (+103) and Ralph Sampson (+93).

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 Friday eighth in BIG EAST history with 125 regular-season league wins.

    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

    7.    127    Lou Carnesecca, St. John’s

    8.    125    Greg McDermott, Creighton

    9.    124    Rick Pitino, Prov./Louisville/SJU

    10.    123    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 14 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 most he’s used in a season’s first 14 games, and the second-most he’s used over the course of an entire campaign.

    Different Starting Lineups Under Greg McDermott

Year    First 14 Games    Entire Season

2010-11    2    5

2011-12    1    1

2012-13    1    1

2013-14    2    3

2014-15    5    10

2015-16    1    6

2016-17    1    4

2017-18    3    5

2018-19    2    5

2019-20    2    3

2020-21    3    3

2021-22    1    4

2022-23    2    2

2023-24    2    2

2024-25    7    7 so far

A Good Start

Here’s a look at how Creighton has done statistically after 14 games under Greg McDermott.

Creighton Stats Through 14 Games, Since 2010-11

Year    W-L    FG%    3FG%    FT%    PPG    Opp PPG

2024-25    9-5    .467    .351    .763    75.4    70.0

2023-24    10-4    .499    .372    .760    81.4    66.6

2022-23    8-6    .469    .359    .706    76.7    67.9

2021-22    10-4    .469    .301    .692    70.4    65.9

2020-21    10-4    .490    .367    .662    81.1    69.4

2019-20    12-2    .474    .375    .709    79.9    68.4

2018-19    10-4    .520    .448    .638    84.7    73.9

2017-18    11-3    .514    .379    .742    91.1    72.4

2016-17    13-1    .536    .431    .674    88.4    72.6

2015-16    10-4    .503    .396    .675    86.9    74.8

2014-15      9-5    .427    .342    .746    70.8    64.6

2013-14    12-2    .483    .426    .766    81.5    63.9

2012-13    13-1    .509    .433    .759    79.5    62.1

2011-12    12-2    .506    .451    .698    82.6    68.4

2010-11    10-4    .433    .319    .771    67.5    61.9

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)

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.

    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.

Traudt Reeling Them In

Isaac Traudt made 5-of-7 three-point shots in CU’s Dec. 7th victory over UNLV as he poured in 15 points and grabbed five rebounds in a career-high 27 minutes off the bench.

    Traudt is a career 40.0 percent three-point shooter, a number that climbs to 46.6 percent (34/73) at home.

    Since his arrival on The Hilltop, when Traudt plays Creighton is 17-3 when he scores and 15-10 when he’s scoreless.

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 has now won 41 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 112 points in Creighton’s nine wins, but have a total of nine points in CU’s five losses to date.

Denied!

Ryan Kalkbrenner has at least one blocked shot in 27 straight games played, the second-longest streak by a Bluejay since 1984-85. It also is the nation’s longest active streak.

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

    Kalkbrenner’s five blocked shots on Dec. 31 tied a season-high, and the 19th 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 – Present

    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

Nation’s Longest Active Streaks With A Block (11)

    Streak    Name, School    Next Game

    27    Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton    Jan. 3

    18    Miles Rubin, Loyola (Chicago)    Jan. 4

    17    Daniel Batcho, La. Tech    Jan. 2

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 is 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 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 334 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’s .669 winning percentage is Creighton’s best since Arthur A. Schabinger’s .714 win rate more than 85 years ago.

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

Most Coaching Wins, Creighton MBB History

Rk.    W-L    Name    Years

1.    334-165    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 1/2/25)

Coach, Sport    Victories

Brent Vigness, Softball    819

Ed Servais, Baseball    678*

Mary Higgins, Softball    564

Tom Lilly, Men’s & Women’s Tennis    542*#

Kirsten Bernthal Booth, Volleyball    502*

Jim Flanery, Women’s Basketball    438*

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

Greg McDermott, Men’s Basketball    334*

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 9,457 three-pointers in 1,241 games since the rule went national in 1986-87.

    That ranks second-most in the country in that span, trailing only Duke (9,819 through Jan. 1).

    Additionally, Creighton’s 7.62 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 (6x) 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 341. Kalkbrenner had 107 swats last year and is now 70 blocks behind Benoit Benjamin.

Most Creighton Blocked Shots, Since 1979-80

    Blk.    Name    Years

    411    Benoit Benjamin    1982-85

    341    Ryan Kalkbrenner    2020-Pres.

    183    Chad Gallagher    1987-91

Among The Best…EVER!

Ryan Kalkbrenner has made 802 of 1,208 career shots, putting him at 66.39 percent overall. That places the senior center third 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 101.

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

.6639 (802-1208)    Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton    2020-Pres.

    .6635 (702-1058)    Todd MacCulloch, Washington    1995-99

    .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 10.7 fouls per game this season to lead the country.

    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 22 different halves.

    In 49 games since the start of last season, Creighton has allowed just 55 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

Total    57    93

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 Dec. 31, 2024

Category    CU Stat    CU Rank

3FG Made    4,460    2nd

2FG Percentage    .550    3rd

FG Percentage    .476    4th

Assists    7,988    5th

3FG Percentage    .374    5th

FG Made    13,641    7th

Points    38,150    9th

Wins    334    24th

Winning Percentage    .669    31st

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 is 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 1,034 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 1/1)

    Rk.    Streak    School    Next Game

    1.    1,240    UNLV    1/4

    2.    1,238    Duke    1/4

    3.    1,172    East Tennessee State    1/4

    4.    1,147    Oakland    1/2

    5.    1,144    Pacific    1/2

    6.    1,140    Texas    1/4

    7.    1,080    Marshall    1/2

    8.    1,073    Gonzaga    1/2

    9.    1,064    Princeton    1/4

    10.    1,034    Creighton    1/3

    11.    1,029    Long Island    1/3

    12.    1,018    Mount St. Mary’s    1/5

Triple Trouble

During Creighton’s current streak of 1,034 straight games with a three-pointer, the Jays have drained 8,302 trifectas, an average of 8.03 treys per game.

    Only five times in the streak has Creighton made just one three-pointer, but on 313 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 90-24 when making eight or more three-pointers, compared to a 34-31 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:  108 times

7:   151 times    8:   128 times    9:  95 times

10:  87 times    11:  61 times    12:  63 times

13:  50 times    14: 25 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.    18,323    DePaul    02/07/14

    20.    18,321    #3 Villanova    02/24/18

CHI Health Center Omaha Success

Creighton has played 363 regular and postseason contests at CHI Health Center Omaha all-time in the now 22-year-old facility.

    The Bluejays own a 300-63 (.826) 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 28,519-23,822 in games at CHI Health Center Omaha, an average margin of 12.94 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 203-45 (.819) 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 319-63 (.835) at home since the start of the 2002-03 campaign.

Home Run

Under Greg McDermott Creighton is averaging 80.75 points per home game (20,025 points in 248 home games), a figure that climbs to 84.23 points in non-conference home games (9,855 points in 117 home games).

    Creighton is 151-7 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    63    41    53

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.