Men's Basketball Heads To Saint Joseph's To Play in Palestra
12/4/2008 12:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Next Game
Creighton (4-2) heads east to Philadelphia, Pa., for a challenging road game against Saint Joseph's (3-3) on Saturday night.
Due to ongoing renovations at Saint Joseph's on-campus Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse, Saturday's game will be played at the historic Palestra (8,722).
Tip-off is scheduled for 7:05 pm Eastern (6:05 pm Central).
Radio Broadcast Information
KXSP (“Big Sports 590” AM) will broadcast all Creighton men's basketball games during the 2008-09 season. The audio is also webcast live at www.bigsports590.com. T. Scott Marr and Nick Bahe will call the action.
For all home games Big Sports 590 afternoon host Matt Perrault will host a call-in show focusing on the Bluejays, that leads into the pre-game show. Perrault will also take calls after the game, also on Big Sports 590.
Television Broadcast Information
Saturday's game will not be televised.
Video Webcast Available
Saint Joseph's is tentatively scheduled to do a video webcast on Saturday. Subscribers to Creighton's season men's basketball webcast package will see the match for no additional charge by logging in through gocreighton.com.
Non-subscribers will need to sign up to buy the game individually by visiting the Saint Joseph's web site at sjuhawks.com. Visit the schedule link on the men's basketball page, then click on the link that says “Watch” to the right of the schedule. The exact link for the video webcast appears to be
http://all-access.cbssports.com/player.html?code=stjs&media=94477.
Live Stats Information
All Creighton basketball games are scheduled to have live stats this season. Fans can go to www.gocreighton.com and click on the Live Stats tab on the left-hand side of the page.
Scouting Creighton (4-2)
Creighton is 4-2 or better after six games for the 12th straight season. The Bluejays own home wins over New Mexico (82-75), Arkansas-Pine Bluff (82-50), Oral Roberts (87-65) and Mississippi Valley State (82-58), but have lost on the road by two points at both Arkansas-Little Rock (71-69) and Nebraska (54-52).
The Bluejays return 10 lettermen and three starters from last year's 22-11 team that made an 11th straight postseason appearance, reaching the second round of the NIT.
Booker Woodfox leads the team with 80 points and averages 13.3 points per game. He has also made a team-best 12 three-point baskets this season.
Cavel Witter scores 11.0 points per game and is second on the team with 16 assists.
Also in double-figures is P'Allen Stinnett, who averages a team-best 14.0 points per game and is second on the team with eight steals.
On the defensive side, Josh Dotzler owns an MVC-best 18 steals. Kenny Lawson Jr. ranks second in the MVC with 12 blocked shots and has also upped his averages to 9.2 points and a team-high 5.3 rebounds per game.
Creighton has shot 44.2 percent from the floor, 37.1 percent from three-point territory and is also making 74.5 percent of its shots from the line.
Scouting Saint Joseph's (3-3)
Saint Joseph's returns three starters and eight lettermen from last year's team that finished 21-13 and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
This year's team owns wins over Rider (69-57), Indiana (80-54) and Lehigh (77-64) but has lost to Holy Cross (73-69 in OT), Texas (68-50) and Alabama (58-48).
Senior forward Ahmad Nivins has been a one-man wrecking crew for the Hawks this fall, averaging 18.3 points, 11.8 rebounds and 2.7 blocks while playing 38.3 minutes per game. Nivins has had 12 or more rebounds in four games, including Tuesday's 20-point, 17-rebound effort in a road win at Lehigh.
Also scoring in double-figures are Darrin Govens (14.2 ppg., 2.0 spg.) and Iowa State transfer Tasheed Carr (12.5 ppg., 4.5 rpg.). Carr averaged 5.6 assists per game last year and had 23 points and nine assists against Creighton last December.
Running the offense has been Garrett Williamson, who averages 5.3 assists per game.
Saint Joseph's averages 65.5 points per game while yielding 62.3 per contest. The Hawks shoot 43.3 percent from the field, 30.5 percent from downtown and 73.2 percent at the line.
The Coaches
The dean of Missouri Valley Conference coaches, Creighton's Dana Altman (Eastern New Mexico, 1980) is in his 15th year as head coach of the Bluejays. He owns a 286-154 (.650) mark at CU and a career record of 369-221 (.625) in his 20th year as a NCAA Division I head coach.
Creighton's all-time winningest coach, Altman has been named national, conference, regional or district coach of the year in 10 of his first 23 years as a head coach. The 2001 and 2002 MVC Coach of the Year was a finalist for the Naismith National Coach of the Year Award in 2003. In 2004, Altman was named the Collegeinsider.com Jim Phelan National Mid-Season Coach of the Year. In March, 2007, Altman was named a coach on the MVC's All-Centennial Team.
Additionally, Altman has led Creighton to seven NCAA Tournaments and his teams have played in the postseason in 11 straight seasons. He is assisted by Brian Fish, Darian DeVries and Todd Eisner. Nick Bahe is the team's graduate manager.
Saint Joseph's is coached by Phil Martelli (Widener, 1976), who owns a 264-155 record in his 14th year with the Hawks. He is a four-time Atlantic-10 Conference Coach of the Year and in 2004 was named consensus National Coach of the Year after leading the Hawks to the nation's first undefeated regular-season since 1990-91. Martelli is assisted by Mark Bass, David Duda and Geoff Arnold.
The Series With Saint Joseph's
Saint Joseph's leads the all-time series with Creighton 4-2, including a 2-0 mark in Philadelphia. The teams have not met in Philadelphia since Feb. 19, 1966.
All six previous meetings have been decided by 10 points or less.
Dana Altman is 1-0 against Saint Joseph's and Phil Martelli. Altman is 10-6 in his career against the Atlantic-10.
Last Meeting vs. Saint Joseph's Recap
Creighton beat Saint Joseph's, 90-84, in overtime on Dec. 9, 2007 in Omaha, when the teams last met. The Bluejays overcame a four-point deficit in the final minute of regulation, then scored the first six points of overtime to seal the win.
Creighton seniors Dane Watts (29 points) and Pierce Hibma (17 points) both had career-high scoring games, while classmate Nick Bahe added 14 points in the win.
Saint Joseph's was paced by 23 points and nine assists by Tasheed Carr.
The Historic Palestra
Featured in a 2007 ESPN Classic documentary entitled “The Palestra: Cathedral of Basketball”, The Palestra has been named the No. 6 college sports venue by Sports Illustrated (incidentally, Omaha's Rosenblatt Stadium is No. 5 on that same list) and is called “the birthplace of college basketball” in some circles.
The Palestra is the annual home to many Big Five games and hosted the first NCAA Tournament championship game in 1939. The facility opened in 1927 and is the primary home for the University of Pennsylvania.
History at the Palestra
According to available records, Creighton will be playing in its 11th game all-time at The Palestra on Saturday, having gone 2-8 in the first 10 contests. Below is a list of those games:
Date Opponent CU Result
2/2/50 Villanova L 63-84
1/3/51 #8 Villanova L 42-61
1/9/52 Villanova L 61-79
12/1/62 La Salle W 91-72
12/15/65 Temple L 59-85
2/12/65 La Salle W 84-66
2/19/66 #8 Saint Joseph's L 90-96
2/1/67 La Salle L 83-88 (ot)
1/7/69 #11 La Salle L 84-103
2/19/71 #11 La Salle L 61-64
Missouri Valley/Atlantic 10 Square Off Again
Creighton's next two games will feature battles between schools from the Missouri Valley and Atlantic 10 Conferences.
As of 11 am on Thursday, the MVC was ranked ninth while the A-10 was ranked 10th in the conference rankings available on-line at realtimerpi.com.
The Bluejays, who also do battle with fellow A-10 member Dayton next Wednesday, will look to improve upon the MVC's 3-0 mark this winter against the A-10.
Previously this year Southern Illinois has beaten Massachusetts and Saint Louis, while Bradley has beaten Richmond.
The Salukis will also host Charlotte on Saturday afternoon.
Walker Nabs Double-Double
Sophomore center Kenton Walker became the only current member of the Creighton team to record a double-double, when he recorded 10 points and 10 rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench against Mississippi Valley State on December 2nd.
Walker's 10 points tied for the second-highest scoring output of his young career, while his 10 rebounds were one more of his previous career-best.
Walker is the team leader in rebounds per minute, grabbing 0.291 per minute of floor time. That equates to 11.6 rebounds per 40 minutes, a figure identical to what he averaged last year.
Missing Those Seniors
Last year Creighton seniors Nick Bahe, Pierce Hibma and Dane Watts were averaging 21.5 points per game combined heading into that game with Saint Joseph's.
In the overtime win, the trio scored 60 of CU's 90 points. Hibma (17) and Watts (29) both exceeded their previous career-highs by three points each, while Bahe (14) was one shy of his career-best.
CU's seniors scored its final eight points of regulation and added 12 of the team's 20 points in overtime.
Even though Creighton returns 10 of 14 lettermen from last year's club, the current roster scored just 30 of CU's 90 points from that contest.
Nivins Shut Out Last Year
Last year Ahmad Nivins entered the Creighton game shooting 63.3 percent from the field while averaging 14.4 points per game.
In last year's meeting with CU, Nivins didn't attempt a field goal in 31 minutes of play, thanks largely to the defense by graduated Bluejay Dane Watts. Nivins' only two points came on free throws with 2:10 left in the second half.
Nivins owns at least seven field goal attempts in every game this year, averaging 10.7 shot attempts in victories compared to just 8.3 field goal attempts in SJU's losses.
Last year Nivins managed 8.7 shot attempts in victories compared to 6.1 attempts in losses.
He is Saint Joseph's all-time leader in field goal percentage, making 63.8 of his shots from the floor in his career.
2nd Half Winner = Winner of Game
One statistic that has held true in every Creighton every game to date is the fact that the team that has scored more second-half points has won all six games.
Dotzler Nears Top 10 On Assist List
Josh Dotzler had a season-best six assists in Tuesday's win over Mississippi Valley State, pushing his career total to 284.
With 10 more assists, he'll tie Kyle Korver for 10th on CU's all-time assist list.
Ironically, Dotzler tied a career-high by dishing 10 helpers against Saint Joseph's last year.
City of Brotherly Love
Creighton sophomore Kaleb Korver is the younger brother of former Philadelphia 76ers shooting wizard Kyle Korver.
Kyle was traded from Philadelphia to Utah late last December.
Jesuit Basketball Spotlight
Saturday's matchup between Creighton and Saint Joseph's is part of the nationwide Jesuit Basketball Spotlight project, using Jesuit basketball to raise awareness of Jesuit education. Both Creighton and Saint Joseph's are Jesuit schools.
The Jesuit Basketball Spotlight project highlights more than 90 games this season between men's and women's teams from the 28 Jesuit colleges and universities across the United States. Each of the 28 is dedicated to strong academics and teaching women and men to serve others and live a faith that does justice.
The spotlight project includes awareness announcements during these designated games
and during gamecasts on radio and television; and other awareness opportunities.
Jesuit, Catholic colleges and universities in the United States have more than 200,000 students currently and more than 1.7 million living alumni. The Jesuit educational mission began in Europe approximately 500 years ago.
Interviews with school staff on this subject are available and can be arranged through the Creighton Public Relations Office.
For more information on Jesuit higher education in the United States, go to: www.ajcunet.edu.
Remember This December Stat
Including Tuesday's win over Mississippi Valley State, Creighton has won its first December home game in each of the past 13 seasons. Each of those wins has been by six points or more.
The win over MVSU also gave Creighton a 4-0 home record. That shouldn't come as much of a surprise, as Creighton has done that in each of the past 13 seasons.
In 15 years at Creighton, Dana Altman is a combined 58-2 in his first four home games of the regular-season.
Lose Two, Then At Home?
Creighton extended an amazing trend on Tuesday with a win over Mississippi Valley State.
In the last 12 seasons, Creighton has played 22 home games in which it brought in a losing streak of two games or more.
In each case, Creighton won the home game.
Creighton won 16 of those 22 home games by 10 points or more, including nine by 20 points or more. The average margin in those wins has been 17.5 points, as CU has outscored foes 75.5-58.0 in those scenarios.
Below is a chart showing CU's games since 1997-98 in which it took to its home court with a losing streak of two games or more.
L Streak Home Game Opp. Score Date
3 UMKC W 81-59 11/14/97
2 Grambling State W 67-51 12/03/97
2 Indiana State W 80-67 01/15/98
4 Towson State W 93-48 11/14/98
2 #18 Oklahoma State W 66-60 12/20/98
2 Northern Iowa W 77-60 02/10/99
2 Colorado State W 74-51 12/06/00
2 Indiana State W 81-72 01/11/01
2 N. Carolina A&T W 72-51 11/18/01
2 Nebraska W 76-70 12/12/01
2 Miss. Valley State W 90-65 12/29/01
3 Wichita State W 75-61 03/01/04
2 Alcorn State W 74-40 11/15/04
2 Bradley W 71-62 12/28/04
2 Nebraska W 70-44 12/11/05
2 Illinois State W 71-52 01/05/06
2 Fresno State W 67-62 02/18/06
2 Akron W 71-60 03/16/06
2 Wichita State W 71-54 02/24/07
2 Wichita State W 65-63 02/02/08
2 Missouri State W 88-67 02/19/08
2 Miss. Valley State W 82-58 12/02/08
Home Win Streak Reaches 10
Creighton has won 10 straight home games dating to last year, and Tuesday's victory marked the fifth different time Creighton has won 10 straight home games in Dana Altman's 15-year tenure. Before Altman's arrival CU hadn't had a home win streak of 10 or more since 1979-80.
Below is a list of the longest home win streaks under Altman:
Streak Dates Snapped By
28* 11/17/02 to 2/4/04 So. Illinois, 61-60
20 2/28/00 to 12/16/01 Xavier, 72-65
16 2/9/05 to 1/31/06 So. Illinois, 74-67
12 1/21/98 to 12/30/98 Evansville, 84-79
10 2/2/08 to Present ? ? ?
9 1/23/99 to 12/12/99 Missouri State, 59-58
9 2/24/07 to 12/22/07 Illinois State, 80-67
*ties school record (also Jan. 12, 1917 to Feb. 11, 1920)
Magic Number = 82
Creighton owns four wins this year and has scored exactly 82 points in three of those victories.
The Bluejays have won 10 straight games when scoring exactly 82 points, dating back to Feb. 15, 1997.
Emerging Big Man?
Kenny Lawson Jr. had a solid week as he settles into the role of Creighton's top post man.
Lawson Jr. led Creighton by averaging 12.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots last week, hitting 11-of-15 shots from the field (73.3 percent). Lawson tied a career-high with 15 points at UALR before turning in a 10-point, nine-rebound, four-block contest at Nebraska.
Road Heartbreak
Creighton lost a pair of road games last week, falling by two points against both UALR (71-69) and Nebraska (54-52).
Against Arkansas-Little Rock, Mike Smith's putback with 7.1 seconds left proved to be the winning points, while against Nebraska, it was Ade Dagunduro's basket with 2.7 seconds left that proved decisive.
Students from both schools rushed the floor after beating the MVC's preseason favorite.
Creighton had not lost consecutive games by three points or less since Dec. 29, 1999 and Jan. 2, 2000.
Creighton had not lost consecutive games by three points or less in which the score was tied (or the lead changed) in the final 15 seconds since March 10 and 15, 1984.
On March 10, 1984, Tulsa's Ricky Ross hit a jumper with two seconds left to give the Hurricane a 70-68 overtime win in the MVC Tournament finals in Tulsa.
Five days later in Omaha, Creighton lost a 56-54 game to Nebraska in the NIT. In that game, with the score tied and 10 seconds left, CU's Benoit Benjamin was issued a technical foul. Nebraska's Dave Hoppen and Curtis Moore would each drain a free throw in the closing seconds to preserve NU's win.
Halftime Leads Usually Safe
Another uncharacteristic trait from Creighton's losses last week were its inability to hold halftime leads against UALR (39-32) and Nebraska (31-18).
Before last week, Creighton had been 135-9 under Dana Altman when leading by seven points or more at halftime, including 17 straight wins.
Additionally, Altman had been 75-1 when leading by 13 or more points at the intermission, including 42 straight wins.
Creighton had not lost consecutive games in which it led at halftime since Jan. 22 and 26, 2008.
This season has been anything but normal though, as Creighton is 2-2 when leading at halftime but 2-0 when trailing at the break.
Large Lead Didn't Hold Up
Creighton was unable to hang onto a 34-18 lead against Arkansas-Little Rock on Nov. 25.
Prior to Nov. 25, Creighton had not lost a game in which it led by 16 points or more since Feb. 2, 2002, when it lost to Southern Illinois, 79-77 after leading 43-27 late in the first half.
By comparison, Creighton had won seven games since then after trailing by 16 points or more, including five since 2006 alone.
Run Of Postseason Opponents Continues
Six of Creighton's first eight opponents this year reached the postseason, including Saturday's foe, Saint Joseph's.
The Hawks join Oral Roberts and Mississippi Valley State among NCAA teams on this year's non-conference slate.
Also, New Mexico, Nebraska and Dayton each played in the NIT last spring.
MVC Preseason Poll
For the second time in three years, Creighton has been picked to win the Missouri Valley Conference in a preseason poll of coaches, beat writers, SID's and play-by-play men.
Creighton was picked first on 36 of the 39 ballots to earn 386 of a possible 390 points. Last year's favorite, Southern Illinois, earned two first-place votes and totaled 322 points for second place, just ahead of Illinois State, which garnered 309 points and the lone remaining first-place vote. Rounding out the rest of the poll was Drake (274), Bradley (219), UNI (186), Indiana State (137), Evansville (122), Wichita State (105) and Missouri State (85).
The preseason all-MVC team is headlined by preseason player of the year Osiris Eldridge (Illinois State). Joining Eldridge on the first team are P'Allen Stinnett (Creighton), Bryan Mullins (Southern Illinois) and the Drake tandem of Jonathan Cox and Josh Young. Honorable-mention picks include the Bradley pair of Theron Wilson and Andrew Warren, as well as the Evansville duo of Shy Ely and Jason Holsinger.
Parking Lot Updates
Due to construction beginning on Omaha's new baseball stadium, general public Parking Lots C and E will be closed and inaccessible for all Qwest Center Omaha events - including Creighton men's basketball home games - starting December 3rd. To replenish those lost parking spaces from Lots C and E, Qwest Center Omaha will open the following lots:
- Lot D Expansion (northeast of the venue).
- Lot G (southwest of the venue; this lot is surrounded by 10th Street, 12th Street, Capitol Avenue and Davenport Street with the entrance located off of 12th & Davenport Streets.
- Lot F (southwest of the venue; this lot is located south of Cass Street and west of 12th Street).
- the new Lot E (southwest of the venue; this lot is north of Davenport Street and east of 12th Street).
The Charge Chart
Creighton took 62 charges last season, with Casey Harriman and Dane Watts sharing the team lead with 17 charges taken. Over the previous six seasons, the Bluejays have averaged 48.7 per year.
So far this season, Creighton has taken eight charges in six games.
Below is a list of the Creighton players that have taken charges since the 2002-03 season:
Name 2002-07 ?07-08 ?08-09 Total
Justin Carter n/a n/a 2 2
Casey Harriman n/a 17 1 18
Josh Dotzler 4 5 1 10
Kenton Walker n/a 3 1 4
Booker Woodfox n/a 2 1 3
Kenny Lawson Jr. 0 2 1 3
Kaleb Korver n/a 0 1 1
Chad Millard n/a 7 0 7
P'Allen Stinnett n/a 5 0 5
Cavel Witter n/a 3 0 3
Dustin Sitzmann 0 1 0 1
Former Players 226 17 n/a 243
Total 230 62 8 300
20 Overall Wins x 10 Years = MVC History
Creighton is the only school in the 102-year history of the Missouri Valley Conference to post 10 straight 20-win campaigns. No other school owns more than six straight.
Creighton is one of seven teams nationally with 20 or more wins in each of last 10 seasons. That list consists of Creighton, Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kent State and Syracuse.
Postseason x 11
Creighton has made either the NIT or NCAA in 11 consecutive seasons, the longest streak of postseason bids in MVC history. It is one more than the 10 straight from 1966 to 1975 by Louisville.
The only 12 schools to make the postseason in each of the last 11 years are Arizona, Creighton, Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan State, Oklahoma State, Stanford and Syracuse.
Creighton, which also boasts a men's soccer team with 17 straight NCAA appearances, is the nation's only school with 11 straight postseason appearances in both men's basketball and men's soccer.
10 Conference Wins, Again
Last year Creighton extended its MVC record by winning 10 or more league games for a 12th consecutive season. Prior to Dana Altman's arrival, the Bluejays had 10 or more conference wins in only six different seasons all-time.
On a national basis, the only teams with at least 12 straight years of 10 or more league wins are Stanford (14), Kansas (14) and Creighton (12).
Witter Named MVC Player of the Week
Cavel Witter was named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week on Nov. 25 for his work in wins against Arkansas-Pine Bluff and four-time defending Summit League champ Oral Roberts.
Witter averaged 20.0 points, 2.5 steals, 2.0 assists and 2.0 rebounds per game off the bench while leading Creighton in scoring.
He shot 68.8 percent from the floor (11-16), including 66.7 percent from three-point range (6-9) while also hitting 80 percent (12-15) at the line.
It was Witter's first career honor as MVC Player of the Week, though he did earn MVC Newcomer of the Week honors twice last season.
Sitzmann Was Scholar-Athlete of the Week
Senior guard Dustin Sitzmann was last week's Prairie Farms/MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Week.
A senior from LeMars, Iowa, Sitzmann scored in consecutive games for the first time in his Bluejay career, as CU defeated Arkansas-Pine Bluff (82-50) on Nov. 20 and Oral Roberts (87-65) on Nov. 22.
Sitzmann, who has a 3.871 cumulative grade-point average in exercise science, made 2-of-3 shots from the field (66.7 percent). He played a combined seven minutes in the victories, as CU improved to 26-2 all-time in games in which he's appeared.
Jays Were 3-0 Once Again
Saturday's win against Oral Roberts on Nov. 22nd gave Creighton a 3-0 start for the 10th time in the past 11 seasons. The 2006-07 team that started 2-1 is the lone exception in the past decade.
Each of Creighton's previous 3-0 starts under Dana Altman have been culminated in a postseason tournament appearance at the end of the year.
Creighton has not taken the floor with a losing record since December 3, 1997 when it faced Grambling. Saturday will be the 351st game in a row the Jays have played with a record of .500 or better.
3 Players, 20 Points, First 3 Games
Creighton has had three different players score 20 or more points during its first three contests this winter. P'Allen Stinnett (30) and Booker Woodfox (26) did it against New Mexico, while Cavel Witter (25) did it against Oral Roberts.
This is the first time it's happened in Dana Altman's 15-year tenure at Creighton, as well as the first time its happened at Creighton in at least 30 years.
Harriman Nets Career Highs
Casey Harriman had a pair of career-highs in its Nov. 22 win over Oral Roberts. The sophomore forward had 10 points and six rebounds in his 14 minutes, career-bests for points and rebounds.
Earlier in the week, Harriman tied a career-best with three steals against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Double-Double Eludes Lawson
Sophomore Kenny Lawson Jr. hasn't notched a double-double in his young career, but he's been steadily getting closer.
Lawson, who had nine rebounds and 10 points against Nebraska last Saturday, owns six career games of at least eight points and eight boards in his career. CU has won five of those games, outscoring foes by an average of 80.2-64.0.
Creighton is 12-4 when Lawson has five rebounds or more, but 16-9 in games he's appeared in and snared less than five caroms.
25 Points Off The Bench, Again
Cavel Witter scored 25 points off the bench in CU's Nov. 22 win over Oral Roberts.
It marked the second time in his career he's done that, as the junior guard torched Bradley for a Qwest Center Omaha record 42 points on March 1, 2008, in a double-overtime win over Bradley.
Before Witter, Creighton had not had a player score 25 points or more off the bench since March of 2002.
Television Records
Creighton is a combined 85-50 in televised games in the last seven seasons, including a 31-20 mark on KMTV-produced games (which does not include CU's record in NCAA Tournament games on KMTV). Creighton went 4-2 in games aired on KMTV in 2002-03, 6-3 in 2003-04, 4-5 in 2004-05, 5-3 in 2005-06, 6-2 in 2006-07 and 5-4 last year in KMTV-produced games. So far this year CU is 1-1 on KMTV.
The Jays are also 39-26 in games that air regionally or nationally in that time, including a 21-14 mark on MVC TV.
Creighton had 27-of-33 games on television last season. A minimum of 19 are slated for television this season.
Dynamic Duo, Part II?
From 1987-91, Creighton big men Bob Harstad and Chad Gallagher were known as the “Dynamic Duo”. Both men were named MVC Player of the Year (Harstad in 1990, Gallagher in 1991) and finished their careers first and second in school history for points scored.
It's still quite early, but the Jays had quite the dynamic duo in the season-opening win over New Mexico when P'Allen Stinnett (30) and Booker Woodfox (26) both lit up the Lobos.
The current duo became the first Bluejay pair to score 25 points or more in the same game in the Dana Altman era.
CU hadn't had that happen since, you guessed it, Gallagher (29) and Harstad (26) did it against Bradley on Jan. 21, 1991.
Long-Distance Streak Alive
Creighton has made at least one three-pointer in a league-best 472 straight games since a 59-53 loss at Illinois State on Feb. 20, 1993 when Rick Johnson was coach.
Up, Up and Away
Creighton never trailed in its Nov. 20 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff. In 85 all-time games at Qwest Center Omaha, the Jays have led wire-to-wire 18 different times.
Thirty-Point Bluejays
With 30 points on Nov. 16 against New Mexico, P'Allen Stinnett became one of six Creighton players in the Dana Altman era to score 30 points or more in a game. The other five players that did it were Cavel Witter, Nate Funk, Johnny Mathies, Kyle Korver and Rodney Buford.
Below is the list of Creighton's 30-point games since Altman became head coach:
Pts. Name Opp. Date Result
42 Cavel Witter Bradley 03/01/08 W 111-110
40 Rodney Buford Bradley 12/30/98 W 65-44
38 Nate Funk Dayton 11/26/05 W 91-90
36 Rodney Buford Illinois St. 02/05/96 L 72-74
35 Nate Funk @Wichita State 02/16/05 W 82-68
33 Nate Funk vs. Missouri St. 03/03/07 W 75-58
32 Kyle Korver @Xavier 12/31/02 L 73-75
32 Johnny Mathies Drake 01/08/06 W 82-69
31 Kyle Korver Evansville 01/15/03 W 93-56
30 Rodney Buford Southern Illinois 02/05/98 W 91-73
30 Rodney Buford @Northern Iowa 12/30/97 W 83-75
30 Rodney Buford Missouri State 02/15/97 L 82-88
30 P'Allen Stinnett New Mexico 11/16/08 W 82-75
What A Start!
The 2007-08 MVC Sixth Man of the Year, Booker Woodfox scored 26 points in his first career start against New Mexico on Nov. 16.
Woodfox's 26 points are the most by a Bluejay in their first career start since at least 1980.
Stinnett Named MVC Player of the Week
Creighton sophomore P'Allen Stinnett claimed MVC Player of the Week honors Nov. 17. Stinnett scored 21 of his career-high 30 points in the second half of a 82-75 come-from-behind victory over New Mexico while also adding four rebounds, an assist and a steal.
This is his second career MVC Player of the Week accolade, as he also won the award last season on Feb. 11, 2008. Stinnett also picked up three MVC Newcomer of the Week honors last year en route to sweeping Valley Newcomer and Freshman of the Year laurels.
P'henomenal Debut x 2
P'Allen Stinnett's 23 points last year against DePaul were the most by a Bluejay in their first game since Cyril Baptiste scored 24 points on Dec. 1, 1969 against Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
Stinnett's 30 points in this year's opener were the most by a Creighton player in the season lid-lifter since Bob Harstad scored 38 points against Texas-San Antonio on Nov. 30, 1990.
Piling Up The Points, and Wins
Creighton has won 41 straight home games when scoring 68 points or more since Feb. 5, 2005.
Creighton has won 46 straight games when scoring 72 points or more dating to Jan. 29, 2005.
The Bluejays have won 62 consecutive games when scoring 80 points or more, dating to Feb. 19, 2000.
Creighton has also won 44 straight games when scoring 90 points or more, dating to Jan. 11, 1988.
Creighton has won 15 straight when scoring 100 points or more, dating to Feb. 26, 1977.
Who Are Those Guys?
Creighton also has two walk-ons practicing with the team that might suit up on but are not listed in the media guide.
No. 24 is Matt Dorwart, a 6-7 freshman forward from Sidney, Neb. Dorwart played at Sidney High School and averaged 8.0 points and 5.3 rebounds per game while shooting 38.5 percent from three-point range.
No. 40 Derek Sebastian is a 6-5 freshman guard/forward from Loveland, Colo. Sebastian played at Thompson Valley High School, where he averaged 14.8 points and 8.8 rebounds per game last year.
Turning Point?
One common theme when Creighton is successful is that they have had an advantage in “points off turnovers” in many of those contests.
Last season, Creighton was 17-4 when scoring more points off turnovers than its opponent last year. In the last five years, Creighton is 65-11 when winning this category, including a 4-1 mark this winter.
Jays Against Winless Teams
Creighton's opponent on Tuesday, Mississippi Valley State, dropped to 0-9 on the season. The Bluejays have now won 20 straight games against teams that are winless, dating to a Nov. 22, 1996 loss at Wyoming in the 1996-97 season-opener for both teams.
Creighton vs. Winless Teams, Since 11/24/96
Opp. W-L Opponent CU Result Date
0-1 UMKC W 70-68 11/25/96
0-0 UMKC W 81-59 11/14/97
0-0 Towson W 93-48 11/14/98
0-1 at UMKC W 79-58 11/18/98
0-1 at Miss. Valley St. W 70-62 11/22/99
0-3 at Georgia State W 58-54 12/01/99
0-1 Western Illinois W 96-50 11/20/00
0-1 North Carolina A&T W 72-51 11/18/01
0-0 Texas-Arlington W 106-50 11/17/02
0-3 San Diego W 79-44 11/22/03
0-1 Bethune-Cookman W 69-49 12/03/03
0-0 Alcorn State W 74-40 11/15/04
0-0 Arkansas-Pine Bluff W 83-58 11/20/04
0-0 Arkansas-Pine Bluff W 87-55 11/19/05
0-1 Miss. Valley State W 78-42 11/13/06
0-4 Arkansas-Pine Bluff W 74-39 11/29/06
0-0 DePaul W 74-62 11/09/07
0-2 Miss. Valley State W 76-46 11/17/07
0-2 Arkansas-Pine Bluff W 82-50 11/20/08
0-9 Miss. Valley State W 82-58 12/02/08
Recruits Inked
A pair of prep standouts signed letters-of-intent in November to join the Creighton men's basketball team next year.
Andrew Bock is a 6'1” guard from Eisenhower High School in Rialto, Calif. Bock averaged 18 points and eight assists per game while helping the Eagles to a 27-4 record. He was named Most Valuable Player of the Citrus Belt League last season.
Ethan Wragge (RAH-gy) is a 6'8” forward from Eden Prairie, Minn., where he attends Eden Prairie High School. He averaged 16 points and nine rebounds per game and owns the school record for three-point baskets made. He made 91 percent of his free-throw attempts last year. His team finished 19-9 last winter.
Both men will be freshmen and have four years of eligibility.
Jays Among Attendance Leaders, Again
This year's Creighton team is averaging 16,134 fans per game.
Creighton ranked 15th nationally in attendance, averaging 15,333 fans per game during the 2007-08 season.
During the 2006-07 season, Creighton ranked 13th nationally in average attendance with 15,909 fans per game.
Below is a list of the nation's attendance leaders in 2007-08, as compiled by the NCAA.
2007-08 Attendance Leaders
Rk. School Average
1. Kentucky 22,554
2. North Carolina 20,497
3. Syracuse 20,345
4. Tennessee 20,267
5. Louisville 19,481
6. Maryland 17,950
7. Wisconsin 17,190
8. Arkansas 17,148
9. Indiana 16,876
10. Memphis 16,748
11. Illinois 16,618
12. Ohio State 16,587
13. Kansas 16,409
14. Marquette 16,239
15. Creighton 15,333
16. North Carolina State 15,043
17. Michigan State 14,759
18. New Mexico 14,361
MVC Attendance Record Falls
Creighton broke the MVC record for single-season home attendance with 276,000 fans in 2007-08, surpassing the 2005-06 team which drew 236,313 fans in 17 games to hold the old mark.
Creighton has set MVC attendance (either average or total home fans) records each of the past three seasons. The 2006-07 club raised the bar by attracting 15,909 fans per game. Last year's team was close to that, averaging 15,333 fans per home game.
Highest Season Home Attendance, MVC History
Home Att. School Year
276,000 Creighton 2007-08
236,313 Creighton 2005-06
222,728 Creighton 2006-07
192,258 Creighton 2003-04
191,440 Louisville 1974-75
Highest Average Attendance, MVC History
Ave. Att. School Year
15,909 Creighton 2006-07
15,333 Creighton 2007-08
13,901 Creighton 2005-06
13,674 Louisville 1974-75
12,016 Creighton 2003-04
Consistent Challengers
One of the most impressive facets of the Dana Altman tenure is how often his teams have been in the running for the MVC regular-season title. Eight of his last 11 teams have finished either first or second in The Valley's regular-season race. Two of the three that didn't won the MVC Tournament.
The Bluejays won the MVC in 2000-01 and tied for the title in 2001-02. CU was second in the MVC in 1997-98 and 2006-07, tied for second in the MVC in 1998-99, 2003-04 and 2005-06, and finished tied for third in 2004-05. The 1999-00 club was fourth in the MVC, but won the MVC Tournament.
Creighton's MVC Finishes, Last 11 Years
1st Place 2000-01
Tied for First 2001-02 (won MVC Tourn.)
2nd Place 1997-98, 2002-03 (won MVC Tourn.), 2006-07 (won MVC Tourn.)
Tied for 2nd 1998-99 (won MVC Tourn.), 2003-04, 2005-06
Tied for 3rd Place 2004-05 (won MVC Tourn.)
4th Place 1999-00 (won MVC Tourn.); 2007-08
NBA Presence
Two former Creighton players started the season on NBA rosters. Kyle Korver (1999-2003) plays for Utah, while Anthony Tolliver (2003-07) plays for San Antonio.
Tolliver was sent sent down to the Austin Toros in the NBA Development League on December 2nd after averaging 3.5 points and 2.3 rebounds in 11 minutes with San Antonio.
Korver is averaging 8.3 points in 21.0 minutes per game off the bench for Utah. He is shooting 46.2 percent from three-point range for the Jazz.
Paint Points
Since Creighton started tracking points in the paint six years ago, CU is 55-9 in games when scoring 28 or more points in the paint.
Altman Passing Coaching Legends
Dana Altman continues to pass some of the coaching greats in MVC history in two categories. Altman's 286 wins at Creighton are third in MVC history, while his 158 triumphs in regular-season conference games have allowed him to pass Phog Allen for third in league history.
Both men above him, Henry Iba and Eddie Hickey, are in the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Coaches--Most Wins As MVC Member--All Games
Wins Coach School(s)
1. 486 Henry Iba Oklahoma A&M
2. 337 Eddie Hickey Creighton & St. Louis
3. 286 Dana Altman Creighton
MVC Coaches--Most Wins In Conference Games
Wins Coach School(s)
1. 187 Henry Iba Oklahoma A&M
2. 163 Eddie Hickey Creighton & St. Louis
3. 158 Dana Altman Creighton
Qwest To Be The Best
Creighton has played 85 regular and post-season contests at Qwest Center Omaha all-time. The Bluejays own a 72-13 (.847) record all-time at the facility, including a perfect 14-0 figure on Wednesday's. The 13 losses have been by a combined 70 points.
Creighton has outscored its opponents 6,302-5,254 in games at Qwest Center Omaha, an average margin of 12.3 points per game.
?W'inning Edge
Creighton's men's and women's basketball teams have been nearly unbeatable at home in recent seasons, going a combined 196-43 in the last nine seasons. In fact, the men and women have both lost a home game in the same month just four times since March, 2000.
Creighton's Home Records, Last Nine Years
Year Men Women Combined
2008-09 4-0 1-2 5-2
2007-08 16-2 11-1 27-3
2006-07 12-2 7-7 19-9
2005-06 15-2 5-7 20-9
2004-05 11-5 12-3 23-8
2003-04 14-2 12-1 26-3
2002-03 17-0 13-1 30-1
2001-02 12-3 11-1 23-4
2000-01 14-0 10-4 24-4
TOTALS 115-16 82-27 197-43
3-Point Weapons
Creighton had nine different players that made 10 or more three-pointers last season. Five of those men made 39.3 percent or more of their attempts from long-range.
According to STATS Inc., Creighton, Duke, Marquette, New Mexico and Portland State were the nation's only teams with seven different players to own 20 or more treys. Of that group, CU was the only team with all seven players to make 24 or more three-pointers.
When shooting 40 percent or better from three-point range, Creighton has won 32-of-34 and 42 of its last 46 games.
Double-Digit Comebacks at Home
Creighton has fallen behind by double-digits in 22 of its 85 all-time home games all-time at Qwest Center Omaha. In 15 of those 22 games, the Bluejays came back to win.
Creighton's incredible streak of 181 straight games without a double-digit home loss (dating to Jan. 3, 1996) was snapped on Dec. 29, 2007 by Illinois State. That had ranked as the nation's oldest streak in that obscure category.
Double Digit Deficits at Qwest Center Omaha
Date Opponent Deficit Final Score
12/30/03 Missouri State 10 W 59-54
12/04/04 High Point 13 W 79-60
12/07/04 Kent State 16 L 58-67
12/18/04 Wyoming 13 L 64-68
02/01/05 Wichita State 10 W 73-69
02/05/05 Missouri State 15 L 71-79
11/26/05 Dayton 11 W 91-90 2ot
12/18/05 Xavier 10 W 61-59
01/18/06 Bradley 12 W 80-76
01/28/06 Wichita State 19 W 57-55
02/11/06 Southern Illinois 14 L 67-74
02/22/06 Indiana State 14 W 67-62
03/20/06 Miami (Fla.) 12 L 52-53
12/30/06 Missouri State 11 W 77-74
01/20/07 Southern Illinois 12 L 57-58
02/07/07 Evansville 14 W 79-74
11/09/07 DePaul 17 W 74-62
12/29/07 Illinois State 19 L 67-80
02/02/08 Wichita State 15 W 65-63
03/01/08 Bradley 12 W 111-110 2ot
03/18/08 Rhode Island 17 W 74-73
11/16/08 New Mexico 16 W 82-75
Double-Digit Comebacks
Including its season-opening win over New Mexico, Creighton has won after overcoming a double-digit deficit 27 times in the last nine seasons.
Below is a list of those comebacks, listed by size of the margin overcome:
Overcoming Double Digit Deficits, Last 8 Years
Date Opponent Deficit Final Score
01/28/06 Wichita State 19 W 57-55
11/27/01 Western Kentucky 18 W 95-91 2ot
02/12/03 Missouri State 17 W 70-67 ot
11/09/07 DePaul 17 W 74-62
03/18/08 Rhode Island 17 W 74-73
11/16/08 New Mexico 16 W 82-75
02/04/06 at Drake 16 W 72-67 ot
01/26/03 TCU 16 W 89-79
02/02/08 Wichita State 15 W 65-63
02/22/06 Indiana State 14 W 67-62
02/07/07 Evansville 14 W 79-74
12/04/04 High Point 13 W 79-60
03/09/03 vs. Wichita State 13 W 70-69
01/18/03 Southern Illinois 13 W 85-76
02/04/01 at Indiana State 13 W 77-71
01/07/04 at Illinois State 12 W 56-55
01/18/06 Bradley 12 W 80-76
03/01/08 Bradley 12 W 111-110 2ot
12/30/06 Missouri State 11 W 77-74
11/26/05 Dayton 11 W 91-90 2ot
01/15/05 at Northern Iowa 11 W 67-66
11/30/04 at Xavier 11 W 73-72
03/15/02 vs. #15 Florida 11 W 83-82 2ot
12/18/05 Xavier 10 W 61-59
02/16/05 at Wichita State 10 W 82-68
02/01/05 Wichita State 10 W 73-69
12/30/03 Missouri State 10 W 59-54
One of the Best Programs Around
Every five years since 1997, Basketball Times has evaluated the best of the best NCAA programs -- those that have won two-thirds of their games over the previous 10 season span. The 2007 edition of the report had 29 teams that met that qualification, including Creighton.
Those 29 schools were then ranked from 1-29 on categories like 10-year winning percentage, number of active NBA players, freshman graduation rate and US News & World Report's academic peer assessment score, as well as a subjective vote of 10 panelists who judged teams based on “program cleanliness” and “head coach ranking”.
Creighton finished an impressive seventh, trailing only Duke, North Carolina, Florida, Stanford, Gonzaga and Michigan State.
Basketball Times Overall Rankings
Rk. School Avg. Ranking
1. Duke 3.7
2. North Carolina 7.5
3. Florida 8.0
4. Stanford 8.8
5. Gonzaga 10.0
Michigan State 10.0
7. Creighton 10.2
8. Kansas 10.8
9. Xavier 11.5
10. Illinois 12.0
11. Arizona 13.5
12. Connecticut 13.7
13. Syracuse 14.5
14. Butler 14.8
15. College of Charleston 15.2
Southern Illinois 15.2
Texas 15.2
18. Kentucky 16.0
Pennsylvania 16.0
20. Maryland 17.3
21. Pittsburgh 17.5
22. Utah State 18.3
23. Kent State 18.8
24. Utah 20.2
25. Cincinnati 20.5
26. Murray State 20.7
Oklahoma 20.7
28. Oklahoma State 21.0
29. Memphis 23.0
Academically Tops In The MVC Too
Creighton ranks first in the Missouri Valley Conference in graduation success rate (94.7 percent) among all sports.
Also, for the fourth time in the six-year existence of the award, Creighton University has been recognized with the 2007-08 MVC All-Academic Award. Bluejay student-athletes posted a 3.30 cumulative grade-point average over the 2007-08 academic calendar. Creighton previously shared the award in 2003-04, and were the outright winners in 2004-05 and 2006-07.
Creighton had seven men's basketball players earn Dean's List (3.50 GPA or better) accolades last year, which helped the team to a 3.01 GPA overall.
Army of Iowans
Every Creighton team since 1988-89 has had at least one Iowa native, and this season is no exception.
Creighton has three players from Iowa on this season's team, continuing a long trend of relying on some of the Hawkeye State's top preps. CU's native Iowans this season include senior Dustin Sitzmann (LeMars) and sophomores Casey Harriman (Ida Grove) and Kaleb Korver (Pella).
Other past notable Iowans include Kyle Korver and Pierce Hibma (Pella), Ryan Sears (Ankeny), Brody Deren (Harlan), Tyler McKinney (Urbandale), Nate Funk (Sioux City) and Michael Lindeman (Iowa Falls).
Creighton has played at least one Iowa native in 448 straight games. That streak dates to a Feb. 5, 1994 win against Wichita State.
Bench Points Add Up
Creighton owned 41 different double-figure scoring games last season off the bench, compared to a total of 30 during the previous three years combined. In fact, there were only four (of 33) contests in which it didn't have a double-figure scorer off the bench.
Last year's team scored 18 or more bench points in every game but one, with a low of 13.
This year, the Bluejay bench has scored 193 of the team's 454 points (42.5 percent). Take out the season-opening win over New Mexico and that number rises to 184-of-372 points (49.5 percent).
Creighton's bench has scored 51 points in two different games this season and 41 or more three times.
Last Season Recap
Creighton put together a second consecutive 22-11 season last fall, reaching the second round of the NIT with a team featuring nine newcomers.
P'Allen Stinnett (12.6 ppg.) swept MVC Newcomer and Freshman of the Year honors after leading Creighton in scoring, while senior Dane Watts (11.3 ppg.) led the team with 6.4 rebounds per game.
Booker Woodfox (9.6 ppg.) was named MVC Sixth Man of the Year as the leader for a bench that outscored CU's starters by 76 points for the season.
Shuttle Service To Qwest Center Omaha
The State Farm Shuttle presented by the Creighton Birdcage and State Farm Insurance will provide complimentary transportation service from the CU campus to Qwest Center Omaha for all men's basketball home games this season. The service is available to all fans, not just Creighton students.
The shuttle will start 75 minutes before tip-off and shuttles will continue to operate the route during the game.
The three designated stops for pick-up around the CU campus are: 24th & California (nearside/southbound); 20th & Cass (nearside/eastbound) and at Billy Blue's Alumni Grill (outside the new Mike & Josie Harper Center in the turnaround which is on the east side of the building).
The shuttle will then go eastbound on Capitol Avenue and then go north up 10th Street for drop-off at the Qwest Center Omaha arena entrance. The route is designed for each shuttle driver to make a roundtrip every 15 minutes.
Following the game's conclusion, the shuttle will start at the Qwest Center Omaha arena entrance on 10th Street and loop the original route with the first of three stops at 24th & California Streets.
Mid-Week Maestro's
Creighton has never lost a game at Qwest Center Omaha on a Wednesday, Thursday or Friday, going a combined 21-0 on those dates.
Creighton is 14-0 on Wednesday's, 6-0 on Thursday's and 1-0 on Friday's at the six-year old facility.
Ticket Information
Single game tickets for regular-season home games went on sale on Nov. 11 at 10 am.
Fans can purchase tickets in advance at Qwest Center Omaha Box Office, the Omaha Civic Auditorium Box Office, all Ticketmaster locations (Baker's, Younkers), Ticketmaster online at http://www.ticketmaster.com or by calling Ticketmaster and charging by phone at (402) 422-1212. Only upper bowl seats will be available for any game and cost is $12 for adults and $8 for youth ages 3-18 (children two and under are free). For more information, call the Creighton Ticket Office at (402) 280-JAYS.
As of November 14th Creighton had already sold 13,743 season tickets for this season. The previous MVC record was the 12,888 season-tickets Creighton fans bought for the 2007-08 season.
Creighton (4-2) heads east to Philadelphia, Pa., for a challenging road game against Saint Joseph's (3-3) on Saturday night.
Due to ongoing renovations at Saint Joseph's on-campus Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse, Saturday's game will be played at the historic Palestra (8,722).
Tip-off is scheduled for 7:05 pm Eastern (6:05 pm Central).
Radio Broadcast Information
KXSP (“Big Sports 590” AM) will broadcast all Creighton men's basketball games during the 2008-09 season. The audio is also webcast live at www.bigsports590.com. T. Scott Marr and Nick Bahe will call the action.
For all home games Big Sports 590 afternoon host Matt Perrault will host a call-in show focusing on the Bluejays, that leads into the pre-game show. Perrault will also take calls after the game, also on Big Sports 590.
Television Broadcast Information
Saturday's game will not be televised.
Video Webcast Available
Saint Joseph's is tentatively scheduled to do a video webcast on Saturday. Subscribers to Creighton's season men's basketball webcast package will see the match for no additional charge by logging in through gocreighton.com.
Non-subscribers will need to sign up to buy the game individually by visiting the Saint Joseph's web site at sjuhawks.com. Visit the schedule link on the men's basketball page, then click on the link that says “Watch” to the right of the schedule. The exact link for the video webcast appears to be
http://all-access.cbssports.com/player.html?code=stjs&media=94477.
Live Stats Information
All Creighton basketball games are scheduled to have live stats this season. Fans can go to www.gocreighton.com and click on the Live Stats tab on the left-hand side of the page.
Scouting Creighton (4-2)
Creighton is 4-2 or better after six games for the 12th straight season. The Bluejays own home wins over New Mexico (82-75), Arkansas-Pine Bluff (82-50), Oral Roberts (87-65) and Mississippi Valley State (82-58), but have lost on the road by two points at both Arkansas-Little Rock (71-69) and Nebraska (54-52).
The Bluejays return 10 lettermen and three starters from last year's 22-11 team that made an 11th straight postseason appearance, reaching the second round of the NIT.
Booker Woodfox leads the team with 80 points and averages 13.3 points per game. He has also made a team-best 12 three-point baskets this season.
Cavel Witter scores 11.0 points per game and is second on the team with 16 assists.
Also in double-figures is P'Allen Stinnett, who averages a team-best 14.0 points per game and is second on the team with eight steals.
On the defensive side, Josh Dotzler owns an MVC-best 18 steals. Kenny Lawson Jr. ranks second in the MVC with 12 blocked shots and has also upped his averages to 9.2 points and a team-high 5.3 rebounds per game.
Creighton has shot 44.2 percent from the floor, 37.1 percent from three-point territory and is also making 74.5 percent of its shots from the line.
Scouting Saint Joseph's (3-3)
Saint Joseph's returns three starters and eight lettermen from last year's team that finished 21-13 and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
This year's team owns wins over Rider (69-57), Indiana (80-54) and Lehigh (77-64) but has lost to Holy Cross (73-69 in OT), Texas (68-50) and Alabama (58-48).
Senior forward Ahmad Nivins has been a one-man wrecking crew for the Hawks this fall, averaging 18.3 points, 11.8 rebounds and 2.7 blocks while playing 38.3 minutes per game. Nivins has had 12 or more rebounds in four games, including Tuesday's 20-point, 17-rebound effort in a road win at Lehigh.
Also scoring in double-figures are Darrin Govens (14.2 ppg., 2.0 spg.) and Iowa State transfer Tasheed Carr (12.5 ppg., 4.5 rpg.). Carr averaged 5.6 assists per game last year and had 23 points and nine assists against Creighton last December.
Running the offense has been Garrett Williamson, who averages 5.3 assists per game.
Saint Joseph's averages 65.5 points per game while yielding 62.3 per contest. The Hawks shoot 43.3 percent from the field, 30.5 percent from downtown and 73.2 percent at the line.
The Coaches
The dean of Missouri Valley Conference coaches, Creighton's Dana Altman (Eastern New Mexico, 1980) is in his 15th year as head coach of the Bluejays. He owns a 286-154 (.650) mark at CU and a career record of 369-221 (.625) in his 20th year as a NCAA Division I head coach.
Creighton's all-time winningest coach, Altman has been named national, conference, regional or district coach of the year in 10 of his first 23 years as a head coach. The 2001 and 2002 MVC Coach of the Year was a finalist for the Naismith National Coach of the Year Award in 2003. In 2004, Altman was named the Collegeinsider.com Jim Phelan National Mid-Season Coach of the Year. In March, 2007, Altman was named a coach on the MVC's All-Centennial Team.
Additionally, Altman has led Creighton to seven NCAA Tournaments and his teams have played in the postseason in 11 straight seasons. He is assisted by Brian Fish, Darian DeVries and Todd Eisner. Nick Bahe is the team's graduate manager.
Saint Joseph's is coached by Phil Martelli (Widener, 1976), who owns a 264-155 record in his 14th year with the Hawks. He is a four-time Atlantic-10 Conference Coach of the Year and in 2004 was named consensus National Coach of the Year after leading the Hawks to the nation's first undefeated regular-season since 1990-91. Martelli is assisted by Mark Bass, David Duda and Geoff Arnold.
The Series With Saint Joseph's
Saint Joseph's leads the all-time series with Creighton 4-2, including a 2-0 mark in Philadelphia. The teams have not met in Philadelphia since Feb. 19, 1966.
All six previous meetings have been decided by 10 points or less.
Dana Altman is 1-0 against Saint Joseph's and Phil Martelli. Altman is 10-6 in his career against the Atlantic-10.
Last Meeting vs. Saint Joseph's Recap
Creighton beat Saint Joseph's, 90-84, in overtime on Dec. 9, 2007 in Omaha, when the teams last met. The Bluejays overcame a four-point deficit in the final minute of regulation, then scored the first six points of overtime to seal the win.
Creighton seniors Dane Watts (29 points) and Pierce Hibma (17 points) both had career-high scoring games, while classmate Nick Bahe added 14 points in the win.
Saint Joseph's was paced by 23 points and nine assists by Tasheed Carr.
The Historic Palestra
Featured in a 2007 ESPN Classic documentary entitled “The Palestra: Cathedral of Basketball”, The Palestra has been named the No. 6 college sports venue by Sports Illustrated (incidentally, Omaha's Rosenblatt Stadium is No. 5 on that same list) and is called “the birthplace of college basketball” in some circles.
The Palestra is the annual home to many Big Five games and hosted the first NCAA Tournament championship game in 1939. The facility opened in 1927 and is the primary home for the University of Pennsylvania.
History at the Palestra
According to available records, Creighton will be playing in its 11th game all-time at The Palestra on Saturday, having gone 2-8 in the first 10 contests. Below is a list of those games:
Date Opponent CU Result
2/2/50 Villanova L 63-84
1/3/51 #8 Villanova L 42-61
1/9/52 Villanova L 61-79
12/1/62 La Salle W 91-72
12/15/65 Temple L 59-85
2/12/65 La Salle W 84-66
2/19/66 #8 Saint Joseph's L 90-96
2/1/67 La Salle L 83-88 (ot)
1/7/69 #11 La Salle L 84-103
2/19/71 #11 La Salle L 61-64
Missouri Valley/Atlantic 10 Square Off Again
Creighton's next two games will feature battles between schools from the Missouri Valley and Atlantic 10 Conferences.
As of 11 am on Thursday, the MVC was ranked ninth while the A-10 was ranked 10th in the conference rankings available on-line at realtimerpi.com.
The Bluejays, who also do battle with fellow A-10 member Dayton next Wednesday, will look to improve upon the MVC's 3-0 mark this winter against the A-10.
Previously this year Southern Illinois has beaten Massachusetts and Saint Louis, while Bradley has beaten Richmond.
The Salukis will also host Charlotte on Saturday afternoon.
Walker Nabs Double-Double
Sophomore center Kenton Walker became the only current member of the Creighton team to record a double-double, when he recorded 10 points and 10 rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench against Mississippi Valley State on December 2nd.
Walker's 10 points tied for the second-highest scoring output of his young career, while his 10 rebounds were one more of his previous career-best.
Walker is the team leader in rebounds per minute, grabbing 0.291 per minute of floor time. That equates to 11.6 rebounds per 40 minutes, a figure identical to what he averaged last year.
Missing Those Seniors
Last year Creighton seniors Nick Bahe, Pierce Hibma and Dane Watts were averaging 21.5 points per game combined heading into that game with Saint Joseph's.
In the overtime win, the trio scored 60 of CU's 90 points. Hibma (17) and Watts (29) both exceeded their previous career-highs by three points each, while Bahe (14) was one shy of his career-best.
CU's seniors scored its final eight points of regulation and added 12 of the team's 20 points in overtime.
Even though Creighton returns 10 of 14 lettermen from last year's club, the current roster scored just 30 of CU's 90 points from that contest.
Nivins Shut Out Last Year
Last year Ahmad Nivins entered the Creighton game shooting 63.3 percent from the field while averaging 14.4 points per game.
In last year's meeting with CU, Nivins didn't attempt a field goal in 31 minutes of play, thanks largely to the defense by graduated Bluejay Dane Watts. Nivins' only two points came on free throws with 2:10 left in the second half.
Nivins owns at least seven field goal attempts in every game this year, averaging 10.7 shot attempts in victories compared to just 8.3 field goal attempts in SJU's losses.
Last year Nivins managed 8.7 shot attempts in victories compared to 6.1 attempts in losses.
He is Saint Joseph's all-time leader in field goal percentage, making 63.8 of his shots from the floor in his career.
2nd Half Winner = Winner of Game
One statistic that has held true in every Creighton every game to date is the fact that the team that has scored more second-half points has won all six games.
Dotzler Nears Top 10 On Assist List
Josh Dotzler had a season-best six assists in Tuesday's win over Mississippi Valley State, pushing his career total to 284.
With 10 more assists, he'll tie Kyle Korver for 10th on CU's all-time assist list.
Ironically, Dotzler tied a career-high by dishing 10 helpers against Saint Joseph's last year.
City of Brotherly Love
Creighton sophomore Kaleb Korver is the younger brother of former Philadelphia 76ers shooting wizard Kyle Korver.
Kyle was traded from Philadelphia to Utah late last December.
Jesuit Basketball Spotlight
Saturday's matchup between Creighton and Saint Joseph's is part of the nationwide Jesuit Basketball Spotlight project, using Jesuit basketball to raise awareness of Jesuit education. Both Creighton and Saint Joseph's are Jesuit schools.
The Jesuit Basketball Spotlight project highlights more than 90 games this season between men's and women's teams from the 28 Jesuit colleges and universities across the United States. Each of the 28 is dedicated to strong academics and teaching women and men to serve others and live a faith that does justice.
The spotlight project includes awareness announcements during these designated games
and during gamecasts on radio and television; and other awareness opportunities.
Jesuit, Catholic colleges and universities in the United States have more than 200,000 students currently and more than 1.7 million living alumni. The Jesuit educational mission began in Europe approximately 500 years ago.
Interviews with school staff on this subject are available and can be arranged through the Creighton Public Relations Office.
For more information on Jesuit higher education in the United States, go to: www.ajcunet.edu.
Remember This December Stat
Including Tuesday's win over Mississippi Valley State, Creighton has won its first December home game in each of the past 13 seasons. Each of those wins has been by six points or more.
The win over MVSU also gave Creighton a 4-0 home record. That shouldn't come as much of a surprise, as Creighton has done that in each of the past 13 seasons.
In 15 years at Creighton, Dana Altman is a combined 58-2 in his first four home games of the regular-season.
Lose Two, Then At Home?
Creighton extended an amazing trend on Tuesday with a win over Mississippi Valley State.
In the last 12 seasons, Creighton has played 22 home games in which it brought in a losing streak of two games or more.
In each case, Creighton won the home game.
Creighton won 16 of those 22 home games by 10 points or more, including nine by 20 points or more. The average margin in those wins has been 17.5 points, as CU has outscored foes 75.5-58.0 in those scenarios.
Below is a chart showing CU's games since 1997-98 in which it took to its home court with a losing streak of two games or more.
L Streak Home Game Opp. Score Date
3 UMKC W 81-59 11/14/97
2 Grambling State W 67-51 12/03/97
2 Indiana State W 80-67 01/15/98
4 Towson State W 93-48 11/14/98
2 #18 Oklahoma State W 66-60 12/20/98
2 Northern Iowa W 77-60 02/10/99
2 Colorado State W 74-51 12/06/00
2 Indiana State W 81-72 01/11/01
2 N. Carolina A&T W 72-51 11/18/01
2 Nebraska W 76-70 12/12/01
2 Miss. Valley State W 90-65 12/29/01
3 Wichita State W 75-61 03/01/04
2 Alcorn State W 74-40 11/15/04
2 Bradley W 71-62 12/28/04
2 Nebraska W 70-44 12/11/05
2 Illinois State W 71-52 01/05/06
2 Fresno State W 67-62 02/18/06
2 Akron W 71-60 03/16/06
2 Wichita State W 71-54 02/24/07
2 Wichita State W 65-63 02/02/08
2 Missouri State W 88-67 02/19/08
2 Miss. Valley State W 82-58 12/02/08
Home Win Streak Reaches 10
Creighton has won 10 straight home games dating to last year, and Tuesday's victory marked the fifth different time Creighton has won 10 straight home games in Dana Altman's 15-year tenure. Before Altman's arrival CU hadn't had a home win streak of 10 or more since 1979-80.
Below is a list of the longest home win streaks under Altman:
Streak Dates Snapped By
28* 11/17/02 to 2/4/04 So. Illinois, 61-60
20 2/28/00 to 12/16/01 Xavier, 72-65
16 2/9/05 to 1/31/06 So. Illinois, 74-67
12 1/21/98 to 12/30/98 Evansville, 84-79
10 2/2/08 to Present ? ? ?
9 1/23/99 to 12/12/99 Missouri State, 59-58
9 2/24/07 to 12/22/07 Illinois State, 80-67
*ties school record (also Jan. 12, 1917 to Feb. 11, 1920)
Magic Number = 82
Creighton owns four wins this year and has scored exactly 82 points in three of those victories.
The Bluejays have won 10 straight games when scoring exactly 82 points, dating back to Feb. 15, 1997.
Emerging Big Man?
Kenny Lawson Jr. had a solid week as he settles into the role of Creighton's top post man.
Lawson Jr. led Creighton by averaging 12.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots last week, hitting 11-of-15 shots from the field (73.3 percent). Lawson tied a career-high with 15 points at UALR before turning in a 10-point, nine-rebound, four-block contest at Nebraska.
Road Heartbreak
Creighton lost a pair of road games last week, falling by two points against both UALR (71-69) and Nebraska (54-52).
Against Arkansas-Little Rock, Mike Smith's putback with 7.1 seconds left proved to be the winning points, while against Nebraska, it was Ade Dagunduro's basket with 2.7 seconds left that proved decisive.
Students from both schools rushed the floor after beating the MVC's preseason favorite.
Creighton had not lost consecutive games by three points or less since Dec. 29, 1999 and Jan. 2, 2000.
Creighton had not lost consecutive games by three points or less in which the score was tied (or the lead changed) in the final 15 seconds since March 10 and 15, 1984.
On March 10, 1984, Tulsa's Ricky Ross hit a jumper with two seconds left to give the Hurricane a 70-68 overtime win in the MVC Tournament finals in Tulsa.
Five days later in Omaha, Creighton lost a 56-54 game to Nebraska in the NIT. In that game, with the score tied and 10 seconds left, CU's Benoit Benjamin was issued a technical foul. Nebraska's Dave Hoppen and Curtis Moore would each drain a free throw in the closing seconds to preserve NU's win.
Halftime Leads Usually Safe
Another uncharacteristic trait from Creighton's losses last week were its inability to hold halftime leads against UALR (39-32) and Nebraska (31-18).
Before last week, Creighton had been 135-9 under Dana Altman when leading by seven points or more at halftime, including 17 straight wins.
Additionally, Altman had been 75-1 when leading by 13 or more points at the intermission, including 42 straight wins.
Creighton had not lost consecutive games in which it led at halftime since Jan. 22 and 26, 2008.
This season has been anything but normal though, as Creighton is 2-2 when leading at halftime but 2-0 when trailing at the break.
Large Lead Didn't Hold Up
Creighton was unable to hang onto a 34-18 lead against Arkansas-Little Rock on Nov. 25.
Prior to Nov. 25, Creighton had not lost a game in which it led by 16 points or more since Feb. 2, 2002, when it lost to Southern Illinois, 79-77 after leading 43-27 late in the first half.
By comparison, Creighton had won seven games since then after trailing by 16 points or more, including five since 2006 alone.
Run Of Postseason Opponents Continues
Six of Creighton's first eight opponents this year reached the postseason, including Saturday's foe, Saint Joseph's.
The Hawks join Oral Roberts and Mississippi Valley State among NCAA teams on this year's non-conference slate.
Also, New Mexico, Nebraska and Dayton each played in the NIT last spring.
MVC Preseason Poll
For the second time in three years, Creighton has been picked to win the Missouri Valley Conference in a preseason poll of coaches, beat writers, SID's and play-by-play men.
Creighton was picked first on 36 of the 39 ballots to earn 386 of a possible 390 points. Last year's favorite, Southern Illinois, earned two first-place votes and totaled 322 points for second place, just ahead of Illinois State, which garnered 309 points and the lone remaining first-place vote. Rounding out the rest of the poll was Drake (274), Bradley (219), UNI (186), Indiana State (137), Evansville (122), Wichita State (105) and Missouri State (85).
The preseason all-MVC team is headlined by preseason player of the year Osiris Eldridge (Illinois State). Joining Eldridge on the first team are P'Allen Stinnett (Creighton), Bryan Mullins (Southern Illinois) and the Drake tandem of Jonathan Cox and Josh Young. Honorable-mention picks include the Bradley pair of Theron Wilson and Andrew Warren, as well as the Evansville duo of Shy Ely and Jason Holsinger.
Parking Lot Updates
Due to construction beginning on Omaha's new baseball stadium, general public Parking Lots C and E will be closed and inaccessible for all Qwest Center Omaha events - including Creighton men's basketball home games - starting December 3rd. To replenish those lost parking spaces from Lots C and E, Qwest Center Omaha will open the following lots:
- Lot D Expansion (northeast of the venue).
- Lot G (southwest of the venue; this lot is surrounded by 10th Street, 12th Street, Capitol Avenue and Davenport Street with the entrance located off of 12th & Davenport Streets.
- Lot F (southwest of the venue; this lot is located south of Cass Street and west of 12th Street).
- the new Lot E (southwest of the venue; this lot is north of Davenport Street and east of 12th Street).
The Charge Chart
Creighton took 62 charges last season, with Casey Harriman and Dane Watts sharing the team lead with 17 charges taken. Over the previous six seasons, the Bluejays have averaged 48.7 per year.
So far this season, Creighton has taken eight charges in six games.
Below is a list of the Creighton players that have taken charges since the 2002-03 season:
Name 2002-07 ?07-08 ?08-09 Total
Justin Carter n/a n/a 2 2
Casey Harriman n/a 17 1 18
Josh Dotzler 4 5 1 10
Kenton Walker n/a 3 1 4
Booker Woodfox n/a 2 1 3
Kenny Lawson Jr. 0 2 1 3
Kaleb Korver n/a 0 1 1
Chad Millard n/a 7 0 7
P'Allen Stinnett n/a 5 0 5
Cavel Witter n/a 3 0 3
Dustin Sitzmann 0 1 0 1
Former Players 226 17 n/a 243
Total 230 62 8 300
20 Overall Wins x 10 Years = MVC History
Creighton is the only school in the 102-year history of the Missouri Valley Conference to post 10 straight 20-win campaigns. No other school owns more than six straight.
Creighton is one of seven teams nationally with 20 or more wins in each of last 10 seasons. That list consists of Creighton, Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kent State and Syracuse.
Postseason x 11
Creighton has made either the NIT or NCAA in 11 consecutive seasons, the longest streak of postseason bids in MVC history. It is one more than the 10 straight from 1966 to 1975 by Louisville.
The only 12 schools to make the postseason in each of the last 11 years are Arizona, Creighton, Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan State, Oklahoma State, Stanford and Syracuse.
Creighton, which also boasts a men's soccer team with 17 straight NCAA appearances, is the nation's only school with 11 straight postseason appearances in both men's basketball and men's soccer.
10 Conference Wins, Again
Last year Creighton extended its MVC record by winning 10 or more league games for a 12th consecutive season. Prior to Dana Altman's arrival, the Bluejays had 10 or more conference wins in only six different seasons all-time.
On a national basis, the only teams with at least 12 straight years of 10 or more league wins are Stanford (14), Kansas (14) and Creighton (12).
Witter Named MVC Player of the Week
Cavel Witter was named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week on Nov. 25 for his work in wins against Arkansas-Pine Bluff and four-time defending Summit League champ Oral Roberts.
Witter averaged 20.0 points, 2.5 steals, 2.0 assists and 2.0 rebounds per game off the bench while leading Creighton in scoring.
He shot 68.8 percent from the floor (11-16), including 66.7 percent from three-point range (6-9) while also hitting 80 percent (12-15) at the line.
It was Witter's first career honor as MVC Player of the Week, though he did earn MVC Newcomer of the Week honors twice last season.
Sitzmann Was Scholar-Athlete of the Week
Senior guard Dustin Sitzmann was last week's Prairie Farms/MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Week.
A senior from LeMars, Iowa, Sitzmann scored in consecutive games for the first time in his Bluejay career, as CU defeated Arkansas-Pine Bluff (82-50) on Nov. 20 and Oral Roberts (87-65) on Nov. 22.
Sitzmann, who has a 3.871 cumulative grade-point average in exercise science, made 2-of-3 shots from the field (66.7 percent). He played a combined seven minutes in the victories, as CU improved to 26-2 all-time in games in which he's appeared.
Jays Were 3-0 Once Again
Saturday's win against Oral Roberts on Nov. 22nd gave Creighton a 3-0 start for the 10th time in the past 11 seasons. The 2006-07 team that started 2-1 is the lone exception in the past decade.
Each of Creighton's previous 3-0 starts under Dana Altman have been culminated in a postseason tournament appearance at the end of the year.
Creighton has not taken the floor with a losing record since December 3, 1997 when it faced Grambling. Saturday will be the 351st game in a row the Jays have played with a record of .500 or better.
3 Players, 20 Points, First 3 Games
Creighton has had three different players score 20 or more points during its first three contests this winter. P'Allen Stinnett (30) and Booker Woodfox (26) did it against New Mexico, while Cavel Witter (25) did it against Oral Roberts.
This is the first time it's happened in Dana Altman's 15-year tenure at Creighton, as well as the first time its happened at Creighton in at least 30 years.
Harriman Nets Career Highs
Casey Harriman had a pair of career-highs in its Nov. 22 win over Oral Roberts. The sophomore forward had 10 points and six rebounds in his 14 minutes, career-bests for points and rebounds.
Earlier in the week, Harriman tied a career-best with three steals against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Double-Double Eludes Lawson
Sophomore Kenny Lawson Jr. hasn't notched a double-double in his young career, but he's been steadily getting closer.
Lawson, who had nine rebounds and 10 points against Nebraska last Saturday, owns six career games of at least eight points and eight boards in his career. CU has won five of those games, outscoring foes by an average of 80.2-64.0.
Creighton is 12-4 when Lawson has five rebounds or more, but 16-9 in games he's appeared in and snared less than five caroms.
25 Points Off The Bench, Again
Cavel Witter scored 25 points off the bench in CU's Nov. 22 win over Oral Roberts.
It marked the second time in his career he's done that, as the junior guard torched Bradley for a Qwest Center Omaha record 42 points on March 1, 2008, in a double-overtime win over Bradley.
Before Witter, Creighton had not had a player score 25 points or more off the bench since March of 2002.
Television Records
Creighton is a combined 85-50 in televised games in the last seven seasons, including a 31-20 mark on KMTV-produced games (which does not include CU's record in NCAA Tournament games on KMTV). Creighton went 4-2 in games aired on KMTV in 2002-03, 6-3 in 2003-04, 4-5 in 2004-05, 5-3 in 2005-06, 6-2 in 2006-07 and 5-4 last year in KMTV-produced games. So far this year CU is 1-1 on KMTV.
The Jays are also 39-26 in games that air regionally or nationally in that time, including a 21-14 mark on MVC TV.
Creighton had 27-of-33 games on television last season. A minimum of 19 are slated for television this season.
Dynamic Duo, Part II?
From 1987-91, Creighton big men Bob Harstad and Chad Gallagher were known as the “Dynamic Duo”. Both men were named MVC Player of the Year (Harstad in 1990, Gallagher in 1991) and finished their careers first and second in school history for points scored.
It's still quite early, but the Jays had quite the dynamic duo in the season-opening win over New Mexico when P'Allen Stinnett (30) and Booker Woodfox (26) both lit up the Lobos.
The current duo became the first Bluejay pair to score 25 points or more in the same game in the Dana Altman era.
CU hadn't had that happen since, you guessed it, Gallagher (29) and Harstad (26) did it against Bradley on Jan. 21, 1991.
Long-Distance Streak Alive
Creighton has made at least one three-pointer in a league-best 472 straight games since a 59-53 loss at Illinois State on Feb. 20, 1993 when Rick Johnson was coach.
Up, Up and Away
Creighton never trailed in its Nov. 20 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff. In 85 all-time games at Qwest Center Omaha, the Jays have led wire-to-wire 18 different times.
Thirty-Point Bluejays
With 30 points on Nov. 16 against New Mexico, P'Allen Stinnett became one of six Creighton players in the Dana Altman era to score 30 points or more in a game. The other five players that did it were Cavel Witter, Nate Funk, Johnny Mathies, Kyle Korver and Rodney Buford.
Below is the list of Creighton's 30-point games since Altman became head coach:
Pts. Name Opp. Date Result
42 Cavel Witter Bradley 03/01/08 W 111-110
40 Rodney Buford Bradley 12/30/98 W 65-44
38 Nate Funk Dayton 11/26/05 W 91-90
36 Rodney Buford Illinois St. 02/05/96 L 72-74
35 Nate Funk @Wichita State 02/16/05 W 82-68
33 Nate Funk vs. Missouri St. 03/03/07 W 75-58
32 Kyle Korver @Xavier 12/31/02 L 73-75
32 Johnny Mathies Drake 01/08/06 W 82-69
31 Kyle Korver Evansville 01/15/03 W 93-56
30 Rodney Buford Southern Illinois 02/05/98 W 91-73
30 Rodney Buford @Northern Iowa 12/30/97 W 83-75
30 Rodney Buford Missouri State 02/15/97 L 82-88
30 P'Allen Stinnett New Mexico 11/16/08 W 82-75
What A Start!
The 2007-08 MVC Sixth Man of the Year, Booker Woodfox scored 26 points in his first career start against New Mexico on Nov. 16.
Woodfox's 26 points are the most by a Bluejay in their first career start since at least 1980.
Stinnett Named MVC Player of the Week
Creighton sophomore P'Allen Stinnett claimed MVC Player of the Week honors Nov. 17. Stinnett scored 21 of his career-high 30 points in the second half of a 82-75 come-from-behind victory over New Mexico while also adding four rebounds, an assist and a steal.
This is his second career MVC Player of the Week accolade, as he also won the award last season on Feb. 11, 2008. Stinnett also picked up three MVC Newcomer of the Week honors last year en route to sweeping Valley Newcomer and Freshman of the Year laurels.
P'henomenal Debut x 2
P'Allen Stinnett's 23 points last year against DePaul were the most by a Bluejay in their first game since Cyril Baptiste scored 24 points on Dec. 1, 1969 against Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
Stinnett's 30 points in this year's opener were the most by a Creighton player in the season lid-lifter since Bob Harstad scored 38 points against Texas-San Antonio on Nov. 30, 1990.
Piling Up The Points, and Wins
Creighton has won 41 straight home games when scoring 68 points or more since Feb. 5, 2005.
Creighton has won 46 straight games when scoring 72 points or more dating to Jan. 29, 2005.
The Bluejays have won 62 consecutive games when scoring 80 points or more, dating to Feb. 19, 2000.
Creighton has also won 44 straight games when scoring 90 points or more, dating to Jan. 11, 1988.
Creighton has won 15 straight when scoring 100 points or more, dating to Feb. 26, 1977.
Who Are Those Guys?
Creighton also has two walk-ons practicing with the team that might suit up on but are not listed in the media guide.
No. 24 is Matt Dorwart, a 6-7 freshman forward from Sidney, Neb. Dorwart played at Sidney High School and averaged 8.0 points and 5.3 rebounds per game while shooting 38.5 percent from three-point range.
No. 40 Derek Sebastian is a 6-5 freshman guard/forward from Loveland, Colo. Sebastian played at Thompson Valley High School, where he averaged 14.8 points and 8.8 rebounds per game last year.
Turning Point?
One common theme when Creighton is successful is that they have had an advantage in “points off turnovers” in many of those contests.
Last season, Creighton was 17-4 when scoring more points off turnovers than its opponent last year. In the last five years, Creighton is 65-11 when winning this category, including a 4-1 mark this winter.
Jays Against Winless Teams
Creighton's opponent on Tuesday, Mississippi Valley State, dropped to 0-9 on the season. The Bluejays have now won 20 straight games against teams that are winless, dating to a Nov. 22, 1996 loss at Wyoming in the 1996-97 season-opener for both teams.
Creighton vs. Winless Teams, Since 11/24/96
Opp. W-L Opponent CU Result Date
0-1 UMKC W 70-68 11/25/96
0-0 UMKC W 81-59 11/14/97
0-0 Towson W 93-48 11/14/98
0-1 at UMKC W 79-58 11/18/98
0-1 at Miss. Valley St. W 70-62 11/22/99
0-3 at Georgia State W 58-54 12/01/99
0-1 Western Illinois W 96-50 11/20/00
0-1 North Carolina A&T W 72-51 11/18/01
0-0 Texas-Arlington W 106-50 11/17/02
0-3 San Diego W 79-44 11/22/03
0-1 Bethune-Cookman W 69-49 12/03/03
0-0 Alcorn State W 74-40 11/15/04
0-0 Arkansas-Pine Bluff W 83-58 11/20/04
0-0 Arkansas-Pine Bluff W 87-55 11/19/05
0-1 Miss. Valley State W 78-42 11/13/06
0-4 Arkansas-Pine Bluff W 74-39 11/29/06
0-0 DePaul W 74-62 11/09/07
0-2 Miss. Valley State W 76-46 11/17/07
0-2 Arkansas-Pine Bluff W 82-50 11/20/08
0-9 Miss. Valley State W 82-58 12/02/08
Recruits Inked
A pair of prep standouts signed letters-of-intent in November to join the Creighton men's basketball team next year.
Andrew Bock is a 6'1” guard from Eisenhower High School in Rialto, Calif. Bock averaged 18 points and eight assists per game while helping the Eagles to a 27-4 record. He was named Most Valuable Player of the Citrus Belt League last season.
Ethan Wragge (RAH-gy) is a 6'8” forward from Eden Prairie, Minn., where he attends Eden Prairie High School. He averaged 16 points and nine rebounds per game and owns the school record for three-point baskets made. He made 91 percent of his free-throw attempts last year. His team finished 19-9 last winter.
Both men will be freshmen and have four years of eligibility.
Jays Among Attendance Leaders, Again
This year's Creighton team is averaging 16,134 fans per game.
Creighton ranked 15th nationally in attendance, averaging 15,333 fans per game during the 2007-08 season.
During the 2006-07 season, Creighton ranked 13th nationally in average attendance with 15,909 fans per game.
Below is a list of the nation's attendance leaders in 2007-08, as compiled by the NCAA.
2007-08 Attendance Leaders
Rk. School Average
1. Kentucky 22,554
2. North Carolina 20,497
3. Syracuse 20,345
4. Tennessee 20,267
5. Louisville 19,481
6. Maryland 17,950
7. Wisconsin 17,190
8. Arkansas 17,148
9. Indiana 16,876
10. Memphis 16,748
11. Illinois 16,618
12. Ohio State 16,587
13. Kansas 16,409
14. Marquette 16,239
15. Creighton 15,333
16. North Carolina State 15,043
17. Michigan State 14,759
18. New Mexico 14,361
MVC Attendance Record Falls
Creighton broke the MVC record for single-season home attendance with 276,000 fans in 2007-08, surpassing the 2005-06 team which drew 236,313 fans in 17 games to hold the old mark.
Creighton has set MVC attendance (either average or total home fans) records each of the past three seasons. The 2006-07 club raised the bar by attracting 15,909 fans per game. Last year's team was close to that, averaging 15,333 fans per home game.
Highest Season Home Attendance, MVC History
Home Att. School Year
276,000 Creighton 2007-08
236,313 Creighton 2005-06
222,728 Creighton 2006-07
192,258 Creighton 2003-04
191,440 Louisville 1974-75
Highest Average Attendance, MVC History
Ave. Att. School Year
15,909 Creighton 2006-07
15,333 Creighton 2007-08
13,901 Creighton 2005-06
13,674 Louisville 1974-75
12,016 Creighton 2003-04
Consistent Challengers
One of the most impressive facets of the Dana Altman tenure is how often his teams have been in the running for the MVC regular-season title. Eight of his last 11 teams have finished either first or second in The Valley's regular-season race. Two of the three that didn't won the MVC Tournament.
The Bluejays won the MVC in 2000-01 and tied for the title in 2001-02. CU was second in the MVC in 1997-98 and 2006-07, tied for second in the MVC in 1998-99, 2003-04 and 2005-06, and finished tied for third in 2004-05. The 1999-00 club was fourth in the MVC, but won the MVC Tournament.
Creighton's MVC Finishes, Last 11 Years
1st Place 2000-01
Tied for First 2001-02 (won MVC Tourn.)
2nd Place 1997-98, 2002-03 (won MVC Tourn.), 2006-07 (won MVC Tourn.)
Tied for 2nd 1998-99 (won MVC Tourn.), 2003-04, 2005-06
Tied for 3rd Place 2004-05 (won MVC Tourn.)
4th Place 1999-00 (won MVC Tourn.); 2007-08
NBA Presence
Two former Creighton players started the season on NBA rosters. Kyle Korver (1999-2003) plays for Utah, while Anthony Tolliver (2003-07) plays for San Antonio.
Tolliver was sent sent down to the Austin Toros in the NBA Development League on December 2nd after averaging 3.5 points and 2.3 rebounds in 11 minutes with San Antonio.
Korver is averaging 8.3 points in 21.0 minutes per game off the bench for Utah. He is shooting 46.2 percent from three-point range for the Jazz.
Paint Points
Since Creighton started tracking points in the paint six years ago, CU is 55-9 in games when scoring 28 or more points in the paint.
Altman Passing Coaching Legends
Dana Altman continues to pass some of the coaching greats in MVC history in two categories. Altman's 286 wins at Creighton are third in MVC history, while his 158 triumphs in regular-season conference games have allowed him to pass Phog Allen for third in league history.
Both men above him, Henry Iba and Eddie Hickey, are in the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Coaches--Most Wins As MVC Member--All Games
Wins Coach School(s)
1. 486 Henry Iba Oklahoma A&M
2. 337 Eddie Hickey Creighton & St. Louis
3. 286 Dana Altman Creighton
MVC Coaches--Most Wins In Conference Games
Wins Coach School(s)
1. 187 Henry Iba Oklahoma A&M
2. 163 Eddie Hickey Creighton & St. Louis
3. 158 Dana Altman Creighton
Qwest To Be The Best
Creighton has played 85 regular and post-season contests at Qwest Center Omaha all-time. The Bluejays own a 72-13 (.847) record all-time at the facility, including a perfect 14-0 figure on Wednesday's. The 13 losses have been by a combined 70 points.
Creighton has outscored its opponents 6,302-5,254 in games at Qwest Center Omaha, an average margin of 12.3 points per game.
?W'inning Edge
Creighton's men's and women's basketball teams have been nearly unbeatable at home in recent seasons, going a combined 196-43 in the last nine seasons. In fact, the men and women have both lost a home game in the same month just four times since March, 2000.
Creighton's Home Records, Last Nine Years
Year Men Women Combined
2008-09 4-0 1-2 5-2
2007-08 16-2 11-1 27-3
2006-07 12-2 7-7 19-9
2005-06 15-2 5-7 20-9
2004-05 11-5 12-3 23-8
2003-04 14-2 12-1 26-3
2002-03 17-0 13-1 30-1
2001-02 12-3 11-1 23-4
2000-01 14-0 10-4 24-4
TOTALS 115-16 82-27 197-43
3-Point Weapons
Creighton had nine different players that made 10 or more three-pointers last season. Five of those men made 39.3 percent or more of their attempts from long-range.
According to STATS Inc., Creighton, Duke, Marquette, New Mexico and Portland State were the nation's only teams with seven different players to own 20 or more treys. Of that group, CU was the only team with all seven players to make 24 or more three-pointers.
When shooting 40 percent or better from three-point range, Creighton has won 32-of-34 and 42 of its last 46 games.
Double-Digit Comebacks at Home
Creighton has fallen behind by double-digits in 22 of its 85 all-time home games all-time at Qwest Center Omaha. In 15 of those 22 games, the Bluejays came back to win.
Creighton's incredible streak of 181 straight games without a double-digit home loss (dating to Jan. 3, 1996) was snapped on Dec. 29, 2007 by Illinois State. That had ranked as the nation's oldest streak in that obscure category.
Double Digit Deficits at Qwest Center Omaha
Date Opponent Deficit Final Score
12/30/03 Missouri State 10 W 59-54
12/04/04 High Point 13 W 79-60
12/07/04 Kent State 16 L 58-67
12/18/04 Wyoming 13 L 64-68
02/01/05 Wichita State 10 W 73-69
02/05/05 Missouri State 15 L 71-79
11/26/05 Dayton 11 W 91-90 2ot
12/18/05 Xavier 10 W 61-59
01/18/06 Bradley 12 W 80-76
01/28/06 Wichita State 19 W 57-55
02/11/06 Southern Illinois 14 L 67-74
02/22/06 Indiana State 14 W 67-62
03/20/06 Miami (Fla.) 12 L 52-53
12/30/06 Missouri State 11 W 77-74
01/20/07 Southern Illinois 12 L 57-58
02/07/07 Evansville 14 W 79-74
11/09/07 DePaul 17 W 74-62
12/29/07 Illinois State 19 L 67-80
02/02/08 Wichita State 15 W 65-63
03/01/08 Bradley 12 W 111-110 2ot
03/18/08 Rhode Island 17 W 74-73
11/16/08 New Mexico 16 W 82-75
Double-Digit Comebacks
Including its season-opening win over New Mexico, Creighton has won after overcoming a double-digit deficit 27 times in the last nine seasons.
Below is a list of those comebacks, listed by size of the margin overcome:
Overcoming Double Digit Deficits, Last 8 Years
Date Opponent Deficit Final Score
01/28/06 Wichita State 19 W 57-55
11/27/01 Western Kentucky 18 W 95-91 2ot
02/12/03 Missouri State 17 W 70-67 ot
11/09/07 DePaul 17 W 74-62
03/18/08 Rhode Island 17 W 74-73
11/16/08 New Mexico 16 W 82-75
02/04/06 at Drake 16 W 72-67 ot
01/26/03 TCU 16 W 89-79
02/02/08 Wichita State 15 W 65-63
02/22/06 Indiana State 14 W 67-62
02/07/07 Evansville 14 W 79-74
12/04/04 High Point 13 W 79-60
03/09/03 vs. Wichita State 13 W 70-69
01/18/03 Southern Illinois 13 W 85-76
02/04/01 at Indiana State 13 W 77-71
01/07/04 at Illinois State 12 W 56-55
01/18/06 Bradley 12 W 80-76
03/01/08 Bradley 12 W 111-110 2ot
12/30/06 Missouri State 11 W 77-74
11/26/05 Dayton 11 W 91-90 2ot
01/15/05 at Northern Iowa 11 W 67-66
11/30/04 at Xavier 11 W 73-72
03/15/02 vs. #15 Florida 11 W 83-82 2ot
12/18/05 Xavier 10 W 61-59
02/16/05 at Wichita State 10 W 82-68
02/01/05 Wichita State 10 W 73-69
12/30/03 Missouri State 10 W 59-54
One of the Best Programs Around
Every five years since 1997, Basketball Times has evaluated the best of the best NCAA programs -- those that have won two-thirds of their games over the previous 10 season span. The 2007 edition of the report had 29 teams that met that qualification, including Creighton.
Those 29 schools were then ranked from 1-29 on categories like 10-year winning percentage, number of active NBA players, freshman graduation rate and US News & World Report's academic peer assessment score, as well as a subjective vote of 10 panelists who judged teams based on “program cleanliness” and “head coach ranking”.
Creighton finished an impressive seventh, trailing only Duke, North Carolina, Florida, Stanford, Gonzaga and Michigan State.
Basketball Times Overall Rankings
Rk. School Avg. Ranking
1. Duke 3.7
2. North Carolina 7.5
3. Florida 8.0
4. Stanford 8.8
5. Gonzaga 10.0
Michigan State 10.0
7. Creighton 10.2
8. Kansas 10.8
9. Xavier 11.5
10. Illinois 12.0
11. Arizona 13.5
12. Connecticut 13.7
13. Syracuse 14.5
14. Butler 14.8
15. College of Charleston 15.2
Southern Illinois 15.2
Texas 15.2
18. Kentucky 16.0
Pennsylvania 16.0
20. Maryland 17.3
21. Pittsburgh 17.5
22. Utah State 18.3
23. Kent State 18.8
24. Utah 20.2
25. Cincinnati 20.5
26. Murray State 20.7
Oklahoma 20.7
28. Oklahoma State 21.0
29. Memphis 23.0
Academically Tops In The MVC Too
Creighton ranks first in the Missouri Valley Conference in graduation success rate (94.7 percent) among all sports.
Also, for the fourth time in the six-year existence of the award, Creighton University has been recognized with the 2007-08 MVC All-Academic Award. Bluejay student-athletes posted a 3.30 cumulative grade-point average over the 2007-08 academic calendar. Creighton previously shared the award in 2003-04, and were the outright winners in 2004-05 and 2006-07.
Creighton had seven men's basketball players earn Dean's List (3.50 GPA or better) accolades last year, which helped the team to a 3.01 GPA overall.
Army of Iowans
Every Creighton team since 1988-89 has had at least one Iowa native, and this season is no exception.
Creighton has three players from Iowa on this season's team, continuing a long trend of relying on some of the Hawkeye State's top preps. CU's native Iowans this season include senior Dustin Sitzmann (LeMars) and sophomores Casey Harriman (Ida Grove) and Kaleb Korver (Pella).
Other past notable Iowans include Kyle Korver and Pierce Hibma (Pella), Ryan Sears (Ankeny), Brody Deren (Harlan), Tyler McKinney (Urbandale), Nate Funk (Sioux City) and Michael Lindeman (Iowa Falls).
Creighton has played at least one Iowa native in 448 straight games. That streak dates to a Feb. 5, 1994 win against Wichita State.
Bench Points Add Up
Creighton owned 41 different double-figure scoring games last season off the bench, compared to a total of 30 during the previous three years combined. In fact, there were only four (of 33) contests in which it didn't have a double-figure scorer off the bench.
Last year's team scored 18 or more bench points in every game but one, with a low of 13.
This year, the Bluejay bench has scored 193 of the team's 454 points (42.5 percent). Take out the season-opening win over New Mexico and that number rises to 184-of-372 points (49.5 percent).
Creighton's bench has scored 51 points in two different games this season and 41 or more three times.
Last Season Recap
Creighton put together a second consecutive 22-11 season last fall, reaching the second round of the NIT with a team featuring nine newcomers.
P'Allen Stinnett (12.6 ppg.) swept MVC Newcomer and Freshman of the Year honors after leading Creighton in scoring, while senior Dane Watts (11.3 ppg.) led the team with 6.4 rebounds per game.
Booker Woodfox (9.6 ppg.) was named MVC Sixth Man of the Year as the leader for a bench that outscored CU's starters by 76 points for the season.
Shuttle Service To Qwest Center Omaha
The State Farm Shuttle presented by the Creighton Birdcage and State Farm Insurance will provide complimentary transportation service from the CU campus to Qwest Center Omaha for all men's basketball home games this season. The service is available to all fans, not just Creighton students.
The shuttle will start 75 minutes before tip-off and shuttles will continue to operate the route during the game.
The three designated stops for pick-up around the CU campus are: 24th & California (nearside/southbound); 20th & Cass (nearside/eastbound) and at Billy Blue's Alumni Grill (outside the new Mike & Josie Harper Center in the turnaround which is on the east side of the building).
The shuttle will then go eastbound on Capitol Avenue and then go north up 10th Street for drop-off at the Qwest Center Omaha arena entrance. The route is designed for each shuttle driver to make a roundtrip every 15 minutes.
Following the game's conclusion, the shuttle will start at the Qwest Center Omaha arena entrance on 10th Street and loop the original route with the first of three stops at 24th & California Streets.
Mid-Week Maestro's
Creighton has never lost a game at Qwest Center Omaha on a Wednesday, Thursday or Friday, going a combined 21-0 on those dates.
Creighton is 14-0 on Wednesday's, 6-0 on Thursday's and 1-0 on Friday's at the six-year old facility.
Ticket Information
Single game tickets for regular-season home games went on sale on Nov. 11 at 10 am.
Fans can purchase tickets in advance at Qwest Center Omaha Box Office, the Omaha Civic Auditorium Box Office, all Ticketmaster locations (Baker's, Younkers), Ticketmaster online at http://www.ticketmaster.com or by calling Ticketmaster and charging by phone at (402) 422-1212. Only upper bowl seats will be available for any game and cost is $12 for adults and $8 for youth ages 3-18 (children two and under are free). For more information, call the Creighton Ticket Office at (402) 280-JAYS.
As of November 14th Creighton had already sold 13,743 season tickets for this season. The previous MVC record was the 12,888 season-tickets Creighton fans bought for the 2007-08 season.
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/ Men's BasketballCreighton Men's Basketball Highlights vs. Kansas State - 12/13/25
Saturday, December 13
Creighton Men's Basketball vs. Kansas State Press Conference - 12/13/25
Thursday, December 11
Creighton Men's Basketball Press Conference vs. Nebraska, 12/7/25
Monday, December 08
Creighton Men's Basketball Media Availability, 12/5/25
Friday, December 05
