Creighton University Athletics
Tuesday, January 2
Washington, D.C.
6:00 PM
Creighton University
at
Georgetown
#22 Men's Basketball Opens 2024 on Tuesday at Georgetown
12/31/2023 1:31:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Bluejays have won first game in January in six of last seven years
Game #14: #22 Creighton Bluejays (9-4, 0-2) at Georgetown Hoyas (7-6, 0-2)
Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024 • 6 p.m. CST • Washington, D.C. • Capital One Arena
| LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES | GU NOTES |
NOTE: These notes were published prior to the new Jan. 1 Top 25 rankings.
Next Game
No. 22 Creighton (9-4, 0-2 BIG EAST) opens the 2024 calendar year in the nation's capital with a contest against Georgetown (7-6, 0-2 BIG EAST) on Tuesday, Jan. 2nd.
Tip-off at Capital One Arena (20,600) in Washington, D.C., is set for 6 p.m. Central.
Radio Broadcast Information
KOZN (1620 AM) and KOOO (101.9 FM) will carry all Creighton men's basketball games during the 2023-24 season. John Bishop will call the action.
The audio is webcast at 1620thezone.com and can also be heard on SiriusXM channel 119 or 202, as well as https://sxm.app.link/965.
Telecast Information
Tuesday's game will be called by Tom McCarthy and Steve Lappas and be televised on CBS Sports Network.
The game will also be video webcast at https://www.cbssports.com/cbs-sports-network/. Cable authorization may be required.
Live Stats Information
All of Creighton's games this season will have free live stats. Visit www.gocreighton.com and click on the small bar graph icon on the scoreboard at the top of the page for the event of your choosing.
Home games can also be followed by those who have mobile devices with internet capability at www.gocreightonstats.com.
Scouting #22 Creighton
Ranked No. 22nd nationally in the Associated Press poll and 20th in the USA Today Coaches poll, Creighton is 9-4 this season, including home wins over Iowa (92-84) and Alabama (85-82) and road victories at Oklahoma State (79-65) and Nebraska (89-60). The Bluejays have lost their first two BIG EAST games this season by a combined seven points.
The nucleus of the team is formed by three returning starters as senior forward Baylor Scheierman (18.6, 7.5 rpg., 4.2 apg), senior center Ryan Kalkbrenner (15.3 ppg., 2.2 bpg., 64.6 FG%), and junior guard Trey Alexander (15.8 ppg., 6.8 rpg., 4.5 apg.) all put their professional aspirations on hold and came back.
Add in senior transfer Steven Ashworth (8.2 ppg,. 3.3 apg., 35.8 3FG%), the USBWA District VII Player of the Year last year at Utah State, and it's easy to see why CU was one of three BIG EAST teams picked in the top-10 nationally in the preseason.
Creighton was picked to finish second of 11 teams in a preseason poll of BIG EAST coaches. It's No. 8 spot in the polls was its best preseason rank in program history.
The Bluejays boast an offense that shoots 49.5 percent from the floor and 37.5 percent from three-point land while draining 11.1 three-pointers per contest (seventh-best nationally), which contributes to CU's 81.8 points per game. The Jays also outrebound foes by 7.7 caroms per contest.
CU's defense has held teams to 67.1 points per game and allowed opponents to make just 69 three-pointers all year.
Scouting Georgetown
Georgetown is 7-6 on the season after losing road games at Butler and at Marquette to open BIG EAST play. The Hoyas have been idle since Dec. 22nd.
Illinois transfer Jayden Epps (17.8 ppg., 4.1 apg.) leads three Hoyas in double-figures, just ahead of North Carolina transfer Dontrez Styles (15.2 ppg., 5.9 rpg.) and Fairfield transfer Supreme Cook (10.4 ppg., 8.7 rpg.). It's all part of a rebuilding project under new head coach Ed Cooley, who spent the previous dozen years at Providence.
The Hoyas score 73.7 points per game and shoot 43.0 percent from the field, 35.4 percent from deep and 69.8 percent at the line.
The Series With Georgetown
Creighton is 14-9 all-time against Georgetown and has won 11 of the last 14 meetings in the series. Creighton is 5-5 in Washington, D.C., against the Hoyas all-time, including three straight double-figure victories.
Each of the last seven Bluejay wins, and each of the last six meetings regardless of victor, have been decided by double-digits.
The series began in 1970 in West Palm Beach, Fla., before resuming in 2014 in BIG EAST play.
Greg McDermott is 13-10 all-time (13-9 as Creighton coach) against Georgetown. McDermott is 10-13 in his career against Ed Cooley, though all of those games came when Cooley was at Providence.
Cooley is 13-11 in his career against Creighton, having also lost a CIT game when he was head coach at Fairfield in addition to his 13-10 mark leading the Friars vs. CU.
The Creighton Coaches
Greg McDermott (Northern Iowa, 1988) owns a 309-154 record in his 14th season with the Bluejays. He ranks 16th among active coaches in victories with a career mark of 589-349 in his 30th season, and is 458-285 in his 23rd Division I campaign.
McDermott led Creighton to its first BIG EAST regular-season title in 2019-20, taking a Bluejay team that was picked seventh in the league's preseason poll and ending the year ranked seventh nationally. The Cascade, Iowa native has coached Creighton to a share of its first regular-season BIG EAST title in 2019-20 its first Sweet 16 since 1974 in 2020-21 and first Elite Eight since 1941 in 2022-23.
McDermott has previously been a head coach at Iowa State (2006-10), Northern Iowa (2001-06), North Dakota State (2000-01) and Wayne State (1994-2000).
He is assisted by Ryan Miller, Jalen Courtney-Williams and Derek Kellogg.
With A Win...
- Creighton would snap a two-game losing streak.
- Creighton would take a 15-9 lead in the all-time series against Georgetown with its fifth straight win over the Hoyas.
- Creighton would earn its fourth straight road win at Georgetown.
Milestone Watch
Trey Alexander owns 967 career points and is 33 shy of 1,000. He'd be the fourth current Bluejay to reach that milestone in college, joining Baylor Scheierman (1,828), Ryan Kalkbrenner (1,366) and Steven Ashworth (1,137). Alexander's career-high is 32 points, done last season vs. DePaul.
Ryan Kalkbrenner owns 1,366 career points to rank 16th in CU history. With four or more points, he can surpass Gene Harmon (1,369) to move into 15th place.
Baylor Scheierman owns 497 career assists (including 177 at Creighton) and is three away from 500 in his career.
Steven Ashworth owns 396 career assists (including 43 at Creighton) and is four shy of 400.
Francisco Farabello owns 483 career points (including the 319 he scored at TCU), as he closes in on 500.
The More, The Merrier
In 23 all-time meetings against the Hoyas, Creighton is 12-2 when scoring 74 points or more against Georgetown, but 2-7 when scoring 73 points or less.
The Bluejays average 82.43 points in the 14 wins, but 61.11 points per game in the nine losses.
Creighton is third in the BIG EAST (and 48th nationally) with 81.77 points per game this season, and Georgetown is 10th in the BIG EAST in scoring defense (214th nationally), allowing 72.31 points per contest.
Alexander Chases 1,000 Points
Ryan Kalkbrenner owns 1,366 career points, as he became the 45th men's player in Creighton history to surpass 1,000 on Feb. 25, 2023 at Villanova. He was the first Bluejay to score 1,000 since Marcus Zegarowski did it on Jan. 20, 2021 vs. Providence. Kalkbrenner ranks 16th in program history, but could move into the top 15 on Tuesday with four or more points.
Trey Alexander is just 33 points from becoming the 46th player to score 1,000 points in a Bluejay uniform, as he currently ranks 48th in program history with 967 points after 85 career games.
Here's a list of Creighton's top scorers ever, as well as how long it took CU's last 21 men to reach 1,000 points.
Most Career Points, Creighton History
Rank Pts. Name Years
1. 3,150 Doug McDermott 2010-14
2. 2,116 Rodney Buford 1995-99
3. 2,110 Bob Harstad 1987-91
4. 1,983 Chad Gallagher 1987-91
5. 1,876 Bob Portman 1966-69
6. 1,801 Kyle Korver 1999-03
7. 1,754 Nate Funk 2002-07
8. 1,682 Rick Apke 1974-78
9. 1,661 Paul Silas 1961-64
10. 1,654 Vernon Moore 1981-85
11. 1,575 Benoit Benjamin 1982-85
12. 1,526 John C. Johnson 1975-79
13. 1,500 Kevin McKenna 1977-81
14. 1,437 Eddie Cole 1951-55
15. 1,369 Gene Harmon 1971-74
16. 1,366 Ryan Kalkbrenner 2020-Pres.
17. 1,361 Duan Cole 1987-92
18. 1,342 Antoine Young 2008-12
19. 1,313 Kenny Lawson Jr. 2006-11
20. 1,309 Ryan Sears 1997-01
21. 1,304 Mitch Ballock 2017-21
22. 1,303 Elton Tuttle 1951-54
23. 1,293 Marcus Zegarowski 2018-21
24. 1,292 Marcus Foster 2016-18
26. 1,272 Bob Gibson 1954-57
26. 1,267 Wally Anderzunas 1965-67, 1968-69
27. 1,254 Gary Swain 1983-87
28. 1,241 Ty-Shon Alexander 2017-20
29. 1,238 Ben Walker 1997-01
30. 1,196 Ray Yost 1951-54
31. 1,172 Dick Harvey 1956-59
32. 1,155 Ethan Wragge 2009-14
33. 1,152 Dane Watts 2004-08
34. 1,140 Khyri Thomas 2015-18
35. 1,116 Kenny Evans 1982-87
36. 1,115 Doug Brookins 1972-75
1,115 Daryl Stovall 1978-82
38. 1,093 Tim Powers 1964-67
39. 1,050 Reggie Morris 1982-86
40. 1,031 Johnny Mathies 2003-06
41. 1,024 P'Allen Stinnett 2007-10
42. 1,023 Rod Mason 1986-88
43. 1,013 Austin Chatman 2011-15
44. 1,006 Gregory Echenique 2010-13
45. 1,004 Anthony Tolliver 2003-07
46. 994 Chuck Officer 1960-62, 1963-64
47. 979 Terrell Taylor 1999-02
48. 967 David Wesely 1975-79
967 Trey Alexander 2021-Pres.
50. 965 Fritz Pointer 1963-66
Games To 1,000 Points, Last 21 Bluejays
Name CU Games to 1,000 pts. Date
Ryan Kalkbrenner 91 02/25/23
Marcus Zegarowski 75 01/20/21
Mitch Ballock 100 11/29/20
Ty-Shon Alexander 85 01/15/20
Khyri Thomas 94 02/10/18
Marcus Foster 54 01/17/18
Austin Chatman 138 03/11/15
Ethan Wragge 132 01/18/14
Gregory Echenique 101 03/24/13
Doug McDermott 57 01/15/12
Antoine Young 115 12/10/11
Kenny Lawson Jr. 108 11/21/10
P'Allen Stinnett 86 01/16/10
Dane Watts 115 01/22/08
Anthony Tolliver 124 03/16/07
Johnny Mathies 91 03/03/06
Nate Funk 92 02/28/05
Kyle Korver 81 01/30/02
Ben Walker 105 01/06/01
Ryan Sears 97 12/01/00
Rodney Buford 59 03/01/97
Meet The Alexander's
Though they're not related, the stats of Ty-Shon Alexander (2017-20) and Trey Alexander (2021-Present) are pretty similar through 85 career games.
That's a positive development considering that Ty-Shon was a First Team All-BIG EAST choice who helped Creighton to a share of the 2020 BIG EAST title and later played for the 2021 NBA runner-up Phoenix Suns.
Through 85 Career Games
Name PTS REB AST BLK STL FG% 3FG% FT%
Ty-Shon 1003 312 186 19 71 .412 .361 .801
Trey 967 376 240 35 79 .434 .353 .822
It's Miller Time
Mason Miller never scored more than nine points as he averaged 2.8 points per game in his first 42 contests at Creighton. But in his last five games, he's averaged 9.6 points per game, including different games of 17 and 11 points, and made 13-of-21 three-pointers (.619). That's good enough to move him to 57.5 percent on the season, which leads the BIG EAST, which requires one three-pointer per game to qualify.
In his career Miller is shooting 45.74 percent from deep, sinking 43-of-94 triple tries. The only man to finish a Creighton career better (min. 100 three-point attempts) has been Doug McDermott (.458).
Scheierman The Scorer?
Baylor Scheierman ranks first in the BIG EAST Conference in scoring at 18.6 points per game.
The Aurora, Neb., product is one of two BIG EAST players to have scored in double-figures every team game this season, joining St. John's Joel Soriano.
Scheierman is just the third Creighton player in the last 25 seasons to score in double-figures each of the first 13 games of a year, joining Doug McDermott (all 35 games in 2011-12) and Marcus Foster (first 15 in 2017-18).
The fifth-year senior is aiming to become the first Creighton player to lead the BIG EAST in scoring since Doug McDermott in 2013-14. McDermott led the nation with 26.7 points per game en route to National Player of the Year accolades.
Keep in mind that Scheierman has proven he can do way more than score. Two years ago at South Dakota State, Scheierman led the Summit League in the rare combination of both rebounds and assists.
Remember When, Part I
A few notable things to remember from Creighton's final meeting last season vs. Georgetown.
Creighton scored the first 19 points of the game against Georgetown, led 51-24 at the break, and won 99-59.
Since Greg McDermott was hired in 2010, it was the 11th time that Creighton has opened a game by scoring the first 10 points (or more).
Best Game Starting Runs Under Greg McDermott
Run School Final Score Date
19-0 Georgetown CU 99-59 03/01/23
13-0 Maryland-Eastern Shore CU 87-36 12/15/17
11-0 North Carolina A&T CU 97-65 11/11/11
11-0 Drake CU 76-69 01/03/12
11-0 at DePaul CU 91-80 01/17/16
11-0 St. John's CU 82-68 02/.28/17
10-0 Houston Christian CU 97-62 12/17/11
10-0 UCF CU 82-64 03/23/11
10-0 Chicago State CU 84-66 11/16/14
10-0 at Providence CU 78-64 01/07/17
10-0 Nebraska CU 95-76 12/07/19
Remember When, Part II
Creighton's 99-59 win over Georgetown last March 1st was its second-largest ever in BIG EAST play, one point shy of a near-identical 100-59 triumph vs. St. John's that was also on a Senior Day.
As for Georgetown, it was the Hoyas largest loss since falling 88-44 on Dec. 27, 1971 at Marquette.
CU's Largest Margin of Victory in BIG EAST Play
Margin Opponent Final Score Date
41 St. John's 100-59 02/28/16
40 Georgetown 99-59 03/01/23
36 Seton Hall 89-53 01/06/21
35 at DePaul 93-58 02/11/17
29 DePaul 93-64 02/15/20
Remember When, Part III
Creighton made 19 three-pointers on March 1 vs. Georgetown, tied for fourth-most in a game in program history and its second-best effort ever in a conference game.
Here's a list of Creighton's all-time games with 17 or more treys.
Most 3FG in a Game, Creighton History
Rank 3FG Opponent Date Score
1. 22 Coe 12/20/2018 W 110-60
2. 21 at #4 Villanova 01/20/2014 W 96-68
3. 20 Chattanooga 02/19/2005 W 100-69
4. 19 USC Upstate 12/20/2017 W 116-62
19 Georgetown 03/01/2023 W 99-59
6. 18 Florida A&M 11/07/2023 W 105-54
7. 17 #21 Marquette 01/09/2019 L 104-106 (OT)
17 Georgetown 03/04/2020 W 91-76
17 at Seton Hall 01/27/2021 W 85-81
The Rare Three-Time All-Americans
Doug McDermott, the son of Creighton head coach Greg McDermott, wrapped up a memorable career in 2014 with his third straight First Team All-America honor and a sweep of all 14 National Player of the Year awards.
Prior to McDermott (in 2012, 2013 and 2014), the last player to be a three-time First Team All-American by the Associated Press had been Georgetown's Patrick Ewing and Oklahoma standout Wayman Tisdale, who both did so in 1983, 1984 and 1985. Other three-time First Team All-Americans by the AP are Oscar Robertson, Lew Alcindor, Pete Maravich, Ralph Sampson, David Thompson, Jerry Lucas, Tom Gola and Bill Walton.
Ewing starred from 1981-85 with the Hoyas and in 1985 was named National Player of the Year by the Associated Press, NABC, Sporting News and won the Naismith Award, finishing with 2,184 career points. He later coached the Hoyas.
McDermott currently plays for the San Antonio Spurs.
Rest vs. Rust
Is it better to be well-rested, or do the side-effects or rust kick in after too long? For the third straight game to open league play, Creighton's opponent will find out.
Creighton opened league play on Dec. 20 against a Villanova team that hadn't played since Dec. 9th.
Last Saturday (Dec. 30) a Marquette team that had been off since Dec. 22nd hosted the Bluejays. Creighton, itself, had been off since Dec. 20th.
And on Tuesday (Jan. 2), Georgetown will take the floor for the first time since Dec. 22nd.
Triple Trouble
Baylor Scheierman has made 287 three-pointers over the course of 140 collegiate games, but he'd never had seven three-pointers in the same game until Saturday at Marquette.
Scheierman's performance was tied for 10th-most in program history. The only other Bluejay to make seven triples against a top 10 foe had been Ethan Wragge's nine trifectas at No. 4 Villanova on Jan. 20, 2014.
3FG Name, Opponent Date
11 Mitch Ballock vs. DePaul 03/09/19
9 Kyle Korver vs. Evansville 01/15/03
Ethan Wragge at Villanova 01/20/14
8 Tad Ackerman at Drake 01/23/95
Kyle Korver at Xavier 12/31/02
Terrell Taylor vs. Florida 03/15/02
Isaiah Zierden at DePaul 01/17/16
Mitch Ballock vs. Marquette 12/14/20
Ryan Hawkins at Georgetown 02/12/22
7 Gary Swain vs. Nebraska-Omaha 12/11/86
Ryan Sears vs. Wyoming 12/06/97
Kyle Korver vs. Notre Dame 11/26/02
Kyle Korver vs. Fresno State 02/22/03
Nate Funk at Nebraska 11/18/06
Booker Woodfox at Saint Joseph's 12/06/08
Ethan Wragge at Saint Joseph's 11/16/13
Doug McDermott vs. DePaul 03/13/14
Cole Huff vs. Seton Hall 03/10/16
Ty-Shon Alexander vs. Clemson 11/21/18
Mitch Ballock at Nebraska 12/08/18
Marcus Zegarowski vs. Butler 02/23/20
Mitch Ballock at Seton Hall 01/27/21
Trey Alexander vs. DePaul 12/25/22
Trey Alexander vs. Georgetown 03/01/23
Baylor Scheierman at Marquette 12/30/23
Farewell to 2023!
Last Saturday marked the final game of the 2023 calendar year for Creighton, and what a memorable 12 months it was.
Creighton won 25 of 36 games after the calendar flipped to 2023, playing 21 of those games as a ranked team and 11 of the 36 games against a ranked team (going 4-7).
The Bluejays reached their first Elite Eight since 1941, saw Ryan Kalkbrenner earn BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year, and Greg McDermott pick up his 300th win as Creighton coach.
Resolute Success
Creighton will be playing its first game of the 2024 calendar year on Tuesday in the nation's capital.
Creighton has won its first game of the year (i.e., January) in six of the last seven seasons, including road wins at Marquette (2022) and at Providence (2021).
All-time under Greg McDermott, CU is 10-3 in its first game of January.
League (Arena) Bound
Creighton has played 53 games in a full-time NBA arena since Greg McDermott was hired in 2010.
In that time, Creighton is 26-27 in such games, including a 4-4 mark in the NCAA Tournament and a 10-9 record in the BIG EAST Tournament.
Creighton has played in nine different NBA arenas under McDermott, including Madison Square Garden (10-11), Fiserv Forum (4-2), Verizon Center/Capital One Arena (4-5), Wells Fargo Center (3-3), Ball Arena (2-0), Bradley Center (2-3), AT&T Center (1-1), Golden 1 Center (0-1) and Spectrum Center (0-1).
Creighton in NBA Arenas Since 2010
Date Score NBA Arena
03/22/13 CU 67, Cincinnati 63 Wells Fargo Center#
03/24/13 Duke 66, CU 50 Wells Fargo Center#
01/20/14 CU 96, Villanova 68 Wells Fargo Center
02/09/14 St. John's 70, CU 65 Madison Square Garden
02/19/14 CU 85, Marquette 70 Bradley Center
03/04/14 Georgetown 75, CU 63 Verizon Center
03/13/14 CU 84, DePaul 62 Madison Square Garden$
03/14/14 CU 86, Xavier 78 Madison Square Garden$
03/15/14 Providence 65, CU 58 Madison Square Garden$
03/21/14 CU 76, Louisiana 66 AT&T Center#
03/23/14 Baylor 85, CU 55 AT&T Center#
01/03/15 Georgetown 76, CU 61 Verizon Center
01/14/15 Marquette 53, CU 52 Bradley Center
02/07/15 St. John's 84, CU 66 Madison Square Garden
03/11/15 CU 78, DePaul 63 Madison Square Garden$
03/12/15 Georgetown 60, CU 55 Madison Square Garden$
01/26/16 Georgetown 74, CU 73 Verizon Center
02/13/16 CU 65, Marquette 62 Bradley Center
03/10/16 Seton Hall 81, CU 73 Madison Square Garden$
01/25/17 Georgetown 71, CU 51 Verizon Center
03/04/17 Marquette 91, CU 83 Bradley Center
03/09/17 CU 70, Providence 58 Madison Square Garden$
03/10/17 CU 75, Xavier 72 Madison Square Garden$
03/11/17 Villanova 74, CU 60 Madison Square Garden$
03/17/17 Rhode Island 84, CU 72 Golden 1 Center#
01/06/18 CU 90, Georgetown 66 Capital One Arena
02/01/18 Villanova 98, CU 78 Wells Fargo Center
03/03/18 Marquette 85, CU 81 Bradley Center
03/08/18 Providence 72, CU 68 Madison Square Garden$
03/16/18 Kansas State 69, CU 59 Spectrum Center#
01/21/19 CU 91, Georgetown 87 Capital One Arena
03/03/19 CU 66, Marquette 60 Fiserv Forum
03/14/19 Xavier 63, CU 61 Madison Square Garden$
01/15/20 Georgetown 83, CU 80 Capital One Arena
02/01/20 CU 76, Villanova 61 Wells Fargo Center
02/18/20 CU 73, Marquette 65 Fiserv Forum
02/06/21 CU 71, Marquette 68 Fiserv Forum
03/11/21 CU 87, Butler 56 Madison Square Garden$
03/12/21 CU 59, UConn 56 Madison Square Garden$
03/13/21 Georgetown 73, CU 48 Madison Square Garden$
01/01/22 CU 75, Marquette 69 (2OT) Fiserv Forum
02/12/22 CU 80, Georgetown 66 Capital One Arena
03/10/22 CU 74, Marquette 63 Madison Square Garden$
03/11/22 CU 85, Providence 58 Madison Square Garden$
03/12/22 Villanova 54, CU 48 Madison Square Garden$
12/16/22 Marquette 69, CU 58 Fiserv Forum
02/01/23 CU 63, Georgetown 53 Capital One Arena
02/25/23 Villanova 72, CU 60 Wells Fargo Center
03/09/23 CU 87, Villanova 74 Madison Square Garden$
03/10/23 Xavier 82, CU 60 Madison Square Garden$
03/17/23 CU 72, NC State 63 Ball Arena#
03/19?23 CU 85, Baylor 76 Ball Arena#
12/30/23 Marquette 72, CU 67 Fiserv Forum
# NCAA Tournament $ BIG EAST Tournament
40 Minute Men
Neither Trey Alexander nor Baylor Scheierman came out of the game on Saturday at Marquette as both men logged all 40 minutes.
It was the second time in three games that Alexander has played a complete game.
In the last four games, Scheierman has averaged 40:08 of playing time. Alexander's been even more durable, averaging 40:35 minutes per game in those four contests.
The last time that Creighton faced Georgetown, on March 1, 2023, Alexander logged 22:18 of playing time while Scheierman saw just 22:32 of floor time. Both were BIG EAST lows for the standout guards, though CU's 40-point victory margin (99-59) played a large part.
Rankings Regulars
Entering Monday's (Jan. 1) poll, Creighton was one of 15 teams nationally to have been in the Top 25 of every Associated Press poll to date this season.
The only teams that can say that are Arizona, Baylor, Connecticut, Creighton, Duke, Florida Atlantic, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas, Kentucky, Marquette, North Carolina, Purdue, Tennessee and Texas.
Fool Me Once...But Nine Times?
Creighton has met or exceeded its preseason BIG EAST prognostication all but one year since joining the league in 2013, as seen below.
Last year marked the seventh straight year that Creighton has finished in fourth place or better.
Creighton's BIG EAST Preseason Poll History
Year Preseason Actual Preseason All-BIG EAST
2013-14 3rd 2nd Doug McDermott (1st)
2014-15 9th T-9th -
2015-16 9th 6th -
2016-17 3rd T-3rd Maurice Watson Jr. (1st); Marcus Foster (HM)
2017-18 5th T-3rd Marcus Foster (1st); Khyri Thomas (HM)
2018-19 9th T-3rd Martin Krampelj (HM)
2019-20 7th T-1st Ty-Shon Alexander (1st)
2020-21 2nd 2nd Marcus Zegarowski (1st); Mitch Ballock (2nd)
2021-22 8th 4th -
2022-23 1st 3rd Ryan Kalkbrenner (1st); Arthur Kaluma (2nd)
Ryan Nembhard (2nd); Baylor Scheierman (HM)
2023-24 2nd ?? Ryan Kalkbrenner (1st); Trey Alexander (1st)
Baylor Scheierman (2nd)
Among The Best
Creighton owns more BIG EAST wins (53) than any other school in the last five seasons, one more than Villanova's 52.
Since the league's 2013 realignment, Villanova has 142 league wins to lead the BIG EAST by a wide margin, but Creighton's 109 league victories are second-most.
Most Men's Basketball BIG EAST Wins
Previous 4 Years (2019-20 to 1/1/24)
Team W L Pct.
Creighton 53 26 .671
Villanova 52 23 .693
Providence 50 26 .658
Marquette 46 33 .582
Seton Hall 45 33 .577
UConn 38 20 .655
Xavier 38 34 .528
St. John's 31 47 .397
Butler 31 49 .388
DePaul 14 60 .189
Georgetown 14 61 .187
Most Men's Basketball BIG EAST Wins
Previous 10 Years (2013-14 to 1/1/24)
Team W L Pct.
Villanova 142 41 .776
Creighton 109 78 .583
Providence 108 76 .587
Xavier 104 76 .578
Seton Hall 98 88 .527
Marquette 98 89 .524
Butler 85 103 .452
St. John's 71 115 .382
Georgetown 60 123 .328
DePaul 39 143 .214
UConn 38 20 .655
A Good Start
Here's a look at how Creighton has done statistically after 13 games under Greg McDermott.
Creighton Stats Through 13 Games, Since 2010-11
Year W-L FG% 3FG% FT% PPG Opp PPG
2023-24 9-4 .495 .375 .756 81.8 67.1
2022-23 7-6 .465 .342 .712 76.5 68.2
2021-22 10-3 .475 .316 .690 72.7 65.2
2020-21 10-3 .494 .380 .662 81.9 69.0
2019-20 11-2 .471 .374 .702 78.9 67.9
2018-19 9-4 .525 .448 .621 85.2 74.4
2017-18 10-3 .518 .383 .734 91.7 73.0
2016-17 13-0 .539 .446 .672 89.8 72.0
2015-16 9-4 .506 .402 .670 87.4 75.2
2014-15 9-4 .432 .348 .748 72.2 64.5
2013-14 11-2 .485 .431 .762 81.7 63.7
2012-13 12-1 .508 .425 .755 79.5 61.4
2011-12 11-2 .501 .451 .692 83.1 69.1
2010-11 9-4 .431 .316 .752 67.1 62.2
A Dozen Will Do
Creighton finished 14-6 in the BIG EAST last season and is the only school in the BIG EAST with 12 or more league wins each of the previous four seasons.
Among the other BIG EAST or "Power 5" Conference schools, Kansas, UCLA and Virginia have also done it the previous four years.
Creighton has now owned a .500 mark or better in league play 27 times in the last 28 seasons.
The only BIG EAST teams to finish .500 or better in league play each of the previous six seasons are Creighton, Villanova and Seton Hall.
McDermott Among The Best
Greg McDermott ranks 12th in league history with 109 regular-season league wins. With a win on Tuesday, he can tie former Villanova mentor Rollie Massimino for 11th on the all-time list.
McDermott, along with Ed Cooley and Rick Pitino, are the only three active coaches with 100 regular-season BIG EAST wins. The list contains six different coaches who have won at least one national title.
McDermott has been at his current job (14 seasons) longer than any active BIG EAST coach, but since his first three years were as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference, Cooley's 13 years in the BIG EAST lead all active league coaches.
Most League Wins, BIG EAST MBB Coaches (thru 1/1)
Rk. Wins Name, School
1. 366 Jim Boeheim, Syracuse
2. 274 Jim Calhoun, UConn
3. 244 Jay Wright, Villanova
4. 198 John Thompson Sr., Georgetown
5. 136 Mike Brey, Notre Dame
6. 131 John Thompson III, Georgetown
7. 127 Lou Carnesecca, St. John's
8. 121 Ed Cooley, Providence/G'Town
9. 115 Jamie Dixon, Pittsburgh
10. 113 Rick Pitino, Prov./Louisville/SJU
11. 110 Rollie Massimino, Villanova
12. 109 Greg McDermott, Creighton
13. 105 Kevin Willard, Seton Hall
Jays Don't Foul...Do You Follow?
Creighton leads the nation with just 10.6 fouls per game...let's take a minute to appreciate just how few that is.
Creighton has committed three fouls or less in 7-of-26 halves this year.
Creighton has had more than nine fouls in just one half this season, which means its opponents have been in the double-bonus just twice.
Creighton has allowed just five made free throws in a 1-and-1 situation all year, and just four made free throws in the double bonus all season.
Here's a look at how many fouls Creighton has been called for this season by half:
Creighton Fouls By Half
Opponent First Half Second Half
Florida A&M 4 5
North Dakota State 1 3
Iowa 6 8
Texas Southern 1 6
Loyola (Chicago) 3 7
Colorado State 2 5
Oklahoma State 6 7
Nebraska 7 7
Central Michigan 3 2
UNLV 5 5
Alabama 9 7
Villanova 5 4 (4 more in OT)
#10 Marquette 5 11
Total 57 77 (4 more in OT)
Big Game
Creighton's average height of 78.56 inches puts the Bluejays as the nation's 11th-tallest team, and the biggest in the BIG EAST.
The second-tallest team in the BIG EAST is Connecticut, which ranks tied for 24th-biggest at 78.29 inches per player.
Jays Pass 27K at CHI
Creighton has scored 27,046 points all-time at CHI Health Center Omaha, passing the 27,000 mark on Dec. 20 vs. Villanova.
Creighton has outscored the opposition 27,046-22,589 at the 21-year old facility in 345 all-time games in the building that count.
Creighton is 25-2 all-time in games where it moves over any 1,000 point milestone at CHI Health Center Omaha, as seen below:
Date Pts-Opp (CLCO Game #) Who/How vs. Opp.
02/18/04 1,000-787 (14) Lindeman FG vs. Indiana State
02/05/05 2,000-1,696 (28) Funk FG vs. Missouri St.
01/18/06 3,000-2,504 (41) Watts FT vs. Bradley
01/09/07 4,000-3,359 (56) Tolliver FG vs. Drake
12/17/07 5,000-4,174 (69) Kaleb Korver 3FG vs. Hou. Baptist
11/16/08 6,000-5,048 (82) Dotzler FG vs. New Mexico
02/11/09 7,000-5,870 (95) Witter 3FG vs. Bradley
01/16/10 8,000-6,750 (109) Young FG vs. Wichita State
12/20/10 9,000-7,645 (123) Wragge FG vs. W. Illinois
03/23/11 10,000-8,500 (136) Lawson FG vs. UCF
01/21/12 11,000-9,310 (148) McDermott FG vs. Ind. St.
12/19/12 12,000-10,136 (161) Echenique FG vs. Tulsa
11/23/13 13,000-10,922 (173) Artino FG vs. Tulsa
02/23/14 14,000-11,711 (185) Gibbs FG vs. Seton Hall
01/28/15 15,000-12,612 (198) Hanson FT vs. St. John's
12/28/15 16,000-13,498 (211) Huff FG vs. Coppin State
11/15/16 17,000-14,349 (224) Patton FG vs. #9 Wisconsin
01/28/17 18,000-15,166 (235) Hanson FG vs. DePaul
12/18/17 19,000-15,927 (246) Foster 3FG vs. UT Arlington
11/06/18 20,000-16,741 (258) Ballock 3FG vs. W. Illinois
02/03/19 21,000-17,619 (270) Zegarowski FG vs. Xavier
12/07/19 22,000-18,463 (282) Ballock 3FG vs. Nebraska
03/07/20 23,000-19,280 (294) Mahoney 3FG vs. #8 Seton Hall
02/13/21 24,000-20,103 (306) Zegarowski FG vs. #5 Villanova
02/14/22 25,000-20,950 (320) Hawkins 3FG vs. Georgetown
01/25/23 26,000-21,786 (333) Nembhard 3FG vs. St. John's
12/20/23 27,000-22,535 (345) Kalkbrenner lay-up vs. Villanova
3 & D
Creighton leads the nation in fewest fouls per game (10.6) and is seventh in three-pointers per game (11.1).
Per Basketball-Reference.com, in its Dec. 9 romp over Central Michigan the Jays became the nation's only team since at least 2010-11 to score 102+ points and commit 5 fouls or less in the same game against a Division I opponent.
Kalkbrenner's A Handful
Ryan Kalkbrenner swatted a season-high five shots on Dec. 16 at UNLV.
It was the ninth time in his Bluejay career that he's had five or more rejections. During his four years at Creighton, all his teammates have combined for one such game, a five-swat effort by Fredrick King last year in Las Vegas. Kalkbrenner is the only Creighton player with multiple games of five or more swats since the Bluejays joined the BIG EAST in 2013 as King, Jacob Epperson and Justin Patton have each done it once.
Kalkbrenner's 228 career blocked shots rank third among the nation's active players.
Seeing Three's
Creighton has made 14 or more three-pointers in five different games this year, second-most nationally behind BYU. It's already tied for the second-most games of 14 three-pointers in any year under Greg McDermott, trailing only the 2018-19 squad that did it eight times in 35 games.
Creighton owns four different games this season in which it has made 10 or more three-pointers than its opponent, which shares the national lead.
The Bluejays have had three different games this season in which they've made 10 or more triples before halftime, including two of the past six contests.
Creighton has made three or more three-pointers in all but one half this season.
Circling The Target
Benoit Benjamin has the only three triple-doubles in history, but each one consisted of 10 or more points, rebounds and blocks.
Though that means Creighton's never had a traditional points/rebound/assist triple-double, it seems like both Trey Alexander and Baylor Scheierman are flirting with one seemingly every time out.
Here's a look at games this season when those men have had at least six points, six rebounds and six assists.
6+ Points, 6+ Rebounds, 6+ Assists This Season
Name Opponent Pts. Reb. Ast.
Alexander Iowa 23 11 9
Scheierman Texas Southern 23 9 6
Alexander Texas Southern 20 7 8
Scheierman Central Michigan 13 6 9
Alexander Central Michigan 15 7 8
Scheierman at UNLV 16 7 7
Scheierman Alabama 20 6 9
Alexander at #10 Marquette 18 6 6
Don't Forget The Two's
While attention tends to focus on Creighton's proficiency from three-point range, the Bluejays are also pretty efficient from inside the arc.
Through games of Dec. 30, CU ranked sixth in the country in two-point percentage (.616) in 2023-24 and third-best nationally (.548) among Division I schools to have played 100 or more games since Greg McDermott's arrival in 2010-11.
Creighton shot 26-for-32 (.813) from two-point range on Dec. 9 vs. Central Michigan, just the third time in Greg McDermott's 14 seasons at CU its converted on better than 80 percent of its two-point shots. The only better game was when it shot 22-for-26 (.846) in a March 2, 2013 win over Wichita State in CU's final regular-season game as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference.
Century Mark
Creighton's 109 point effort on Dec. 9 vs. Central Michigan was the 25th time under Greg McDermott that Creighton has scored 100 or more points.
That ranks second-most among all Power 5/BIG EAST teams nationally in that span, trailing only North Carolina (35).
No other BIG EAST team has cracked the century mark more than 12 times since 2010-11.
Greg McDermott's teams at Northern Iowa (153 games) and Iowa State (127 games) never scored more than 100 points in any game.
Road Dubs
Before its Dec. 13 loss at UNLV, Creighton had started 2-0 on the road this season, doing so in impressive fashion in both games.
On Nov. 30 Creighton beat Oklahoma State 79-65, its second-biggest non-conference home loss since 1978.
Four days later on Dec. 3, Creighton won 89-60 at Nebraska, handing the Cornhuskers their largest non-conference home loss since 1938.
It's the first time that Creighton has won its first two true road games since 2016-17, when the Jays won their first five road contests.
It's also just the 12th time in the last 50 seasons that CU has won each of its first two true road games. Ten of the 11 most recent teams to do so made the NCAA Tournament, and each won 20 or more games.
Started 2-0 Or Better On The Road, Last 50 Years
Road W's to Start Season Final W-L (Postseason)
2 1976-77 21-7 (NCAA)
2 1980-81 21-9 (NCAA)
2 1998-99 22-9 (NCAA)
3 1999-00 23-10 (NCAA)
2 2002-03 29-5 (NCAA)
4 2003-04 20-9 (NIT)
2 2004-05 23-11 (NCAA)
2 2011-12 29-6 (NCAA)
4 2012-13 28-8 (NCAA)
4 2013-14 27-8 (NCAA)
5 2016-17 25-10 (NCAA)
2 2023-24 TBD
Forty Time
In its nine wins, Creighton has scored 431 points before halftime (47.9 per game), and put up 40 or more points in the first half each contest.
In its four losses the Jays have averaged just 61.25 points per game, and 27.8 first half points.
Creighton has won 15 games in a row when scoring more than 40 first half points.
Hoop Dreams
Creighton shot 65.1 percent from the field on Dec. 9 vs. Central Michigan.
In Greg McDermott's 462 games at Creighton, the Bluejays had only surpassed that figure three times previously, and not since 2013.
Best FG%, Single-Game, Under Greg McDermott
FG% (FG-FGA) Opponent Date
.775 (31-40) at Southern Illinois 02/14/12
.704 (38-54) Campbell 11/25/11
.702 (33-47) Wichita State 03/02/13
.651 (41-63) Central Michigan 12/09/23
.648 (35-54) Longwood 11/20/12
Powerful Performance
One of the few question marks heading into the season was which player would step up at the power forward position.
On Dec. 9 against Central Michigan, the platoon of Mason Miller, Isaac Traudt and Jasen Green each played a starring role.
The trio combined for 39 points and nine rebounds in 45 minutes of action. They shot 14-for-16 from the field, including 9-for-11 from three-point range. Both Miller and Traudt finished off a four-point play.
For the season Miller leads the BIG EAST with 58.3 percent marksmanship from three-point land while Traudt is second at 48.6 percent.
No Time To Waste
Isaac Traudt scored 18 points in just over 12 minutes of action on Dec. 9 vs. Central Michigan. The redshirt freshman made 5-of-6 three-point shots, as well as a dunk, en route to a new career-high scoring total.
Traudt was CU's first player with 18 points or more in 13 minutes or less since Martin Krampelj had 18 points in 11 minutes on Dec. 20, 2018 against Division III opponent Coe.
Release, Rotation, Splash, Repeat
Creighton has made at least one three-pointer in 998 straight games. The streak is the nation's 10th-longest active streak.
Creighton's last game without a three-pointer came at Illinois State on Feb. 20, 1993, when the Jays were 0-for-5. Creighton's last win without making a three-point basket came on March 3, 1991 when the Jays went 0-for-2 from three-point range in a 71-66 win over Southern Illinois in the championship game of the MVC Tournament.
Below is a list of the nation's longest active three-point streaks.
Longest Active 3-Point Streaks (12/30)
Rk. Streak School Next Game
1. 1,203 UNLV 12/31
2. 1,201 Duke 1/2
3. 1,137 East Tennessee State 1/3
4. 1,111 Oakland 12/31
1,111 Pacific 1/4
6. 1,106 Texas 1/1
7. 1,048 Marshall 12/31
8. 1,034 Princeton 1/6
1,034 Gonzaga 1/4
10. 998 Creighton 1/2
11. 997 Long Island 1/4
12. 987 Mount St. Mary's 1/5
Triple Trouble
During Creighton's current streak of 998 straight games with a three-pointer, the Jays have drained 7,929 trifectas, an average of 7.94 treys per game.
That's not surprising since during the streak, Creighton has made exactly seven three-pointers 147 times, more than any figure.
Only five times in the streak has Creighton made just one three-pointer, but on 291 occasions the Bluejays have made 10 or more trifectas, including three games of 20 or more.
Since the start of the 2019-20 season, the Bluejays are 71-17 when making eight or more three-pointers, compared to a 29-27 mark when making seven treys or fewer.
Team 3FG Made During Creighton's 3-Point Streak
1: 5 times 2: 19 times 3: 36 times
4: 75 times 5: 104 times 6: 103 times
7: 147 times 8: 125 times 9: 93 times
10: 84 times 11: 57 times 12: 58 times
13: 45 times 14: 22 times 15: 8 times
16: 8 times 17: 3 times 18: 1 time
19: 2 times 20: 1 time 21: 1 time 22: 1 time
Scheierman's Week Earns Honors
Baylor Scheierman was named the BIG EAST Player of the Week and Oscar Robertson U.S. Basketball Writers Association National Player of the Week on Dec. 4th after helping the Bluejays to a pair of double-digit road wins over Power 5 teams.
Scheierman averaged 22.5 points and 9.0 rebounds during the week, sinking nine three-pointers.
Scheierman had 21 points, eight rebounds and two steals in Thursday's BIG EAST – Big 12 Battle victory at Oklahoma State. The 79-65 loss was Oklahoma State's second-largest non-conference home loss in 45 years.
The Aurora, Neb,. product concluded his week by scoring 20 of his game-high 24 points in the first half of Creighton's 89-60 win over Nebraska, matching its largest margin of victory ever over its in-state rival. Scheierman made six three-pointers in the first half to remain (at the time) the nation's only player with three or more three-pointers in every team game this season.
Scheierman contributed 10 rebounds for his 40th career double-double, which also moved him over 1,000 career rebounds. The loss was Nebraska's largest in a non-conference home game since 1938.
Big Half Baylor
Baylor Scheierman has had at least 20 points before halftime twice this season.
He had 21 points in the first 20 minutes against Loyola Chicago on Nov. 22, then poured in 20 points in the first half on Dec. 3 at Nebraska. Scheierman is the first Bluejay with multiple games of 20+ points at halftime in the same season since Marcus Foster did it three times in 2017-18 (22 vs. UT Arlington, 21 vs. Butler, 20 vs. Georgetown).
For the year, Scheierman leads Creighton with 10.92 points per game before halftime. No Creighton player has averaged more than 10 points per first half since Doug McDermott averaged 14.0 points per first half in 2013-14, a season that saw McDermott lead the nation in scoring.
On The Triple
Baylor Scheierman drained six three-pointers before halftime on Dec. 3 at Nebraska.
No Creighton player had done that since Trey Alexander had six triples in the first half vs. Georgetown on March 1, 2023.
In case you're wondering, the Creighton record for three-pointers in a half is eight, done in a pair of memorable victories.
Ethan Wragge made eight three-pointers in a 96-68 win at No. 4 Villanova in 2014, while Terrell Taylor made eight after a scoreless first half in a double-overtime win vs. No. 15 Florida in 2002, though some of those trifectas came during the overtime sessions.
Ain't Life Grand?
Baylor Scheierman owns 1,828 points, 1,039 rebounds, 497 assists and has made 287 career three-pointers in 140 total games when you combine his Creighton and South Dakota State stats.
Creighton's only other players to reach 1,000 career rebounds (only at Creighton) have been Paul Silas (1,751), Bob Harstad (1,126), Doug McDermott (1,088) and Benoit Benjamin (1,005).
If you're curious, how many games it took to get to 1,000 rebounds for each man, we've got you covered:
Games to 1,000 Rebounds
Name GP Opponent, Date
Paul Silas 47 at Utah State, 2/23/63
Benoit Benjamin 89 at Bradley, 3/5/85
Bob Harstad 115 Siena, 2/3/91
Doug McDermott 132 DePaul, 2/7/14
Baylor Scheierman* 135 at Nebraska, 12/3/23
*includes games at South Dakota State
1,000+ Rebounds, 274+ 3FG Nationally, Since 1992-93
**Stats earned at Division I schools only**
Name, School(s) REB 3FG
Doug McDermott, Creighton 1,088 274
Baylor Scheierman, SDSU/Creighton 1,039 287
1,000+ Rebounds, 490 Assists Nationally, Since 1992-93
**Stats earned at Division I schools only**
Name, School(s) REB AST
Brian Voelkel, Vermont 1,168 679
John Konchar, IPFW 1,149 553
Kyle Collinsworth, BYU 1,047 703
Baylor Scheierman, SDSU/Creighton 1,039 497
Can't Stop Scheierman
Baylor Scheierman made a three-point basket in all 37 games he played last season and each of his first 11 contests this season, stretching his streak dating to last year to 58 in a row if you include his final 10 games at South Dakota State in 2021-22. The streak ended on Dec. 20, 2023 vs. Villanova, when Scheierman went 0-for-7 from deep.
Scheierman's streak of 48 straight as a Bluejay was the longest streak in Creighton history, 15 more than Ty-Shon Alexander's 33.
Scheierman was also the only player in the nation who had made three or more three-pointers in every game his team has played this season until the streak was snapped on Dec. 9 vs. Central Michigan.
Consecutive Games With A 3-Pointer, Creighton History
Streak Name Dates of Streak
48 Baylor Scheierman Nov. 7, 2022 - Dec. 16, 2023
33 Ty-Shon Alexander Feb. 27, 2018-March 6, 2019
31 Booker Woodfox Nov. 25, 2008-March 23, 2009
28 Kyle Korver Feb. 4, 2001-Feb. 6, 2002
27 Kyle Korver Feb. 13, 2002-Jan. 20, 2003
Scheierman Drains 275th Trey
Baylor Scheierman has made 287 three-pointers in his college career, doing so at a 39.0 percent clip.
Scheierman also owns 1,828 points, 1,039 rebounds, 497 assists and 129 career steals.
Per Basketball-Reference.com, Scheierman is the nation's only player in the last 30 years with career totals of at least 250 three-pointers, 450 assists and 1,000 rebounds.
Scheierman is one of 21 players since 2010-11 with 480 or more assists and 280 or more three-pointers. Scheierman's 1,039 rebounds are well ahead of the next-most (658 by ASU/Toledo guard Marreon Jackson).
Among the nation's active players Scheierman is fifth in rebounds, trailing only Armando Bacot (North Carolina), Fardaws Aimaq (California), Norchad Omier (Miami Fla.) and Enrique Freeman (Akron).
Road Openers
Creighton is 7-7 under Greg McDermott in its first true road game of the season.
The road opener has been the barometer for Creighton's postseason plans in the previous 13 years. Creighton has made the NCAA Tournament all six times it has won the road opener, and missed the NCAA Tournament four of the other six years where a postseason was contested.
That's encouraging since CU defeated Oklahoma State 79-65 in its road opener this winter.
CU would have made the 2020 NCAA Tournament that was canceled even though it lost its road opener that year.
Creighton in Road Openers, Last 14 Years
Year Opponent Score CU in NCAA's?
2010-11 Northwestern L 52-65 No (CBI)
2011-12 UAB W 70-60 Yes
2012-13 Nebraska W 64-42 Yes
2013-14 Saint Joseph's W 83-79 Yes
2014-15 Tulsa L 64-77 No
2015-16 #14 Indiana L 65-86 No (NIT)
2016-17 Nebraska W 77-62 Yes
2017-18 #20 Northwestern W 92-88 Yes
2018-19 Nebraska L 75-94 No (NIT)
2019-20 Michigan L 69-79 No (Postseason CCD)
2020-21 #5 Kansas L 72-73 Yes
2021-22 Nebraska W 77-69 Yes
2022-23 #2 Texas L 67-72 Yes
2023-24 Oklahoma State W 79-65 TBD
Bahamas Bounce
Creighton is coming off a trip to the Bahamas in August, which it hopes will prepare the team for early victories as past trips have done.
A 2019 trip to Australia helped the Bluejays open the year 12-2.
A 2015 trip to Italy helped the Bluejays start the season 5-1.
A 2011 trip to the Bahamas helped get the Bluejays ready for a 7-0 start.
A 2007 trip to Canada paid dividends as Creighton started 5-0.
In 2003, the Bluejays also went to Canada and started the subsequent season 12-0.
Sultan of Swat
Ryan Kalkbrenner ranks second in program history in blocked shots with 228.
Most Creighton Blocked Shots, Since 1979-80
Blk. Name Years
411 Benoit Benjamin 1982-85
228 Ryan Kalkbrenner 2020-Pres.
183 Chad Gallagher 1987-91
174 Gregory Echenique 2010-13
153 Kenny Lawson Jr. 2006-11
Among The Best...EVER!
Ryan Kalkbrenner has made 554 of 834 career shots, putting him at 66.4 percent overall. That places the senior center fourth in field goal percentage in NCAA history among players to make 500 or more field goals and at least four field goals per game.
However, Kalkbrenner is first among all such players who have ever attempted 50 or more three-point field goal attempts.
Best Career FG%, NCAA History (min. 500 FG, 4FG/game)
Pct. (FG-FGA) Name, School Years
.678 (828-1222) Steve Johnson, Oregon State 1976-81
.668 (566-847) Murray Brown, Florida State 1976-80
.667 (740-1109) Evan Bradds, Belmont 2013-17
.6643 (554-834) Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton 2020-Pres.
.6635 (702-1058) Todd MacCulloch, Washington 1995-99
.658 (508-772) Max Fiedler, Rice 2019-Pres.
.656 (552-841) Kevin Magee UC Irvine 1980-82
Almost a Trey-Double?
Trey Alexander finished CU's Nov. 16 win vs. Iowa with 23 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists, finishing just shy of becoming CU's first player in history to record a traditional points/rebounds/assists triple-double.
Alexander had six of his nine assists in the first 12:21 of the second half, but CU's only basket in the final 7:39 was a score by Alexander himself.
Creighton's only triple-doubles in history all came from Benoit Benjamin. "Big Ben" had 24 points, 17 rebounds and 11 blocks vs. Tulsa on Feb. 16, 1984, had 43 points, 16 rebounds and 10 blocks vs. Southern Illinois on Jan. 17, 1985 and had 29 points, 12 rebounds and a school-record 12 blocks on Feb. 2, 1985 vs. Bradley.
Alexander isn't the only current Bluejay to finish a game one assist shy of a triple-double, as Baylor Scheierman and 12 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists in last year's BIG EAST Tournament quarterfinal win over Villanova.
Alexander's performance was still good enough for his first career double-double, as his 11 rebounds were a career-high and his nine assists matched his career-best.
Trey's Bien
Trey Alexander has made the leap in his junior season. Here's how the start of the year compares to his first two years combined.
Category 2023-24 2021-23
Games Played 13 72
20-Point Games 6 5
Dunks 5 2
Double-Doubles 2 0
Points Per Game 15.8 10.6
Rebounds Per Game 6.8 4.0
Assists Per Game 4.5 2.5
Nationally Speaking
Through games of Dec. 30th, Creighton is all over the NCAA stat leaders. The Bluejays rank in the top 10 of seven different categories.
Rank Category Stat
1 Fouls Per Game 10.2
4 Effective FG% .588
6 Average Home Attendance 16,910
7 Three-Pointers Per Game 11.1
9 Defensive Rebounds Per Game 30.46
9 Three-Point Attempts Per Game 29.5
9 Total Home Attendance 118,371
Among The Nation's Best
Below is where Creighton ranks nationally since the start of the 2010-11 season among teams to have played more than 150 Division I games, per Basketball-Reference.com.
2010-11 to Dec. 30, 2023
Category CU Stat CU Rank
3FG Made 4,087 2nd
2-Point FG Percentage .548 3rd
FG Percentage .477 4th
3-Point FG Percentage .375 6th
Assists 7,382 6th
FG Made 12,636 8th
Points 35,343 9th
Wins 309 24th
Winning Percentage .667 32nd
This Is 20/20
Trey Alexander started his junior season with 20 points vs. Florida A&M, 21 points vs. North Dakota State, 23 points vs. Iowa and 20 points vs. Texas Southern
That made him just the second Bluejay in the last 25 years to score 20 or more in each of CU's first four games, joining Doug McDermott in 2013-14. McDermott did it the first six games of his senior season in 2013-14 and went on to be named National Player of the Year that season.
Alexander is the first Bluejay to score 20 points or more in four consecutive games at any time of year since Marcus Foster did it in seven consecutive contests from Jan. 16-Feb. 10, 2018.
A Head Start
Creighton got a jump start on the season with nine practices in July before heading to the Bahamas to play in three games during the first week of August.
Creighton won all three games by 14 points or more, averaged 98.3 points, and outrebounded foes by 21.3 caroms per contest.
Trey Alexander led CU by averaging 20.0 points before missing the final contest, but Ryan Kalkbrenner (11.0 ppg.), Baylor Scheierman (10.0 ppg.) and Fredrick King (10.0 ppg.) also scored at a double-digit clip.
Steven Ashworth led CU with 15 assists, King and Brock Vice had a team-high 18 rebounds and Kalkbrenner topped the team with 10 swats.
Who's Back?
With Creighton returning seven of the 13 men who appeared in a game last season, it's no surprise that a similar ratio of the production from 2022-23 is also gone. Below is a breakdown of what is back:
Stat Returners Departures
Blocks 126 (82.9%) 26 (17.1%)
Rebounds 860 (67.9%) 411 (32.1%)
3FG Made 207 (64.9%) 112 (35.1%)
Points 1833 (64.8%) 995 (35.2%)
Steals 119 (64.3%) 66 (35.7%)
Minutes 4693 (63.0%) 2757 (37.0%)
Starts 111 (60.0%) 74 (40.0%)
Charges Taken 16 (59.3%) 11 (40.7%)
Assists 308 (53.0%) 273 (47.0%)
Preseason Top 10
The Creighton men's basketball team was ranked eighth in the Associated Press Preseason Top 25 poll, its highest preseason AP ranking ever. That's one spot better than the previous best, done last year, when the Bluejays started the season ranked ninth. CU is currently No. 22 in the AP poll.
The announcement marks just the sixth time in program history the writers have voted CU to the top-25 in the preseason, joining 2006-07 (No. 19), 2012-13 (No. 16) and 2016-17 (No. 22), 2020-21 (No. 11) and 2022-23 (No. 9). All five of those teams would end up in the NCAA Tournament, with the last two making the Sweet 16 and last year's club reaching the Elite Eight.
This week is the 27th in program history that Creighton has been in the top-10 at any point, with all but one of those occasions happening under head coach Greg McDermott. Creighton's best ranking in program history is seventh, done five times (Jan. 16, 2017, March 10, 2020, March 18, 2020, Jan. 7, 2021 and Nov. 28, 2022).
Creighton has now been ranked 130 times in program history, with 102 of those under the direction of McDermott. Creighton is 161-66 all-time as a ranked team, including a 127-54 mark under McDermott. Creighton has now been ranked at least one week in 10 of McDermott's 14 seasons on The Hilltop after doing it just five different seasons in program history before his 2010 arrival.
Creighton is one of four schools to be ranked in the preseason top-10 each of the past two seasons, joining Kansas, Duke and Houston.
Along with No. 5 Marquette, No. 6 Connecticut and No. 8 Creighton, this year marked the first time since 2011-12 that the BIG EAST had three Preseason Top-10 teams.
Creighton was also eighth in the preseason USA Today Coaches poll, its best preseason mark ever. CU was No. 20 in the Dec. 26th Coaches poll.
Preseason BIG EAST Poll
The Creighton men's basketball team was picked to finish second in the BIG EAST Conference in the annual survey of league coaches, which was unveiled as part of BIG EAST Media Day.
It's the second time in Creighton's 11 years in the BIG EAST Conference that the Bluejays have been picked second, as the 2020-21 squad was also picked second (and eventually finished second). The Bluejays also had three players receive recognition on one of the Preseason All-BIG EAST teams, tied with preseason favorite Marquette for the most in the league.
The Bluejays collected four first-place votes and earned 92 points in the poll, trailing only Marquette's seven first-place votes and 96 overall points. Defending national champion Connecticut was tabbed third with 79 points, just ahead of Villanova's 76 for fourth place. Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino's first St. John's team garnered 59 points to be chosen fifth, just ahead of Xavier (57) and Providence (51). The bottom four teams in the poll are Georgetown (34), Seton Hall (30), Butler (16) and DePaul (15).
Creighton finished 24-13 overall and 14-6 in BIG EAST play last season and are the only league team to return three of its scorers that averaged at least a dozen points per game. The Bluejays won three NCAA Tournament games to advance to its first Elite Eight since 1941.
In 2023-24, Creighton will be led by senior center Ryan Kalkbrenner, who is a Preseason First Team All-BIG EAST selection. Kalkbrenner becomes the first player in program history to earn Preseason First Team All-BIG EAST honors multiple times, and along with Preseason Player of the Year Tyler Kolek from Marquette was one of two men to be named on every ballot.
Joining Kalkbrenner with the Preseason First Team All-BIG EAST acclaim was junior guard Trey Alexander. Alexander was an Honorable Mention All-BIG EAST choice at the end of last season, as was teammate Baylor Scheierman. A senior guard from Aurora, Neb., Scheierman earned Preseason Second Team All-BIG EAST plaudits in 2023-24.
This year marks the second time that Creighton has had more than two players land on the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team, and comes 12 months after Creighton had four men listed prior to the 2022-23 campaign. Creighton last had two men named Preseason First Team All-Conference in its Missouri Valley Conference days in 2006-07 (Anthony Tolliver, Nate Funk).
Kolek was named 2023-24 BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year by a vote of the league's head coaches, which comes as little surprise after the point guard was named 2023 BIG EAST Player of the Year and BIG EAST Tournament MVP after leading the Golden Eagles to both the regular-season and tournament titles. Connecticut guard Stephon Castle was chosen BIG EAST Preseason Freshman of the Year. The coaches, who were not permitted to select their own players, also chose an All-BIG EAST First Team, All-BIG EAST Second Team and All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention.
Creighton has matched or exceeded its preseason projection in all but one season since joining the BIG EAST in 2013-14, the best showing in the league in that time. The Bluejays are seeking an eighth straight finish in the top four of the league standings. CU's team two years ago was predicted to finish eighth in the BIG EAST, then ended up in fourth. Four years ago, a team picked seventh in the BIG EAST's preseason poll went 13-5 in league play to share its first league title with Villanova and Seton Hall. That Bluejay team ended the year ranked seventh in the entire nation.
Four Of A Kind
Creighton has four players that were named to a Preseason Watch List in Steven Ashworth (Bob Cousy Point Guard), Trey Alexander (Jerry West Shooting Guard), Baylor Scheierman (Julius Erving Small Forward) and Ryan Kalkbrenner (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center).
Creighton is one of six schools to have four men listed at a position, joining Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, Marquette and UConn.
Those same four men were named to CBS Sports Preseason Top 100 And 1 player listings, with Kalkbrenner (5), Alexander (12), Scheierman (26) and Ashworth (76) making CU the only school with three of the top 30 players or four of the top 76 players. Kansas and Duke were the only other teams with four players listed in the Top 100 And 1.
Last but not least, both Alexander and Kalkbrenner were two of 20 players on the NABC's Preseason Division I Player of the Year Watch List. The only other schools with two players on that list were Duke and USC.
Downtown Duo
Only two players nationally that are returning in 2023-24 had 120+ assists, 87+ three-pointers and 38+ steals in 2022-23.
Baylor Scheierman and Steven Ashworth.
Both are playing for Creighton this season.
Let's Go On A Run
Creighton has won at least one NCAA Tournament game in 2021, 2022 and 2023. That makes CU one of seven teams in the country to have a win in each of the last three NCAA Tournaments, joining Arkansas, Baylor, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas and UCLA.
The only other time that Creighton has won an NCAA Tournament game in consecutive seasons came in 2012, 2013 and 2014, also under Greg McDermott.
Creighton is one of six schools with 20 or more wins in each of the last eight seasons, joining Belmont, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas and Oregon.
Creighton is one of seven teams to post 22 or more wins in each of the last four seasons, joining Baylor, Gonzaga, Houston, Liberty, San Diego State and Southern California.
Creighton is one of just eight teams to have reached at least two of the last three Sweet 16s. Gonzaga, Houston and UCLA have done it each of the last three seasons, while Alabama, Creighton, Michigan and Villanova have done it twice each.
23 of 25 Seasons With 20 Wins
Creighton has won 20 or more games in 23 of the previous 25 seasons, a feat that puts the Jays among an exclusive group, nationally.
Just two schools have had 20 or more wins each of the last 25 years: Gonzaga and Kansas. Duke has done it 24 times, Creighton and Kentucky 23 times.
Most 20-Win Seasons, Previous 25 Seasons
Team 20-Win Seasons 2022-23 W-L
Gonzaga 25 31-6
Kansas 25 28-8
Duke 24 27-9
Creighton 23 24-13
Kentucky 23 22-12
Dynamic Duo
Creighton is also one of eight schools to have men's and women's basketball programs to both own 22 wins or more each of the previous two seasons, a list that includes Creighton, Gonzaga, Liberty, Princeton, Tennessee, Texas, Toledo and UConn.
This season, Creighton was one of eight teams with a preseason top-25 squad on both the men's and women's side, joining Baylor, Connecticut, Illinois, North Carolina, Southern California, Tennessee and Texas.
The only five schools to be ranked in the preseason men's and women's basketball Top 25 of the AP Poll both this season and last season are Baylor, Creighton, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.
Creighton is one of 11 schools to make the NCAA Tournament in both men's and women's basketball each of the past two seasons, a list that consists of Arizona, Baylor, Creighton, Gonzaga, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, Miami (Fla.), Tennessee, Texas and UConn.
The only schools with at-large bids in each of the previous two years in both men's and women's basketball are Baylor, Creighton, Indiana and Miami (Fla.).
Big Deficits, No Big Deal
Creighton owns 27 victories since the start of the 2010-11 season after trailing by double-figures at some point.
Thirteen of those 27 comebacks have come away from home.
If you're curious, CU's largest comeback win since 2000 came on Jan. 28, 2006, when the Jays trailed 25-6 early before rallying to beat Wichita State on a buzzer-beater by Anthony Tolliver.
CU's Double-Digit Comebacks Under McDermott
Deficit Opponent Date
18 #18 Oklahoma 11/19/14
17 at San Diego State 11/30/11
16 at Evansville 02/16/13
16 at Seton Hall 01/27/21
16 SIU Edwardsville 11/27/21
15 Arkansas-Pine Bluff 11/09/21
14 Evansville 02/21/12
14 vs. San Diego State 03/17/22
13 at Saint Joseph's 11/16/13
13 Xavier 01/12/14
13 #22 Xavier 12/23/20
12 Saint Joseph's 12/11/10
12 at DePaul 01/17/16
12 East Tennessee State 11/11/18
11 at Wichita State 12/31/11
11 Northern Iowa 01/10/12
11 vs. Alabama 03/16/12
11 vs. Ole Miss 11/21/16
11 vs. Connecticut 03/12/21
11 DePaul 01/22/22
10 UAB 11/14/12
10 vs. Drake 03/02/12
10 at Nebraska 12/07/14
10 South Dakota 12/09/14
10 St. John's 01/03/18
10 at DePaul 02/07/18
10 Bemidji State 02/13/18
McDermott Ranks Second On CU Wins List
Greg McDermott has 309 victories at Creighton, good for second place on CU's all-time wins list.
McDermott's .667 winning percentage is Creighton's best since Arthur A. Schabinger's .714 win rate more than 85 years ago.
Below is a list of the most victorious Creighton coaches in program history.
Most Coaching Wins, Creighton History
Rk. W-L Name Years
1. 327-176 Dana Altman 1994-2010
2. 309-154 Greg McDermott 2010-Pres.
3. 165-66 Arthur A. Schabinger 1922-1935
4. 138-118 John J. "Red" McManus 1959-1969
5. 130-64 Tom Apke 1974-1981
CHI Health Center Omaha Dramatics
Creighton is 8-8 in contests with a game-winning go-ahead score in the final 10 seconds at CHI Health Center Omaha, which opened in 2003.
The last time such a game happened was in 2020 when Creighton's Marcus Zegarowski hit a shot with 3.2 seconds left to beat Providence.
Creighton's Go-Ahead Scores in Wins at
CHI Health Center Omaha, Last 10 Seconds
Date Opponent Score Player/Score Time
11/26/05 Dayton W 91-90* Funk FG :5.7
01/28/06 Wichita St. W 57-55 Tolliver FG :0.0
11/25/06 George Mason W 58-56 Watts FT :7.5
03/18/08 Rhode Island W 74-73 Witter 3FG :3.2
01/13/10 Southern Illinois W 71-69 Young FG :1.3
02/18/12 Long Beach St. W 81-79 Young FG :0.3
01/28/14 St. John's W 63-60 McDermott 3FG :2.8
01/18/20 Providence W 78-74 Zegarowski 3FG :3.2
*double-overtime
Opponent Go-Ahead Scores in CU Losses at
CHI Health Center Omaha, Last 10 Seconds
Date Opponent Score Player/Score Time
03/20/06 Miami (Fla.) L 53-52 G. Diaz FT :2.6
01/20/07 Southern Illinois L 58-57 B. Mullins FG :4.1
01/10/15 #19 Seton Hall L 68-67 S. Gibbs 3FG :2.2
02/16/15 #19 Butler L 58-56 R. Jones FG :1.9
03/07/15 Xavier L 74-73 D. Davis FT's :6.3
01/12/16 #12 Providence L 50-48 K. Dunn FG :0.0
02/22/17 Providence L 68-66 K. Cartwright 3FG :2.4
02/10/18 #5 Xavier L 71-72 Q. Goodin FT's :0.3
Top-20 Crowds
Here's a look at Creighton's top-20 home crowds all-time.
Rank Att. Opponent Date
1. 18,868 Providence 03/08/14
2. 18,859 Georgetown 01/25/14
3. 18,831 #1 Villanova 12/31/16
4. 18,797 #6 Villanova 02/16/14
5. 18,759 #1 Gonzaga 12/01/18
6. 18,742 Seton Hall 02/23/14
7. 18,735 Wichita State 02/11/12
8. 18,613 Wichita State 03/02/13
9. 18,525 Marquette 12/31/13
10. 18,519 #8 Seton Hall 03/07/20
11. 18,518 Georgetown 01/27/18
12. 18,509 Villanova 02/04/23
13. 18,495 Marquette 02/17/18
14. 18,494 Illinois State 02/09/13
15. 18,458 Evansville 12/29/12
16. 18,436 Bradley 01/28/12
17. 18,323 DePaul 02/07/14
18. 18,321 #3 Villanova 02/24/18
19. 18,294 #19 Iowa State 12/04/21
20. 18,286 #21 Connecticut 02/12/23
CHI Health Center Omaha Success
Creighton has played 345 regular and postseason contests at CHI Health Center Omaha all-time in the 21-year-old facility.
The Bluejays own a 284-61 (.823) record all-time at the facility, and have never lost there on a Friday (22-0).
Creighton's Nov. 25, 2017 win over SIU Edwardsville was the program's 200th at the facility, coming in its 242nd home game. CU's 100th win came on Nov. 17, 2010, a 63-58 win over Louisiana.
Creighton has outscored its opponents 27,046-22,589 in games at CHI Health Center Omaha, an average margin of 12.92 points per game. Creighton has not trailed 90 different times.
Incredibly, Creighton hasn't trailed in its home opener in 10 of the past 23 seasons (2000-01, 2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06, 2009-10, 2011-12, 2014-15, 2016-17 and 2019-20).
Creighton is also 32-36 all-time in the 68 games at the arena in which it's fallen behind by double-figures at any point, 8-11 when down by 10+ points at halftime in the facility, and 40-29 when trailing at halftime at CHI Health Center Omaha.
Creighton is 187-43 (.813) at CHI Health Center Omaha under Greg McDermott and hasn't trailed in 65 of those games. In that same span, CU owns a 101-9 home record (.918) vs. non-conference teams.
Factor in a 17-0 home mark at the Omaha Civic Auditorium in 2002-03 and two wins at the Civic in the 2010 CIT, and the Bluejays are 303-61 (.832) at home since the start of the 2002-03 campaign.
Home Run
Under Greg McDermott Creighton is averaging 80.66 points per home game (18,552 points in 230 home games), a figure that climbs to 84.37 points in non-conference home games (9,281 points in 110 home games).
Creighton is 141-6 all-time at CHI Health Center Omaha when scoring 80 or points.
Elite Eight
Greg McDermott guided his team to the NCAA Tournament for the eighth time last season. That put him in the company of some of the greatest coaches in CU Athletics history, and most among basketball coaches.
McDermott is one of three head coaches in Creighton history to lead eight or more NCAA Tournament teams.
Name Sport NCAA's @CU
Kirsten Bernthal Booth Volleyball 13
Bob Warming Men's Soccer 11
Greg McDermott Men's Basketball 8
Dana Altman Men's Basketball 7
Brent Vigness Softball 7
Firing On All Cylinders
Creighton finished last season ranked 12th overall by KenPom.com. That included the nation's No. 23 offense, and No. 14 defense. Creighton's No. 14 defense was its best mark in the 21 seasons of the KenPom era.
Creighton has had a top-25 offense per KenPom seven times in 13 seasons under Greg McDermott and a top-25 defense twice.
Year Off. Rating Def. Rating Overall Rank
2010-11 66 174 98
2011-12 5 166 28
2012-13 5 66 15
2013-14 2 124 17
2014-15 59 138 79
2015-16 43 76 40
2016-17 32 46 28
2017-18 25 58 30
2018-19 47 83 55
2019-20 3 78 12
2020-21 25 32 22
2021-22 112 19 50
2022-23 23 14 12
2023-24 20 21 17
Kalkbrenner Repeats As Top Defender
Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner was named 2023 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season.
Kalkbrenner became just the 11th player in league history to win the recognition more than once, joining the likes of Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning, Dikembe Mutombo, Kris Dunn and Allen Iverson among those to win the award multiple times, and is the first repeat winner since former Bluejay guard Khyri Thomas in 2017 and 2018.
Between Kalkbrenner and Thomas, Creighton has now had a BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year in four of the previous seven seasons.
Most BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year Honors
Honors Name, School Years (*ties)
4 Patrick Ewing, Georgetown 1982, 83, 84, 85
3 Alonzo Mourning, Georgetown 1989, 90*, 92
2 Dikembe Mutombo, Georgetown 1990, 91
2 Allen Iverson, Georgetown 1995, 96
2 Etan Thomas, Syracuse 1999, 00
2 John Linehan, Providence 2001, 02
2 Emeka Okafor, Connecticut 2003, 04
2 Hasheem Thabeet, Connecticut 2008, 09
2 Kris Dunn, Providence 2015*, 16
2 Khyri Thomas, Creighton 2017*, 18
2 Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton 2022, 23
Creighton Retires McDermott's No. 3 Jersey
Creighton Men's Basketball retired Doug McDermott's No. 3 jersey prior to its Dec. 20 game vs. Villanova. McDermott was a three-time All-American (2012, 2013, 2014) and consensus National Player of the Year (2014) during an incredible four-year career spanning from 2010-14.
McDermott finished his career with an NCAA-record 135 double-figure scoring games and wrapped up his time on The Hilltop with 3,150 points, which was fifth in NCAA history. He was named winner of the Oscar Robertson, John R. Wooden and Naismith trophies as the National Player of the Year in 2013-14, when he led the country in scoring and helped Creighton to a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
The son of current Bluejay head coach Greg McDermott, Doug McDermott was a three-time Conference Player of the Year and remains the sport's only three-time Associated Press First Team All-American since 1985.
McDermott received his Marketing degree from Creighton in 2014 and is currently in his 10th year in the NBA, as a member of the San Antonio Spurs.
McDermott's number hangs in the rafters on the west side of the arena alongside five other Bluejay greats (#25 Kyle Korver, #30 Bob Harstad, #33 Bob Portman, #35 Paul Silas, #45 Bob Gibson).
McDermott In The NBA
Doug McDermott is in his 10th year in an NBA career that saw him selected 11th overall by Denver, with stops in Chicago, Oklahoma City, New York, Dallas, Indiana and San Antonio.
He is averaging 6.2 points per game this season and shooting 46.2 percent from three-point range for the Spurs, which ranks sixth in the NBA.
In his career, McDermott has played in 620 games and averaged 9.2 points per game. He ranks 21st in NBA history with 41.2 percent marksmanship from three-point range in his career.
11 Crazy Stats on Doug McDermott
What better time than now to remind you of some of the highlights of Doug McDermott's Creighton career?
1) In 2013-14 he was honored as National Player of the Year by the USBWA (Oscar Robertson Trophy), John R. Wooden Award, Naismith Trophy, Adolph F. Rupp Trophy, Associated Press, NABC, CollegeInsider.com Lute Olson Award, Sporting News, Basketball Times, NBCSports.com, CBSSports.com, BleacherReport.com, USA Today and Dick Vitale.
In addition, he was also honored with the Senior CLASS Award that takes into account his off-court contributions.
2) Doug McDermott finished his career fifth (he's currently seventh) in NCAA history with 3,150 career points. He broke the previous Creighton career scoring record of 2,116 (held by Rodney Buford) during his junior season.
3) Doug McDermott was featured on the cover of the March 17, 2014 edition of Sports Illustrated as the magazine tried to recreate an epic 1977 cover shot that featured Larry Bird.
4) Creighton went 16-0 at home during Doug McDermott's senior year and never trailed in the second half at any point in those home contests.
5) Creighton went 21-0 in his career when Doug McDermott scored 31 points or more.
6) Doug McDermott surpassed 3,000 career points in his final home game, a Senior Day win over Providence with Warren Buffett in attendance. McDermott scored a career-high 45 points in the victory.
7) Doug McDermott ranked third nationally in points per game as a sophomore (22.9), second as a junior (23.2) and first as a senior (26.7).
8) Doug McDermott set a BIG EAST record by being named BIG EAST Player of the Week eight times in 2013-14. In the nine weeks he was not named Player of the Week, he still averaged 23.8 points and 7.1 rebounds per game while shooting 49.6 percent from the field and 89.1 percent at the line.
9) Doug McDermott remains the Associated Press' only three-time First Team All-American since 1984-85.
10) Doug McDermott made 1,141 career field goals, which ranked 10th in NCAA history when he graduated. Of those, he made 498 shots off the backboard, 145 shots with his left hand and had just 19 dunks.
11) Former Villanova coach Jay Wright was pretty effusive with his praise after coaching against Doug McDermott on Feb. 16, 2014, saying
"I think he's as complete a player, and I do not use that term loosely, with size, as I've ever seen. With 6-8, 6-9, there's nothing he can't do. He can take you off the dribble. He guards, he's tough as hell guarding. He defends. He rebounds. He moves without the ball. He seals. He's the best post player that we've played against and he's the best perimeter player, and maybe one of the best passers, and he's 6-8, 6-9. I think he's as good a basketball player as I've seen."
#ProJays
Former Creighton All-American Doug McDermott is back for a third season with the San Antonio Spurs, giving Creighton at least one NBA player in 40 of the last 41 seasons. McDermott is in his 10th season in the NBA. Other famous Bluejays to play in the NBA in the past include Paul Silas, Kyle Korver and Anthony Tolliver.
Ticket Information
Single-game tickets for the 2023-24 season went on sale on September 28th.
Fans can purchase single-game tickets at CHI Health Center Omaha Box Office, Ryan Athletic Center, by calling Ticketmaster or visiting Ticketmaster.com, and charging by phone at (800) 745-3000.
For more information, call the Creighton Ticket Office at (402) 280-JAYS.
Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024 • 6 p.m. CST • Washington, D.C. • Capital One Arena
| LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES | GU NOTES |
NOTE: These notes were published prior to the new Jan. 1 Top 25 rankings.
Next Game
No. 22 Creighton (9-4, 0-2 BIG EAST) opens the 2024 calendar year in the nation's capital with a contest against Georgetown (7-6, 0-2 BIG EAST) on Tuesday, Jan. 2nd.
Tip-off at Capital One Arena (20,600) in Washington, D.C., is set for 6 p.m. Central.
Radio Broadcast Information
KOZN (1620 AM) and KOOO (101.9 FM) will carry all Creighton men's basketball games during the 2023-24 season. John Bishop will call the action.
The audio is webcast at 1620thezone.com and can also be heard on SiriusXM channel 119 or 202, as well as https://sxm.app.link/965.
Telecast Information
Tuesday's game will be called by Tom McCarthy and Steve Lappas and be televised on CBS Sports Network.
The game will also be video webcast at https://www.cbssports.com/cbs-sports-network/. Cable authorization may be required.
Live Stats Information
All of Creighton's games this season will have free live stats. Visit www.gocreighton.com and click on the small bar graph icon on the scoreboard at the top of the page for the event of your choosing.
Home games can also be followed by those who have mobile devices with internet capability at www.gocreightonstats.com.
Scouting #22 Creighton
Ranked No. 22nd nationally in the Associated Press poll and 20th in the USA Today Coaches poll, Creighton is 9-4 this season, including home wins over Iowa (92-84) and Alabama (85-82) and road victories at Oklahoma State (79-65) and Nebraska (89-60). The Bluejays have lost their first two BIG EAST games this season by a combined seven points.
The nucleus of the team is formed by three returning starters as senior forward Baylor Scheierman (18.6, 7.5 rpg., 4.2 apg), senior center Ryan Kalkbrenner (15.3 ppg., 2.2 bpg., 64.6 FG%), and junior guard Trey Alexander (15.8 ppg., 6.8 rpg., 4.5 apg.) all put their professional aspirations on hold and came back.
Add in senior transfer Steven Ashworth (8.2 ppg,. 3.3 apg., 35.8 3FG%), the USBWA District VII Player of the Year last year at Utah State, and it's easy to see why CU was one of three BIG EAST teams picked in the top-10 nationally in the preseason.
Creighton was picked to finish second of 11 teams in a preseason poll of BIG EAST coaches. It's No. 8 spot in the polls was its best preseason rank in program history.
The Bluejays boast an offense that shoots 49.5 percent from the floor and 37.5 percent from three-point land while draining 11.1 three-pointers per contest (seventh-best nationally), which contributes to CU's 81.8 points per game. The Jays also outrebound foes by 7.7 caroms per contest.
CU's defense has held teams to 67.1 points per game and allowed opponents to make just 69 three-pointers all year.
Scouting Georgetown
Georgetown is 7-6 on the season after losing road games at Butler and at Marquette to open BIG EAST play. The Hoyas have been idle since Dec. 22nd.
Illinois transfer Jayden Epps (17.8 ppg., 4.1 apg.) leads three Hoyas in double-figures, just ahead of North Carolina transfer Dontrez Styles (15.2 ppg., 5.9 rpg.) and Fairfield transfer Supreme Cook (10.4 ppg., 8.7 rpg.). It's all part of a rebuilding project under new head coach Ed Cooley, who spent the previous dozen years at Providence.
The Hoyas score 73.7 points per game and shoot 43.0 percent from the field, 35.4 percent from deep and 69.8 percent at the line.
The Series With Georgetown
Creighton is 14-9 all-time against Georgetown and has won 11 of the last 14 meetings in the series. Creighton is 5-5 in Washington, D.C., against the Hoyas all-time, including three straight double-figure victories.
Each of the last seven Bluejay wins, and each of the last six meetings regardless of victor, have been decided by double-digits.
The series began in 1970 in West Palm Beach, Fla., before resuming in 2014 in BIG EAST play.
Greg McDermott is 13-10 all-time (13-9 as Creighton coach) against Georgetown. McDermott is 10-13 in his career against Ed Cooley, though all of those games came when Cooley was at Providence.
Cooley is 13-11 in his career against Creighton, having also lost a CIT game when he was head coach at Fairfield in addition to his 13-10 mark leading the Friars vs. CU.
The Creighton Coaches
Greg McDermott (Northern Iowa, 1988) owns a 309-154 record in his 14th season with the Bluejays. He ranks 16th among active coaches in victories with a career mark of 589-349 in his 30th season, and is 458-285 in his 23rd Division I campaign.
McDermott led Creighton to its first BIG EAST regular-season title in 2019-20, taking a Bluejay team that was picked seventh in the league's preseason poll and ending the year ranked seventh nationally. The Cascade, Iowa native has coached Creighton to a share of its first regular-season BIG EAST title in 2019-20 its first Sweet 16 since 1974 in 2020-21 and first Elite Eight since 1941 in 2022-23.
McDermott has previously been a head coach at Iowa State (2006-10), Northern Iowa (2001-06), North Dakota State (2000-01) and Wayne State (1994-2000).
He is assisted by Ryan Miller, Jalen Courtney-Williams and Derek Kellogg.
With A Win...
- Creighton would snap a two-game losing streak.
- Creighton would take a 15-9 lead in the all-time series against Georgetown with its fifth straight win over the Hoyas.
- Creighton would earn its fourth straight road win at Georgetown.
Milestone Watch
Trey Alexander owns 967 career points and is 33 shy of 1,000. He'd be the fourth current Bluejay to reach that milestone in college, joining Baylor Scheierman (1,828), Ryan Kalkbrenner (1,366) and Steven Ashworth (1,137). Alexander's career-high is 32 points, done last season vs. DePaul.
Ryan Kalkbrenner owns 1,366 career points to rank 16th in CU history. With four or more points, he can surpass Gene Harmon (1,369) to move into 15th place.
Baylor Scheierman owns 497 career assists (including 177 at Creighton) and is three away from 500 in his career.
Steven Ashworth owns 396 career assists (including 43 at Creighton) and is four shy of 400.
Francisco Farabello owns 483 career points (including the 319 he scored at TCU), as he closes in on 500.
The More, The Merrier
In 23 all-time meetings against the Hoyas, Creighton is 12-2 when scoring 74 points or more against Georgetown, but 2-7 when scoring 73 points or less.
The Bluejays average 82.43 points in the 14 wins, but 61.11 points per game in the nine losses.
Creighton is third in the BIG EAST (and 48th nationally) with 81.77 points per game this season, and Georgetown is 10th in the BIG EAST in scoring defense (214th nationally), allowing 72.31 points per contest.
Alexander Chases 1,000 Points
Ryan Kalkbrenner owns 1,366 career points, as he became the 45th men's player in Creighton history to surpass 1,000 on Feb. 25, 2023 at Villanova. He was the first Bluejay to score 1,000 since Marcus Zegarowski did it on Jan. 20, 2021 vs. Providence. Kalkbrenner ranks 16th in program history, but could move into the top 15 on Tuesday with four or more points.
Trey Alexander is just 33 points from becoming the 46th player to score 1,000 points in a Bluejay uniform, as he currently ranks 48th in program history with 967 points after 85 career games.
Here's a list of Creighton's top scorers ever, as well as how long it took CU's last 21 men to reach 1,000 points.
Most Career Points, Creighton History
Rank Pts. Name Years
1. 3,150 Doug McDermott 2010-14
2. 2,116 Rodney Buford 1995-99
3. 2,110 Bob Harstad 1987-91
4. 1,983 Chad Gallagher 1987-91
5. 1,876 Bob Portman 1966-69
6. 1,801 Kyle Korver 1999-03
7. 1,754 Nate Funk 2002-07
8. 1,682 Rick Apke 1974-78
9. 1,661 Paul Silas 1961-64
10. 1,654 Vernon Moore 1981-85
11. 1,575 Benoit Benjamin 1982-85
12. 1,526 John C. Johnson 1975-79
13. 1,500 Kevin McKenna 1977-81
14. 1,437 Eddie Cole 1951-55
15. 1,369 Gene Harmon 1971-74
16. 1,366 Ryan Kalkbrenner 2020-Pres.
17. 1,361 Duan Cole 1987-92
18. 1,342 Antoine Young 2008-12
19. 1,313 Kenny Lawson Jr. 2006-11
20. 1,309 Ryan Sears 1997-01
21. 1,304 Mitch Ballock 2017-21
22. 1,303 Elton Tuttle 1951-54
23. 1,293 Marcus Zegarowski 2018-21
24. 1,292 Marcus Foster 2016-18
26. 1,272 Bob Gibson 1954-57
26. 1,267 Wally Anderzunas 1965-67, 1968-69
27. 1,254 Gary Swain 1983-87
28. 1,241 Ty-Shon Alexander 2017-20
29. 1,238 Ben Walker 1997-01
30. 1,196 Ray Yost 1951-54
31. 1,172 Dick Harvey 1956-59
32. 1,155 Ethan Wragge 2009-14
33. 1,152 Dane Watts 2004-08
34. 1,140 Khyri Thomas 2015-18
35. 1,116 Kenny Evans 1982-87
36. 1,115 Doug Brookins 1972-75
1,115 Daryl Stovall 1978-82
38. 1,093 Tim Powers 1964-67
39. 1,050 Reggie Morris 1982-86
40. 1,031 Johnny Mathies 2003-06
41. 1,024 P'Allen Stinnett 2007-10
42. 1,023 Rod Mason 1986-88
43. 1,013 Austin Chatman 2011-15
44. 1,006 Gregory Echenique 2010-13
45. 1,004 Anthony Tolliver 2003-07
46. 994 Chuck Officer 1960-62, 1963-64
47. 979 Terrell Taylor 1999-02
48. 967 David Wesely 1975-79
967 Trey Alexander 2021-Pres.
50. 965 Fritz Pointer 1963-66
Games To 1,000 Points, Last 21 Bluejays
Name CU Games to 1,000 pts. Date
Ryan Kalkbrenner 91 02/25/23
Marcus Zegarowski 75 01/20/21
Mitch Ballock 100 11/29/20
Ty-Shon Alexander 85 01/15/20
Khyri Thomas 94 02/10/18
Marcus Foster 54 01/17/18
Austin Chatman 138 03/11/15
Ethan Wragge 132 01/18/14
Gregory Echenique 101 03/24/13
Doug McDermott 57 01/15/12
Antoine Young 115 12/10/11
Kenny Lawson Jr. 108 11/21/10
P'Allen Stinnett 86 01/16/10
Dane Watts 115 01/22/08
Anthony Tolliver 124 03/16/07
Johnny Mathies 91 03/03/06
Nate Funk 92 02/28/05
Kyle Korver 81 01/30/02
Ben Walker 105 01/06/01
Ryan Sears 97 12/01/00
Rodney Buford 59 03/01/97
Meet The Alexander's
Though they're not related, the stats of Ty-Shon Alexander (2017-20) and Trey Alexander (2021-Present) are pretty similar through 85 career games.
That's a positive development considering that Ty-Shon was a First Team All-BIG EAST choice who helped Creighton to a share of the 2020 BIG EAST title and later played for the 2021 NBA runner-up Phoenix Suns.
Through 85 Career Games
Name PTS REB AST BLK STL FG% 3FG% FT%
Ty-Shon 1003 312 186 19 71 .412 .361 .801
Trey 967 376 240 35 79 .434 .353 .822
It's Miller Time
Mason Miller never scored more than nine points as he averaged 2.8 points per game in his first 42 contests at Creighton. But in his last five games, he's averaged 9.6 points per game, including different games of 17 and 11 points, and made 13-of-21 three-pointers (.619). That's good enough to move him to 57.5 percent on the season, which leads the BIG EAST, which requires one three-pointer per game to qualify.
In his career Miller is shooting 45.74 percent from deep, sinking 43-of-94 triple tries. The only man to finish a Creighton career better (min. 100 three-point attempts) has been Doug McDermott (.458).
Scheierman The Scorer?
Baylor Scheierman ranks first in the BIG EAST Conference in scoring at 18.6 points per game.
The Aurora, Neb., product is one of two BIG EAST players to have scored in double-figures every team game this season, joining St. John's Joel Soriano.
Scheierman is just the third Creighton player in the last 25 seasons to score in double-figures each of the first 13 games of a year, joining Doug McDermott (all 35 games in 2011-12) and Marcus Foster (first 15 in 2017-18).
The fifth-year senior is aiming to become the first Creighton player to lead the BIG EAST in scoring since Doug McDermott in 2013-14. McDermott led the nation with 26.7 points per game en route to National Player of the Year accolades.
Keep in mind that Scheierman has proven he can do way more than score. Two years ago at South Dakota State, Scheierman led the Summit League in the rare combination of both rebounds and assists.
Remember When, Part I
A few notable things to remember from Creighton's final meeting last season vs. Georgetown.
Creighton scored the first 19 points of the game against Georgetown, led 51-24 at the break, and won 99-59.
Since Greg McDermott was hired in 2010, it was the 11th time that Creighton has opened a game by scoring the first 10 points (or more).
Best Game Starting Runs Under Greg McDermott
Run School Final Score Date
19-0 Georgetown CU 99-59 03/01/23
13-0 Maryland-Eastern Shore CU 87-36 12/15/17
11-0 North Carolina A&T CU 97-65 11/11/11
11-0 Drake CU 76-69 01/03/12
11-0 at DePaul CU 91-80 01/17/16
11-0 St. John's CU 82-68 02/.28/17
10-0 Houston Christian CU 97-62 12/17/11
10-0 UCF CU 82-64 03/23/11
10-0 Chicago State CU 84-66 11/16/14
10-0 at Providence CU 78-64 01/07/17
10-0 Nebraska CU 95-76 12/07/19
Remember When, Part II
Creighton's 99-59 win over Georgetown last March 1st was its second-largest ever in BIG EAST play, one point shy of a near-identical 100-59 triumph vs. St. John's that was also on a Senior Day.
As for Georgetown, it was the Hoyas largest loss since falling 88-44 on Dec. 27, 1971 at Marquette.
CU's Largest Margin of Victory in BIG EAST Play
Margin Opponent Final Score Date
41 St. John's 100-59 02/28/16
40 Georgetown 99-59 03/01/23
36 Seton Hall 89-53 01/06/21
35 at DePaul 93-58 02/11/17
29 DePaul 93-64 02/15/20
Remember When, Part III
Creighton made 19 three-pointers on March 1 vs. Georgetown, tied for fourth-most in a game in program history and its second-best effort ever in a conference game.
Here's a list of Creighton's all-time games with 17 or more treys.
Most 3FG in a Game, Creighton History
Rank 3FG Opponent Date Score
1. 22 Coe 12/20/2018 W 110-60
2. 21 at #4 Villanova 01/20/2014 W 96-68
3. 20 Chattanooga 02/19/2005 W 100-69
4. 19 USC Upstate 12/20/2017 W 116-62
19 Georgetown 03/01/2023 W 99-59
6. 18 Florida A&M 11/07/2023 W 105-54
7. 17 #21 Marquette 01/09/2019 L 104-106 (OT)
17 Georgetown 03/04/2020 W 91-76
17 at Seton Hall 01/27/2021 W 85-81
The Rare Three-Time All-Americans
Doug McDermott, the son of Creighton head coach Greg McDermott, wrapped up a memorable career in 2014 with his third straight First Team All-America honor and a sweep of all 14 National Player of the Year awards.
Prior to McDermott (in 2012, 2013 and 2014), the last player to be a three-time First Team All-American by the Associated Press had been Georgetown's Patrick Ewing and Oklahoma standout Wayman Tisdale, who both did so in 1983, 1984 and 1985. Other three-time First Team All-Americans by the AP are Oscar Robertson, Lew Alcindor, Pete Maravich, Ralph Sampson, David Thompson, Jerry Lucas, Tom Gola and Bill Walton.
Ewing starred from 1981-85 with the Hoyas and in 1985 was named National Player of the Year by the Associated Press, NABC, Sporting News and won the Naismith Award, finishing with 2,184 career points. He later coached the Hoyas.
McDermott currently plays for the San Antonio Spurs.
Rest vs. Rust
Is it better to be well-rested, or do the side-effects or rust kick in after too long? For the third straight game to open league play, Creighton's opponent will find out.
Creighton opened league play on Dec. 20 against a Villanova team that hadn't played since Dec. 9th.
Last Saturday (Dec. 30) a Marquette team that had been off since Dec. 22nd hosted the Bluejays. Creighton, itself, had been off since Dec. 20th.
And on Tuesday (Jan. 2), Georgetown will take the floor for the first time since Dec. 22nd.
Triple Trouble
Baylor Scheierman has made 287 three-pointers over the course of 140 collegiate games, but he'd never had seven three-pointers in the same game until Saturday at Marquette.
Scheierman's performance was tied for 10th-most in program history. The only other Bluejay to make seven triples against a top 10 foe had been Ethan Wragge's nine trifectas at No. 4 Villanova on Jan. 20, 2014.
3FG Name, Opponent Date
11 Mitch Ballock vs. DePaul 03/09/19
9 Kyle Korver vs. Evansville 01/15/03
Ethan Wragge at Villanova 01/20/14
8 Tad Ackerman at Drake 01/23/95
Kyle Korver at Xavier 12/31/02
Terrell Taylor vs. Florida 03/15/02
Isaiah Zierden at DePaul 01/17/16
Mitch Ballock vs. Marquette 12/14/20
Ryan Hawkins at Georgetown 02/12/22
7 Gary Swain vs. Nebraska-Omaha 12/11/86
Ryan Sears vs. Wyoming 12/06/97
Kyle Korver vs. Notre Dame 11/26/02
Kyle Korver vs. Fresno State 02/22/03
Nate Funk at Nebraska 11/18/06
Booker Woodfox at Saint Joseph's 12/06/08
Ethan Wragge at Saint Joseph's 11/16/13
Doug McDermott vs. DePaul 03/13/14
Cole Huff vs. Seton Hall 03/10/16
Ty-Shon Alexander vs. Clemson 11/21/18
Mitch Ballock at Nebraska 12/08/18
Marcus Zegarowski vs. Butler 02/23/20
Mitch Ballock at Seton Hall 01/27/21
Trey Alexander vs. DePaul 12/25/22
Trey Alexander vs. Georgetown 03/01/23
Baylor Scheierman at Marquette 12/30/23
Farewell to 2023!
Last Saturday marked the final game of the 2023 calendar year for Creighton, and what a memorable 12 months it was.
Creighton won 25 of 36 games after the calendar flipped to 2023, playing 21 of those games as a ranked team and 11 of the 36 games against a ranked team (going 4-7).
The Bluejays reached their first Elite Eight since 1941, saw Ryan Kalkbrenner earn BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year, and Greg McDermott pick up his 300th win as Creighton coach.
Resolute Success
Creighton will be playing its first game of the 2024 calendar year on Tuesday in the nation's capital.
Creighton has won its first game of the year (i.e., January) in six of the last seven seasons, including road wins at Marquette (2022) and at Providence (2021).
All-time under Greg McDermott, CU is 10-3 in its first game of January.
League (Arena) Bound
Creighton has played 53 games in a full-time NBA arena since Greg McDermott was hired in 2010.
In that time, Creighton is 26-27 in such games, including a 4-4 mark in the NCAA Tournament and a 10-9 record in the BIG EAST Tournament.
Creighton has played in nine different NBA arenas under McDermott, including Madison Square Garden (10-11), Fiserv Forum (4-2), Verizon Center/Capital One Arena (4-5), Wells Fargo Center (3-3), Ball Arena (2-0), Bradley Center (2-3), AT&T Center (1-1), Golden 1 Center (0-1) and Spectrum Center (0-1).
Creighton in NBA Arenas Since 2010
Date Score NBA Arena
03/22/13 CU 67, Cincinnati 63 Wells Fargo Center#
03/24/13 Duke 66, CU 50 Wells Fargo Center#
01/20/14 CU 96, Villanova 68 Wells Fargo Center
02/09/14 St. John's 70, CU 65 Madison Square Garden
02/19/14 CU 85, Marquette 70 Bradley Center
03/04/14 Georgetown 75, CU 63 Verizon Center
03/13/14 CU 84, DePaul 62 Madison Square Garden$
03/14/14 CU 86, Xavier 78 Madison Square Garden$
03/15/14 Providence 65, CU 58 Madison Square Garden$
03/21/14 CU 76, Louisiana 66 AT&T Center#
03/23/14 Baylor 85, CU 55 AT&T Center#
01/03/15 Georgetown 76, CU 61 Verizon Center
01/14/15 Marquette 53, CU 52 Bradley Center
02/07/15 St. John's 84, CU 66 Madison Square Garden
03/11/15 CU 78, DePaul 63 Madison Square Garden$
03/12/15 Georgetown 60, CU 55 Madison Square Garden$
01/26/16 Georgetown 74, CU 73 Verizon Center
02/13/16 CU 65, Marquette 62 Bradley Center
03/10/16 Seton Hall 81, CU 73 Madison Square Garden$
01/25/17 Georgetown 71, CU 51 Verizon Center
03/04/17 Marquette 91, CU 83 Bradley Center
03/09/17 CU 70, Providence 58 Madison Square Garden$
03/10/17 CU 75, Xavier 72 Madison Square Garden$
03/11/17 Villanova 74, CU 60 Madison Square Garden$
03/17/17 Rhode Island 84, CU 72 Golden 1 Center#
01/06/18 CU 90, Georgetown 66 Capital One Arena
02/01/18 Villanova 98, CU 78 Wells Fargo Center
03/03/18 Marquette 85, CU 81 Bradley Center
03/08/18 Providence 72, CU 68 Madison Square Garden$
03/16/18 Kansas State 69, CU 59 Spectrum Center#
01/21/19 CU 91, Georgetown 87 Capital One Arena
03/03/19 CU 66, Marquette 60 Fiserv Forum
03/14/19 Xavier 63, CU 61 Madison Square Garden$
01/15/20 Georgetown 83, CU 80 Capital One Arena
02/01/20 CU 76, Villanova 61 Wells Fargo Center
02/18/20 CU 73, Marquette 65 Fiserv Forum
02/06/21 CU 71, Marquette 68 Fiserv Forum
03/11/21 CU 87, Butler 56 Madison Square Garden$
03/12/21 CU 59, UConn 56 Madison Square Garden$
03/13/21 Georgetown 73, CU 48 Madison Square Garden$
01/01/22 CU 75, Marquette 69 (2OT) Fiserv Forum
02/12/22 CU 80, Georgetown 66 Capital One Arena
03/10/22 CU 74, Marquette 63 Madison Square Garden$
03/11/22 CU 85, Providence 58 Madison Square Garden$
03/12/22 Villanova 54, CU 48 Madison Square Garden$
12/16/22 Marquette 69, CU 58 Fiserv Forum
02/01/23 CU 63, Georgetown 53 Capital One Arena
02/25/23 Villanova 72, CU 60 Wells Fargo Center
03/09/23 CU 87, Villanova 74 Madison Square Garden$
03/10/23 Xavier 82, CU 60 Madison Square Garden$
03/17/23 CU 72, NC State 63 Ball Arena#
03/19?23 CU 85, Baylor 76 Ball Arena#
12/30/23 Marquette 72, CU 67 Fiserv Forum
# NCAA Tournament $ BIG EAST Tournament
40 Minute Men
Neither Trey Alexander nor Baylor Scheierman came out of the game on Saturday at Marquette as both men logged all 40 minutes.
It was the second time in three games that Alexander has played a complete game.
In the last four games, Scheierman has averaged 40:08 of playing time. Alexander's been even more durable, averaging 40:35 minutes per game in those four contests.
The last time that Creighton faced Georgetown, on March 1, 2023, Alexander logged 22:18 of playing time while Scheierman saw just 22:32 of floor time. Both were BIG EAST lows for the standout guards, though CU's 40-point victory margin (99-59) played a large part.
Rankings Regulars
Entering Monday's (Jan. 1) poll, Creighton was one of 15 teams nationally to have been in the Top 25 of every Associated Press poll to date this season.
The only teams that can say that are Arizona, Baylor, Connecticut, Creighton, Duke, Florida Atlantic, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas, Kentucky, Marquette, North Carolina, Purdue, Tennessee and Texas.
Fool Me Once...But Nine Times?
Creighton has met or exceeded its preseason BIG EAST prognostication all but one year since joining the league in 2013, as seen below.
Last year marked the seventh straight year that Creighton has finished in fourth place or better.
Creighton's BIG EAST Preseason Poll History
Year Preseason Actual Preseason All-BIG EAST
2013-14 3rd 2nd Doug McDermott (1st)
2014-15 9th T-9th -
2015-16 9th 6th -
2016-17 3rd T-3rd Maurice Watson Jr. (1st); Marcus Foster (HM)
2017-18 5th T-3rd Marcus Foster (1st); Khyri Thomas (HM)
2018-19 9th T-3rd Martin Krampelj (HM)
2019-20 7th T-1st Ty-Shon Alexander (1st)
2020-21 2nd 2nd Marcus Zegarowski (1st); Mitch Ballock (2nd)
2021-22 8th 4th -
2022-23 1st 3rd Ryan Kalkbrenner (1st); Arthur Kaluma (2nd)
Ryan Nembhard (2nd); Baylor Scheierman (HM)
2023-24 2nd ?? Ryan Kalkbrenner (1st); Trey Alexander (1st)
Baylor Scheierman (2nd)
Among The Best
Creighton owns more BIG EAST wins (53) than any other school in the last five seasons, one more than Villanova's 52.
Since the league's 2013 realignment, Villanova has 142 league wins to lead the BIG EAST by a wide margin, but Creighton's 109 league victories are second-most.
Most Men's Basketball BIG EAST Wins
Previous 4 Years (2019-20 to 1/1/24)
Team W L Pct.
Creighton 53 26 .671
Villanova 52 23 .693
Providence 50 26 .658
Marquette 46 33 .582
Seton Hall 45 33 .577
UConn 38 20 .655
Xavier 38 34 .528
St. John's 31 47 .397
Butler 31 49 .388
DePaul 14 60 .189
Georgetown 14 61 .187
Most Men's Basketball BIG EAST Wins
Previous 10 Years (2013-14 to 1/1/24)
Team W L Pct.
Villanova 142 41 .776
Creighton 109 78 .583
Providence 108 76 .587
Xavier 104 76 .578
Seton Hall 98 88 .527
Marquette 98 89 .524
Butler 85 103 .452
St. John's 71 115 .382
Georgetown 60 123 .328
DePaul 39 143 .214
UConn 38 20 .655
A Good Start
Here's a look at how Creighton has done statistically after 13 games under Greg McDermott.
Creighton Stats Through 13 Games, Since 2010-11
Year W-L FG% 3FG% FT% PPG Opp PPG
2023-24 9-4 .495 .375 .756 81.8 67.1
2022-23 7-6 .465 .342 .712 76.5 68.2
2021-22 10-3 .475 .316 .690 72.7 65.2
2020-21 10-3 .494 .380 .662 81.9 69.0
2019-20 11-2 .471 .374 .702 78.9 67.9
2018-19 9-4 .525 .448 .621 85.2 74.4
2017-18 10-3 .518 .383 .734 91.7 73.0
2016-17 13-0 .539 .446 .672 89.8 72.0
2015-16 9-4 .506 .402 .670 87.4 75.2
2014-15 9-4 .432 .348 .748 72.2 64.5
2013-14 11-2 .485 .431 .762 81.7 63.7
2012-13 12-1 .508 .425 .755 79.5 61.4
2011-12 11-2 .501 .451 .692 83.1 69.1
2010-11 9-4 .431 .316 .752 67.1 62.2
A Dozen Will Do
Creighton finished 14-6 in the BIG EAST last season and is the only school in the BIG EAST with 12 or more league wins each of the previous four seasons.
Among the other BIG EAST or "Power 5" Conference schools, Kansas, UCLA and Virginia have also done it the previous four years.
Creighton has now owned a .500 mark or better in league play 27 times in the last 28 seasons.
The only BIG EAST teams to finish .500 or better in league play each of the previous six seasons are Creighton, Villanova and Seton Hall.
McDermott Among The Best
Greg McDermott ranks 12th in league history with 109 regular-season league wins. With a win on Tuesday, he can tie former Villanova mentor Rollie Massimino for 11th on the all-time list.
McDermott, along with Ed Cooley and Rick Pitino, are the only three active coaches with 100 regular-season BIG EAST wins. The list contains six different coaches who have won at least one national title.
McDermott has been at his current job (14 seasons) longer than any active BIG EAST coach, but since his first three years were as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference, Cooley's 13 years in the BIG EAST lead all active league coaches.
Most League Wins, BIG EAST MBB Coaches (thru 1/1)
Rk. Wins Name, School
1. 366 Jim Boeheim, Syracuse
2. 274 Jim Calhoun, UConn
3. 244 Jay Wright, Villanova
4. 198 John Thompson Sr., Georgetown
5. 136 Mike Brey, Notre Dame
6. 131 John Thompson III, Georgetown
7. 127 Lou Carnesecca, St. John's
8. 121 Ed Cooley, Providence/G'Town
9. 115 Jamie Dixon, Pittsburgh
10. 113 Rick Pitino, Prov./Louisville/SJU
11. 110 Rollie Massimino, Villanova
12. 109 Greg McDermott, Creighton
13. 105 Kevin Willard, Seton Hall
Jays Don't Foul...Do You Follow?
Creighton leads the nation with just 10.6 fouls per game...let's take a minute to appreciate just how few that is.
Creighton has committed three fouls or less in 7-of-26 halves this year.
Creighton has had more than nine fouls in just one half this season, which means its opponents have been in the double-bonus just twice.
Creighton has allowed just five made free throws in a 1-and-1 situation all year, and just four made free throws in the double bonus all season.
Here's a look at how many fouls Creighton has been called for this season by half:
Creighton Fouls By Half
Opponent First Half Second Half
Florida A&M 4 5
North Dakota State 1 3
Iowa 6 8
Texas Southern 1 6
Loyola (Chicago) 3 7
Colorado State 2 5
Oklahoma State 6 7
Nebraska 7 7
Central Michigan 3 2
UNLV 5 5
Alabama 9 7
Villanova 5 4 (4 more in OT)
#10 Marquette 5 11
Total 57 77 (4 more in OT)
Big Game
Creighton's average height of 78.56 inches puts the Bluejays as the nation's 11th-tallest team, and the biggest in the BIG EAST.
The second-tallest team in the BIG EAST is Connecticut, which ranks tied for 24th-biggest at 78.29 inches per player.
Jays Pass 27K at CHI
Creighton has scored 27,046 points all-time at CHI Health Center Omaha, passing the 27,000 mark on Dec. 20 vs. Villanova.
Creighton has outscored the opposition 27,046-22,589 at the 21-year old facility in 345 all-time games in the building that count.
Creighton is 25-2 all-time in games where it moves over any 1,000 point milestone at CHI Health Center Omaha, as seen below:
Date Pts-Opp (CLCO Game #) Who/How vs. Opp.
02/18/04 1,000-787 (14) Lindeman FG vs. Indiana State
02/05/05 2,000-1,696 (28) Funk FG vs. Missouri St.
01/18/06 3,000-2,504 (41) Watts FT vs. Bradley
01/09/07 4,000-3,359 (56) Tolliver FG vs. Drake
12/17/07 5,000-4,174 (69) Kaleb Korver 3FG vs. Hou. Baptist
11/16/08 6,000-5,048 (82) Dotzler FG vs. New Mexico
02/11/09 7,000-5,870 (95) Witter 3FG vs. Bradley
01/16/10 8,000-6,750 (109) Young FG vs. Wichita State
12/20/10 9,000-7,645 (123) Wragge FG vs. W. Illinois
03/23/11 10,000-8,500 (136) Lawson FG vs. UCF
01/21/12 11,000-9,310 (148) McDermott FG vs. Ind. St.
12/19/12 12,000-10,136 (161) Echenique FG vs. Tulsa
11/23/13 13,000-10,922 (173) Artino FG vs. Tulsa
02/23/14 14,000-11,711 (185) Gibbs FG vs. Seton Hall
01/28/15 15,000-12,612 (198) Hanson FT vs. St. John's
12/28/15 16,000-13,498 (211) Huff FG vs. Coppin State
11/15/16 17,000-14,349 (224) Patton FG vs. #9 Wisconsin
01/28/17 18,000-15,166 (235) Hanson FG vs. DePaul
12/18/17 19,000-15,927 (246) Foster 3FG vs. UT Arlington
11/06/18 20,000-16,741 (258) Ballock 3FG vs. W. Illinois
02/03/19 21,000-17,619 (270) Zegarowski FG vs. Xavier
12/07/19 22,000-18,463 (282) Ballock 3FG vs. Nebraska
03/07/20 23,000-19,280 (294) Mahoney 3FG vs. #8 Seton Hall
02/13/21 24,000-20,103 (306) Zegarowski FG vs. #5 Villanova
02/14/22 25,000-20,950 (320) Hawkins 3FG vs. Georgetown
01/25/23 26,000-21,786 (333) Nembhard 3FG vs. St. John's
12/20/23 27,000-22,535 (345) Kalkbrenner lay-up vs. Villanova
3 & D
Creighton leads the nation in fewest fouls per game (10.6) and is seventh in three-pointers per game (11.1).
Per Basketball-Reference.com, in its Dec. 9 romp over Central Michigan the Jays became the nation's only team since at least 2010-11 to score 102+ points and commit 5 fouls or less in the same game against a Division I opponent.
Kalkbrenner's A Handful
Ryan Kalkbrenner swatted a season-high five shots on Dec. 16 at UNLV.
It was the ninth time in his Bluejay career that he's had five or more rejections. During his four years at Creighton, all his teammates have combined for one such game, a five-swat effort by Fredrick King last year in Las Vegas. Kalkbrenner is the only Creighton player with multiple games of five or more swats since the Bluejays joined the BIG EAST in 2013 as King, Jacob Epperson and Justin Patton have each done it once.
Kalkbrenner's 228 career blocked shots rank third among the nation's active players.
Seeing Three's
Creighton has made 14 or more three-pointers in five different games this year, second-most nationally behind BYU. It's already tied for the second-most games of 14 three-pointers in any year under Greg McDermott, trailing only the 2018-19 squad that did it eight times in 35 games.
Creighton owns four different games this season in which it has made 10 or more three-pointers than its opponent, which shares the national lead.
The Bluejays have had three different games this season in which they've made 10 or more triples before halftime, including two of the past six contests.
Creighton has made three or more three-pointers in all but one half this season.
Circling The Target
Benoit Benjamin has the only three triple-doubles in history, but each one consisted of 10 or more points, rebounds and blocks.
Though that means Creighton's never had a traditional points/rebound/assist triple-double, it seems like both Trey Alexander and Baylor Scheierman are flirting with one seemingly every time out.
Here's a look at games this season when those men have had at least six points, six rebounds and six assists.
6+ Points, 6+ Rebounds, 6+ Assists This Season
Name Opponent Pts. Reb. Ast.
Alexander Iowa 23 11 9
Scheierman Texas Southern 23 9 6
Alexander Texas Southern 20 7 8
Scheierman Central Michigan 13 6 9
Alexander Central Michigan 15 7 8
Scheierman at UNLV 16 7 7
Scheierman Alabama 20 6 9
Alexander at #10 Marquette 18 6 6
Don't Forget The Two's
While attention tends to focus on Creighton's proficiency from three-point range, the Bluejays are also pretty efficient from inside the arc.
Through games of Dec. 30, CU ranked sixth in the country in two-point percentage (.616) in 2023-24 and third-best nationally (.548) among Division I schools to have played 100 or more games since Greg McDermott's arrival in 2010-11.
Creighton shot 26-for-32 (.813) from two-point range on Dec. 9 vs. Central Michigan, just the third time in Greg McDermott's 14 seasons at CU its converted on better than 80 percent of its two-point shots. The only better game was when it shot 22-for-26 (.846) in a March 2, 2013 win over Wichita State in CU's final regular-season game as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference.
Century Mark
Creighton's 109 point effort on Dec. 9 vs. Central Michigan was the 25th time under Greg McDermott that Creighton has scored 100 or more points.
That ranks second-most among all Power 5/BIG EAST teams nationally in that span, trailing only North Carolina (35).
No other BIG EAST team has cracked the century mark more than 12 times since 2010-11.
Greg McDermott's teams at Northern Iowa (153 games) and Iowa State (127 games) never scored more than 100 points in any game.
Road Dubs
Before its Dec. 13 loss at UNLV, Creighton had started 2-0 on the road this season, doing so in impressive fashion in both games.
On Nov. 30 Creighton beat Oklahoma State 79-65, its second-biggest non-conference home loss since 1978.
Four days later on Dec. 3, Creighton won 89-60 at Nebraska, handing the Cornhuskers their largest non-conference home loss since 1938.
It's the first time that Creighton has won its first two true road games since 2016-17, when the Jays won their first five road contests.
It's also just the 12th time in the last 50 seasons that CU has won each of its first two true road games. Ten of the 11 most recent teams to do so made the NCAA Tournament, and each won 20 or more games.
Started 2-0 Or Better On The Road, Last 50 Years
Road W's to Start Season Final W-L (Postseason)
2 1976-77 21-7 (NCAA)
2 1980-81 21-9 (NCAA)
2 1998-99 22-9 (NCAA)
3 1999-00 23-10 (NCAA)
2 2002-03 29-5 (NCAA)
4 2003-04 20-9 (NIT)
2 2004-05 23-11 (NCAA)
2 2011-12 29-6 (NCAA)
4 2012-13 28-8 (NCAA)
4 2013-14 27-8 (NCAA)
5 2016-17 25-10 (NCAA)
2 2023-24 TBD
Forty Time
In its nine wins, Creighton has scored 431 points before halftime (47.9 per game), and put up 40 or more points in the first half each contest.
In its four losses the Jays have averaged just 61.25 points per game, and 27.8 first half points.
Creighton has won 15 games in a row when scoring more than 40 first half points.
Hoop Dreams
Creighton shot 65.1 percent from the field on Dec. 9 vs. Central Michigan.
In Greg McDermott's 462 games at Creighton, the Bluejays had only surpassed that figure three times previously, and not since 2013.
Best FG%, Single-Game, Under Greg McDermott
FG% (FG-FGA) Opponent Date
.775 (31-40) at Southern Illinois 02/14/12
.704 (38-54) Campbell 11/25/11
.702 (33-47) Wichita State 03/02/13
.651 (41-63) Central Michigan 12/09/23
.648 (35-54) Longwood 11/20/12
Powerful Performance
One of the few question marks heading into the season was which player would step up at the power forward position.
On Dec. 9 against Central Michigan, the platoon of Mason Miller, Isaac Traudt and Jasen Green each played a starring role.
The trio combined for 39 points and nine rebounds in 45 minutes of action. They shot 14-for-16 from the field, including 9-for-11 from three-point range. Both Miller and Traudt finished off a four-point play.
For the season Miller leads the BIG EAST with 58.3 percent marksmanship from three-point land while Traudt is second at 48.6 percent.
No Time To Waste
Isaac Traudt scored 18 points in just over 12 minutes of action on Dec. 9 vs. Central Michigan. The redshirt freshman made 5-of-6 three-point shots, as well as a dunk, en route to a new career-high scoring total.
Traudt was CU's first player with 18 points or more in 13 minutes or less since Martin Krampelj had 18 points in 11 minutes on Dec. 20, 2018 against Division III opponent Coe.
Release, Rotation, Splash, Repeat
Creighton has made at least one three-pointer in 998 straight games. The streak is the nation's 10th-longest active streak.
Creighton's last game without a three-pointer came at Illinois State on Feb. 20, 1993, when the Jays were 0-for-5. Creighton's last win without making a three-point basket came on March 3, 1991 when the Jays went 0-for-2 from three-point range in a 71-66 win over Southern Illinois in the championship game of the MVC Tournament.
Below is a list of the nation's longest active three-point streaks.
Longest Active 3-Point Streaks (12/30)
Rk. Streak School Next Game
1. 1,203 UNLV 12/31
2. 1,201 Duke 1/2
3. 1,137 East Tennessee State 1/3
4. 1,111 Oakland 12/31
1,111 Pacific 1/4
6. 1,106 Texas 1/1
7. 1,048 Marshall 12/31
8. 1,034 Princeton 1/6
1,034 Gonzaga 1/4
10. 998 Creighton 1/2
11. 997 Long Island 1/4
12. 987 Mount St. Mary's 1/5
Triple Trouble
During Creighton's current streak of 998 straight games with a three-pointer, the Jays have drained 7,929 trifectas, an average of 7.94 treys per game.
That's not surprising since during the streak, Creighton has made exactly seven three-pointers 147 times, more than any figure.
Only five times in the streak has Creighton made just one three-pointer, but on 291 occasions the Bluejays have made 10 or more trifectas, including three games of 20 or more.
Since the start of the 2019-20 season, the Bluejays are 71-17 when making eight or more three-pointers, compared to a 29-27 mark when making seven treys or fewer.
Team 3FG Made During Creighton's 3-Point Streak
1: 5 times 2: 19 times 3: 36 times
4: 75 times 5: 104 times 6: 103 times
7: 147 times 8: 125 times 9: 93 times
10: 84 times 11: 57 times 12: 58 times
13: 45 times 14: 22 times 15: 8 times
16: 8 times 17: 3 times 18: 1 time
19: 2 times 20: 1 time 21: 1 time 22: 1 time
Scheierman's Week Earns Honors
Baylor Scheierman was named the BIG EAST Player of the Week and Oscar Robertson U.S. Basketball Writers Association National Player of the Week on Dec. 4th after helping the Bluejays to a pair of double-digit road wins over Power 5 teams.
Scheierman averaged 22.5 points and 9.0 rebounds during the week, sinking nine three-pointers.
Scheierman had 21 points, eight rebounds and two steals in Thursday's BIG EAST – Big 12 Battle victory at Oklahoma State. The 79-65 loss was Oklahoma State's second-largest non-conference home loss in 45 years.
The Aurora, Neb,. product concluded his week by scoring 20 of his game-high 24 points in the first half of Creighton's 89-60 win over Nebraska, matching its largest margin of victory ever over its in-state rival. Scheierman made six three-pointers in the first half to remain (at the time) the nation's only player with three or more three-pointers in every team game this season.
Scheierman contributed 10 rebounds for his 40th career double-double, which also moved him over 1,000 career rebounds. The loss was Nebraska's largest in a non-conference home game since 1938.
Big Half Baylor
Baylor Scheierman has had at least 20 points before halftime twice this season.
He had 21 points in the first 20 minutes against Loyola Chicago on Nov. 22, then poured in 20 points in the first half on Dec. 3 at Nebraska. Scheierman is the first Bluejay with multiple games of 20+ points at halftime in the same season since Marcus Foster did it three times in 2017-18 (22 vs. UT Arlington, 21 vs. Butler, 20 vs. Georgetown).
For the year, Scheierman leads Creighton with 10.92 points per game before halftime. No Creighton player has averaged more than 10 points per first half since Doug McDermott averaged 14.0 points per first half in 2013-14, a season that saw McDermott lead the nation in scoring.
On The Triple
Baylor Scheierman drained six three-pointers before halftime on Dec. 3 at Nebraska.
No Creighton player had done that since Trey Alexander had six triples in the first half vs. Georgetown on March 1, 2023.
In case you're wondering, the Creighton record for three-pointers in a half is eight, done in a pair of memorable victories.
Ethan Wragge made eight three-pointers in a 96-68 win at No. 4 Villanova in 2014, while Terrell Taylor made eight after a scoreless first half in a double-overtime win vs. No. 15 Florida in 2002, though some of those trifectas came during the overtime sessions.
Ain't Life Grand?
Baylor Scheierman owns 1,828 points, 1,039 rebounds, 497 assists and has made 287 career three-pointers in 140 total games when you combine his Creighton and South Dakota State stats.
Creighton's only other players to reach 1,000 career rebounds (only at Creighton) have been Paul Silas (1,751), Bob Harstad (1,126), Doug McDermott (1,088) and Benoit Benjamin (1,005).
If you're curious, how many games it took to get to 1,000 rebounds for each man, we've got you covered:
Games to 1,000 Rebounds
Name GP Opponent, Date
Paul Silas 47 at Utah State, 2/23/63
Benoit Benjamin 89 at Bradley, 3/5/85
Bob Harstad 115 Siena, 2/3/91
Doug McDermott 132 DePaul, 2/7/14
Baylor Scheierman* 135 at Nebraska, 12/3/23
*includes games at South Dakota State
1,000+ Rebounds, 274+ 3FG Nationally, Since 1992-93
**Stats earned at Division I schools only**
Name, School(s) REB 3FG
Doug McDermott, Creighton 1,088 274
Baylor Scheierman, SDSU/Creighton 1,039 287
1,000+ Rebounds, 490 Assists Nationally, Since 1992-93
**Stats earned at Division I schools only**
Name, School(s) REB AST
Brian Voelkel, Vermont 1,168 679
John Konchar, IPFW 1,149 553
Kyle Collinsworth, BYU 1,047 703
Baylor Scheierman, SDSU/Creighton 1,039 497
Can't Stop Scheierman
Baylor Scheierman made a three-point basket in all 37 games he played last season and each of his first 11 contests this season, stretching his streak dating to last year to 58 in a row if you include his final 10 games at South Dakota State in 2021-22. The streak ended on Dec. 20, 2023 vs. Villanova, when Scheierman went 0-for-7 from deep.
Scheierman's streak of 48 straight as a Bluejay was the longest streak in Creighton history, 15 more than Ty-Shon Alexander's 33.
Scheierman was also the only player in the nation who had made three or more three-pointers in every game his team has played this season until the streak was snapped on Dec. 9 vs. Central Michigan.
Consecutive Games With A 3-Pointer, Creighton History
Streak Name Dates of Streak
48 Baylor Scheierman Nov. 7, 2022 - Dec. 16, 2023
33 Ty-Shon Alexander Feb. 27, 2018-March 6, 2019
31 Booker Woodfox Nov. 25, 2008-March 23, 2009
28 Kyle Korver Feb. 4, 2001-Feb. 6, 2002
27 Kyle Korver Feb. 13, 2002-Jan. 20, 2003
Scheierman Drains 275th Trey
Baylor Scheierman has made 287 three-pointers in his college career, doing so at a 39.0 percent clip.
Scheierman also owns 1,828 points, 1,039 rebounds, 497 assists and 129 career steals.
Per Basketball-Reference.com, Scheierman is the nation's only player in the last 30 years with career totals of at least 250 three-pointers, 450 assists and 1,000 rebounds.
Scheierman is one of 21 players since 2010-11 with 480 or more assists and 280 or more three-pointers. Scheierman's 1,039 rebounds are well ahead of the next-most (658 by ASU/Toledo guard Marreon Jackson).
Among the nation's active players Scheierman is fifth in rebounds, trailing only Armando Bacot (North Carolina), Fardaws Aimaq (California), Norchad Omier (Miami Fla.) and Enrique Freeman (Akron).
Road Openers
Creighton is 7-7 under Greg McDermott in its first true road game of the season.
The road opener has been the barometer for Creighton's postseason plans in the previous 13 years. Creighton has made the NCAA Tournament all six times it has won the road opener, and missed the NCAA Tournament four of the other six years where a postseason was contested.
That's encouraging since CU defeated Oklahoma State 79-65 in its road opener this winter.
CU would have made the 2020 NCAA Tournament that was canceled even though it lost its road opener that year.
Creighton in Road Openers, Last 14 Years
Year Opponent Score CU in NCAA's?
2010-11 Northwestern L 52-65 No (CBI)
2011-12 UAB W 70-60 Yes
2012-13 Nebraska W 64-42 Yes
2013-14 Saint Joseph's W 83-79 Yes
2014-15 Tulsa L 64-77 No
2015-16 #14 Indiana L 65-86 No (NIT)
2016-17 Nebraska W 77-62 Yes
2017-18 #20 Northwestern W 92-88 Yes
2018-19 Nebraska L 75-94 No (NIT)
2019-20 Michigan L 69-79 No (Postseason CCD)
2020-21 #5 Kansas L 72-73 Yes
2021-22 Nebraska W 77-69 Yes
2022-23 #2 Texas L 67-72 Yes
2023-24 Oklahoma State W 79-65 TBD
Bahamas Bounce
Creighton is coming off a trip to the Bahamas in August, which it hopes will prepare the team for early victories as past trips have done.
A 2019 trip to Australia helped the Bluejays open the year 12-2.
A 2015 trip to Italy helped the Bluejays start the season 5-1.
A 2011 trip to the Bahamas helped get the Bluejays ready for a 7-0 start.
A 2007 trip to Canada paid dividends as Creighton started 5-0.
In 2003, the Bluejays also went to Canada and started the subsequent season 12-0.
Sultan of Swat
Ryan Kalkbrenner ranks second in program history in blocked shots with 228.
Most Creighton Blocked Shots, Since 1979-80
Blk. Name Years
411 Benoit Benjamin 1982-85
228 Ryan Kalkbrenner 2020-Pres.
183 Chad Gallagher 1987-91
174 Gregory Echenique 2010-13
153 Kenny Lawson Jr. 2006-11
Among The Best...EVER!
Ryan Kalkbrenner has made 554 of 834 career shots, putting him at 66.4 percent overall. That places the senior center fourth in field goal percentage in NCAA history among players to make 500 or more field goals and at least four field goals per game.
However, Kalkbrenner is first among all such players who have ever attempted 50 or more three-point field goal attempts.
Best Career FG%, NCAA History (min. 500 FG, 4FG/game)
Pct. (FG-FGA) Name, School Years
.678 (828-1222) Steve Johnson, Oregon State 1976-81
.668 (566-847) Murray Brown, Florida State 1976-80
.667 (740-1109) Evan Bradds, Belmont 2013-17
.6643 (554-834) Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton 2020-Pres.
.6635 (702-1058) Todd MacCulloch, Washington 1995-99
.658 (508-772) Max Fiedler, Rice 2019-Pres.
.656 (552-841) Kevin Magee UC Irvine 1980-82
Almost a Trey-Double?
Trey Alexander finished CU's Nov. 16 win vs. Iowa with 23 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists, finishing just shy of becoming CU's first player in history to record a traditional points/rebounds/assists triple-double.
Alexander had six of his nine assists in the first 12:21 of the second half, but CU's only basket in the final 7:39 was a score by Alexander himself.
Creighton's only triple-doubles in history all came from Benoit Benjamin. "Big Ben" had 24 points, 17 rebounds and 11 blocks vs. Tulsa on Feb. 16, 1984, had 43 points, 16 rebounds and 10 blocks vs. Southern Illinois on Jan. 17, 1985 and had 29 points, 12 rebounds and a school-record 12 blocks on Feb. 2, 1985 vs. Bradley.
Alexander isn't the only current Bluejay to finish a game one assist shy of a triple-double, as Baylor Scheierman and 12 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists in last year's BIG EAST Tournament quarterfinal win over Villanova.
Alexander's performance was still good enough for his first career double-double, as his 11 rebounds were a career-high and his nine assists matched his career-best.
Trey's Bien
Trey Alexander has made the leap in his junior season. Here's how the start of the year compares to his first two years combined.
Category 2023-24 2021-23
Games Played 13 72
20-Point Games 6 5
Dunks 5 2
Double-Doubles 2 0
Points Per Game 15.8 10.6
Rebounds Per Game 6.8 4.0
Assists Per Game 4.5 2.5
Nationally Speaking
Through games of Dec. 30th, Creighton is all over the NCAA stat leaders. The Bluejays rank in the top 10 of seven different categories.
Rank Category Stat
1 Fouls Per Game 10.2
4 Effective FG% .588
6 Average Home Attendance 16,910
7 Three-Pointers Per Game 11.1
9 Defensive Rebounds Per Game 30.46
9 Three-Point Attempts Per Game 29.5
9 Total Home Attendance 118,371
Among The Nation's Best
Below is where Creighton ranks nationally since the start of the 2010-11 season among teams to have played more than 150 Division I games, per Basketball-Reference.com.
2010-11 to Dec. 30, 2023
Category CU Stat CU Rank
3FG Made 4,087 2nd
2-Point FG Percentage .548 3rd
FG Percentage .477 4th
3-Point FG Percentage .375 6th
Assists 7,382 6th
FG Made 12,636 8th
Points 35,343 9th
Wins 309 24th
Winning Percentage .667 32nd
This Is 20/20
Trey Alexander started his junior season with 20 points vs. Florida A&M, 21 points vs. North Dakota State, 23 points vs. Iowa and 20 points vs. Texas Southern
That made him just the second Bluejay in the last 25 years to score 20 or more in each of CU's first four games, joining Doug McDermott in 2013-14. McDermott did it the first six games of his senior season in 2013-14 and went on to be named National Player of the Year that season.
Alexander is the first Bluejay to score 20 points or more in four consecutive games at any time of year since Marcus Foster did it in seven consecutive contests from Jan. 16-Feb. 10, 2018.
A Head Start
Creighton got a jump start on the season with nine practices in July before heading to the Bahamas to play in three games during the first week of August.
Creighton won all three games by 14 points or more, averaged 98.3 points, and outrebounded foes by 21.3 caroms per contest.
Trey Alexander led CU by averaging 20.0 points before missing the final contest, but Ryan Kalkbrenner (11.0 ppg.), Baylor Scheierman (10.0 ppg.) and Fredrick King (10.0 ppg.) also scored at a double-digit clip.
Steven Ashworth led CU with 15 assists, King and Brock Vice had a team-high 18 rebounds and Kalkbrenner topped the team with 10 swats.
Who's Back?
With Creighton returning seven of the 13 men who appeared in a game last season, it's no surprise that a similar ratio of the production from 2022-23 is also gone. Below is a breakdown of what is back:
Stat Returners Departures
Blocks 126 (82.9%) 26 (17.1%)
Rebounds 860 (67.9%) 411 (32.1%)
3FG Made 207 (64.9%) 112 (35.1%)
Points 1833 (64.8%) 995 (35.2%)
Steals 119 (64.3%) 66 (35.7%)
Minutes 4693 (63.0%) 2757 (37.0%)
Starts 111 (60.0%) 74 (40.0%)
Charges Taken 16 (59.3%) 11 (40.7%)
Assists 308 (53.0%) 273 (47.0%)
Preseason Top 10
The Creighton men's basketball team was ranked eighth in the Associated Press Preseason Top 25 poll, its highest preseason AP ranking ever. That's one spot better than the previous best, done last year, when the Bluejays started the season ranked ninth. CU is currently No. 22 in the AP poll.
The announcement marks just the sixth time in program history the writers have voted CU to the top-25 in the preseason, joining 2006-07 (No. 19), 2012-13 (No. 16) and 2016-17 (No. 22), 2020-21 (No. 11) and 2022-23 (No. 9). All five of those teams would end up in the NCAA Tournament, with the last two making the Sweet 16 and last year's club reaching the Elite Eight.
This week is the 27th in program history that Creighton has been in the top-10 at any point, with all but one of those occasions happening under head coach Greg McDermott. Creighton's best ranking in program history is seventh, done five times (Jan. 16, 2017, March 10, 2020, March 18, 2020, Jan. 7, 2021 and Nov. 28, 2022).
Creighton has now been ranked 130 times in program history, with 102 of those under the direction of McDermott. Creighton is 161-66 all-time as a ranked team, including a 127-54 mark under McDermott. Creighton has now been ranked at least one week in 10 of McDermott's 14 seasons on The Hilltop after doing it just five different seasons in program history before his 2010 arrival.
Creighton is one of four schools to be ranked in the preseason top-10 each of the past two seasons, joining Kansas, Duke and Houston.
Along with No. 5 Marquette, No. 6 Connecticut and No. 8 Creighton, this year marked the first time since 2011-12 that the BIG EAST had three Preseason Top-10 teams.
Creighton was also eighth in the preseason USA Today Coaches poll, its best preseason mark ever. CU was No. 20 in the Dec. 26th Coaches poll.
Preseason BIG EAST Poll
The Creighton men's basketball team was picked to finish second in the BIG EAST Conference in the annual survey of league coaches, which was unveiled as part of BIG EAST Media Day.
It's the second time in Creighton's 11 years in the BIG EAST Conference that the Bluejays have been picked second, as the 2020-21 squad was also picked second (and eventually finished second). The Bluejays also had three players receive recognition on one of the Preseason All-BIG EAST teams, tied with preseason favorite Marquette for the most in the league.
The Bluejays collected four first-place votes and earned 92 points in the poll, trailing only Marquette's seven first-place votes and 96 overall points. Defending national champion Connecticut was tabbed third with 79 points, just ahead of Villanova's 76 for fourth place. Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino's first St. John's team garnered 59 points to be chosen fifth, just ahead of Xavier (57) and Providence (51). The bottom four teams in the poll are Georgetown (34), Seton Hall (30), Butler (16) and DePaul (15).
Creighton finished 24-13 overall and 14-6 in BIG EAST play last season and are the only league team to return three of its scorers that averaged at least a dozen points per game. The Bluejays won three NCAA Tournament games to advance to its first Elite Eight since 1941.
In 2023-24, Creighton will be led by senior center Ryan Kalkbrenner, who is a Preseason First Team All-BIG EAST selection. Kalkbrenner becomes the first player in program history to earn Preseason First Team All-BIG EAST honors multiple times, and along with Preseason Player of the Year Tyler Kolek from Marquette was one of two men to be named on every ballot.
Joining Kalkbrenner with the Preseason First Team All-BIG EAST acclaim was junior guard Trey Alexander. Alexander was an Honorable Mention All-BIG EAST choice at the end of last season, as was teammate Baylor Scheierman. A senior guard from Aurora, Neb., Scheierman earned Preseason Second Team All-BIG EAST plaudits in 2023-24.
This year marks the second time that Creighton has had more than two players land on the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team, and comes 12 months after Creighton had four men listed prior to the 2022-23 campaign. Creighton last had two men named Preseason First Team All-Conference in its Missouri Valley Conference days in 2006-07 (Anthony Tolliver, Nate Funk).
Kolek was named 2023-24 BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year by a vote of the league's head coaches, which comes as little surprise after the point guard was named 2023 BIG EAST Player of the Year and BIG EAST Tournament MVP after leading the Golden Eagles to both the regular-season and tournament titles. Connecticut guard Stephon Castle was chosen BIG EAST Preseason Freshman of the Year. The coaches, who were not permitted to select their own players, also chose an All-BIG EAST First Team, All-BIG EAST Second Team and All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention.
Creighton has matched or exceeded its preseason projection in all but one season since joining the BIG EAST in 2013-14, the best showing in the league in that time. The Bluejays are seeking an eighth straight finish in the top four of the league standings. CU's team two years ago was predicted to finish eighth in the BIG EAST, then ended up in fourth. Four years ago, a team picked seventh in the BIG EAST's preseason poll went 13-5 in league play to share its first league title with Villanova and Seton Hall. That Bluejay team ended the year ranked seventh in the entire nation.
Four Of A Kind
Creighton has four players that were named to a Preseason Watch List in Steven Ashworth (Bob Cousy Point Guard), Trey Alexander (Jerry West Shooting Guard), Baylor Scheierman (Julius Erving Small Forward) and Ryan Kalkbrenner (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center).
Creighton is one of six schools to have four men listed at a position, joining Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, Marquette and UConn.
Those same four men were named to CBS Sports Preseason Top 100 And 1 player listings, with Kalkbrenner (5), Alexander (12), Scheierman (26) and Ashworth (76) making CU the only school with three of the top 30 players or four of the top 76 players. Kansas and Duke were the only other teams with four players listed in the Top 100 And 1.
Last but not least, both Alexander and Kalkbrenner were two of 20 players on the NABC's Preseason Division I Player of the Year Watch List. The only other schools with two players on that list were Duke and USC.
Downtown Duo
Only two players nationally that are returning in 2023-24 had 120+ assists, 87+ three-pointers and 38+ steals in 2022-23.
Baylor Scheierman and Steven Ashworth.
Both are playing for Creighton this season.
Let's Go On A Run
Creighton has won at least one NCAA Tournament game in 2021, 2022 and 2023. That makes CU one of seven teams in the country to have a win in each of the last three NCAA Tournaments, joining Arkansas, Baylor, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas and UCLA.
The only other time that Creighton has won an NCAA Tournament game in consecutive seasons came in 2012, 2013 and 2014, also under Greg McDermott.
Creighton is one of six schools with 20 or more wins in each of the last eight seasons, joining Belmont, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas and Oregon.
Creighton is one of seven teams to post 22 or more wins in each of the last four seasons, joining Baylor, Gonzaga, Houston, Liberty, San Diego State and Southern California.
Creighton is one of just eight teams to have reached at least two of the last three Sweet 16s. Gonzaga, Houston and UCLA have done it each of the last three seasons, while Alabama, Creighton, Michigan and Villanova have done it twice each.
23 of 25 Seasons With 20 Wins
Creighton has won 20 or more games in 23 of the previous 25 seasons, a feat that puts the Jays among an exclusive group, nationally.
Just two schools have had 20 or more wins each of the last 25 years: Gonzaga and Kansas. Duke has done it 24 times, Creighton and Kentucky 23 times.
Most 20-Win Seasons, Previous 25 Seasons
Team 20-Win Seasons 2022-23 W-L
Gonzaga 25 31-6
Kansas 25 28-8
Duke 24 27-9
Creighton 23 24-13
Kentucky 23 22-12
Dynamic Duo
Creighton is also one of eight schools to have men's and women's basketball programs to both own 22 wins or more each of the previous two seasons, a list that includes Creighton, Gonzaga, Liberty, Princeton, Tennessee, Texas, Toledo and UConn.
This season, Creighton was one of eight teams with a preseason top-25 squad on both the men's and women's side, joining Baylor, Connecticut, Illinois, North Carolina, Southern California, Tennessee and Texas.
The only five schools to be ranked in the preseason men's and women's basketball Top 25 of the AP Poll both this season and last season are Baylor, Creighton, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.
Creighton is one of 11 schools to make the NCAA Tournament in both men's and women's basketball each of the past two seasons, a list that consists of Arizona, Baylor, Creighton, Gonzaga, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, Miami (Fla.), Tennessee, Texas and UConn.
The only schools with at-large bids in each of the previous two years in both men's and women's basketball are Baylor, Creighton, Indiana and Miami (Fla.).
Big Deficits, No Big Deal
Creighton owns 27 victories since the start of the 2010-11 season after trailing by double-figures at some point.
Thirteen of those 27 comebacks have come away from home.
If you're curious, CU's largest comeback win since 2000 came on Jan. 28, 2006, when the Jays trailed 25-6 early before rallying to beat Wichita State on a buzzer-beater by Anthony Tolliver.
CU's Double-Digit Comebacks Under McDermott
Deficit Opponent Date
18 #18 Oklahoma 11/19/14
17 at San Diego State 11/30/11
16 at Evansville 02/16/13
16 at Seton Hall 01/27/21
16 SIU Edwardsville 11/27/21
15 Arkansas-Pine Bluff 11/09/21
14 Evansville 02/21/12
14 vs. San Diego State 03/17/22
13 at Saint Joseph's 11/16/13
13 Xavier 01/12/14
13 #22 Xavier 12/23/20
12 Saint Joseph's 12/11/10
12 at DePaul 01/17/16
12 East Tennessee State 11/11/18
11 at Wichita State 12/31/11
11 Northern Iowa 01/10/12
11 vs. Alabama 03/16/12
11 vs. Ole Miss 11/21/16
11 vs. Connecticut 03/12/21
11 DePaul 01/22/22
10 UAB 11/14/12
10 vs. Drake 03/02/12
10 at Nebraska 12/07/14
10 South Dakota 12/09/14
10 St. John's 01/03/18
10 at DePaul 02/07/18
10 Bemidji State 02/13/18
McDermott Ranks Second On CU Wins List
Greg McDermott has 309 victories at Creighton, good for second place on CU's all-time wins list.
McDermott's .667 winning percentage is Creighton's best since Arthur A. Schabinger's .714 win rate more than 85 years ago.
Below is a list of the most victorious Creighton coaches in program history.
Most Coaching Wins, Creighton History
Rk. W-L Name Years
1. 327-176 Dana Altman 1994-2010
2. 309-154 Greg McDermott 2010-Pres.
3. 165-66 Arthur A. Schabinger 1922-1935
4. 138-118 John J. "Red" McManus 1959-1969
5. 130-64 Tom Apke 1974-1981
CHI Health Center Omaha Dramatics
Creighton is 8-8 in contests with a game-winning go-ahead score in the final 10 seconds at CHI Health Center Omaha, which opened in 2003.
The last time such a game happened was in 2020 when Creighton's Marcus Zegarowski hit a shot with 3.2 seconds left to beat Providence.
Creighton's Go-Ahead Scores in Wins at
CHI Health Center Omaha, Last 10 Seconds
Date Opponent Score Player/Score Time
11/26/05 Dayton W 91-90* Funk FG :5.7
01/28/06 Wichita St. W 57-55 Tolliver FG :0.0
11/25/06 George Mason W 58-56 Watts FT :7.5
03/18/08 Rhode Island W 74-73 Witter 3FG :3.2
01/13/10 Southern Illinois W 71-69 Young FG :1.3
02/18/12 Long Beach St. W 81-79 Young FG :0.3
01/28/14 St. John's W 63-60 McDermott 3FG :2.8
01/18/20 Providence W 78-74 Zegarowski 3FG :3.2
*double-overtime
Opponent Go-Ahead Scores in CU Losses at
CHI Health Center Omaha, Last 10 Seconds
Date Opponent Score Player/Score Time
03/20/06 Miami (Fla.) L 53-52 G. Diaz FT :2.6
01/20/07 Southern Illinois L 58-57 B. Mullins FG :4.1
01/10/15 #19 Seton Hall L 68-67 S. Gibbs 3FG :2.2
02/16/15 #19 Butler L 58-56 R. Jones FG :1.9
03/07/15 Xavier L 74-73 D. Davis FT's :6.3
01/12/16 #12 Providence L 50-48 K. Dunn FG :0.0
02/22/17 Providence L 68-66 K. Cartwright 3FG :2.4
02/10/18 #5 Xavier L 71-72 Q. Goodin FT's :0.3
Top-20 Crowds
Here's a look at Creighton's top-20 home crowds all-time.
Rank Att. Opponent Date
1. 18,868 Providence 03/08/14
2. 18,859 Georgetown 01/25/14
3. 18,831 #1 Villanova 12/31/16
4. 18,797 #6 Villanova 02/16/14
5. 18,759 #1 Gonzaga 12/01/18
6. 18,742 Seton Hall 02/23/14
7. 18,735 Wichita State 02/11/12
8. 18,613 Wichita State 03/02/13
9. 18,525 Marquette 12/31/13
10. 18,519 #8 Seton Hall 03/07/20
11. 18,518 Georgetown 01/27/18
12. 18,509 Villanova 02/04/23
13. 18,495 Marquette 02/17/18
14. 18,494 Illinois State 02/09/13
15. 18,458 Evansville 12/29/12
16. 18,436 Bradley 01/28/12
17. 18,323 DePaul 02/07/14
18. 18,321 #3 Villanova 02/24/18
19. 18,294 #19 Iowa State 12/04/21
20. 18,286 #21 Connecticut 02/12/23
CHI Health Center Omaha Success
Creighton has played 345 regular and postseason contests at CHI Health Center Omaha all-time in the 21-year-old facility.
The Bluejays own a 284-61 (.823) record all-time at the facility, and have never lost there on a Friday (22-0).
Creighton's Nov. 25, 2017 win over SIU Edwardsville was the program's 200th at the facility, coming in its 242nd home game. CU's 100th win came on Nov. 17, 2010, a 63-58 win over Louisiana.
Creighton has outscored its opponents 27,046-22,589 in games at CHI Health Center Omaha, an average margin of 12.92 points per game. Creighton has not trailed 90 different times.
Incredibly, Creighton hasn't trailed in its home opener in 10 of the past 23 seasons (2000-01, 2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06, 2009-10, 2011-12, 2014-15, 2016-17 and 2019-20).
Creighton is also 32-36 all-time in the 68 games at the arena in which it's fallen behind by double-figures at any point, 8-11 when down by 10+ points at halftime in the facility, and 40-29 when trailing at halftime at CHI Health Center Omaha.
Creighton is 187-43 (.813) at CHI Health Center Omaha under Greg McDermott and hasn't trailed in 65 of those games. In that same span, CU owns a 101-9 home record (.918) vs. non-conference teams.
Factor in a 17-0 home mark at the Omaha Civic Auditorium in 2002-03 and two wins at the Civic in the 2010 CIT, and the Bluejays are 303-61 (.832) at home since the start of the 2002-03 campaign.
Home Run
Under Greg McDermott Creighton is averaging 80.66 points per home game (18,552 points in 230 home games), a figure that climbs to 84.37 points in non-conference home games (9,281 points in 110 home games).
Creighton is 141-6 all-time at CHI Health Center Omaha when scoring 80 or points.
Elite Eight
Greg McDermott guided his team to the NCAA Tournament for the eighth time last season. That put him in the company of some of the greatest coaches in CU Athletics history, and most among basketball coaches.
McDermott is one of three head coaches in Creighton history to lead eight or more NCAA Tournament teams.
Name Sport NCAA's @CU
Kirsten Bernthal Booth Volleyball 13
Bob Warming Men's Soccer 11
Greg McDermott Men's Basketball 8
Dana Altman Men's Basketball 7
Brent Vigness Softball 7
Firing On All Cylinders
Creighton finished last season ranked 12th overall by KenPom.com. That included the nation's No. 23 offense, and No. 14 defense. Creighton's No. 14 defense was its best mark in the 21 seasons of the KenPom era.
Creighton has had a top-25 offense per KenPom seven times in 13 seasons under Greg McDermott and a top-25 defense twice.
Year Off. Rating Def. Rating Overall Rank
2010-11 66 174 98
2011-12 5 166 28
2012-13 5 66 15
2013-14 2 124 17
2014-15 59 138 79
2015-16 43 76 40
2016-17 32 46 28
2017-18 25 58 30
2018-19 47 83 55
2019-20 3 78 12
2020-21 25 32 22
2021-22 112 19 50
2022-23 23 14 12
2023-24 20 21 17
Kalkbrenner Repeats As Top Defender
Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner was named 2023 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season.
Kalkbrenner became just the 11th player in league history to win the recognition more than once, joining the likes of Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning, Dikembe Mutombo, Kris Dunn and Allen Iverson among those to win the award multiple times, and is the first repeat winner since former Bluejay guard Khyri Thomas in 2017 and 2018.
Between Kalkbrenner and Thomas, Creighton has now had a BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year in four of the previous seven seasons.
Most BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year Honors
Honors Name, School Years (*ties)
4 Patrick Ewing, Georgetown 1982, 83, 84, 85
3 Alonzo Mourning, Georgetown 1989, 90*, 92
2 Dikembe Mutombo, Georgetown 1990, 91
2 Allen Iverson, Georgetown 1995, 96
2 Etan Thomas, Syracuse 1999, 00
2 John Linehan, Providence 2001, 02
2 Emeka Okafor, Connecticut 2003, 04
2 Hasheem Thabeet, Connecticut 2008, 09
2 Kris Dunn, Providence 2015*, 16
2 Khyri Thomas, Creighton 2017*, 18
2 Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton 2022, 23
Creighton Retires McDermott's No. 3 Jersey
Creighton Men's Basketball retired Doug McDermott's No. 3 jersey prior to its Dec. 20 game vs. Villanova. McDermott was a three-time All-American (2012, 2013, 2014) and consensus National Player of the Year (2014) during an incredible four-year career spanning from 2010-14.
McDermott finished his career with an NCAA-record 135 double-figure scoring games and wrapped up his time on The Hilltop with 3,150 points, which was fifth in NCAA history. He was named winner of the Oscar Robertson, John R. Wooden and Naismith trophies as the National Player of the Year in 2013-14, when he led the country in scoring and helped Creighton to a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
The son of current Bluejay head coach Greg McDermott, Doug McDermott was a three-time Conference Player of the Year and remains the sport's only three-time Associated Press First Team All-American since 1985.
McDermott received his Marketing degree from Creighton in 2014 and is currently in his 10th year in the NBA, as a member of the San Antonio Spurs.
McDermott's number hangs in the rafters on the west side of the arena alongside five other Bluejay greats (#25 Kyle Korver, #30 Bob Harstad, #33 Bob Portman, #35 Paul Silas, #45 Bob Gibson).
McDermott In The NBA
Doug McDermott is in his 10th year in an NBA career that saw him selected 11th overall by Denver, with stops in Chicago, Oklahoma City, New York, Dallas, Indiana and San Antonio.
He is averaging 6.2 points per game this season and shooting 46.2 percent from three-point range for the Spurs, which ranks sixth in the NBA.
In his career, McDermott has played in 620 games and averaged 9.2 points per game. He ranks 21st in NBA history with 41.2 percent marksmanship from three-point range in his career.
11 Crazy Stats on Doug McDermott
What better time than now to remind you of some of the highlights of Doug McDermott's Creighton career?
1) In 2013-14 he was honored as National Player of the Year by the USBWA (Oscar Robertson Trophy), John R. Wooden Award, Naismith Trophy, Adolph F. Rupp Trophy, Associated Press, NABC, CollegeInsider.com Lute Olson Award, Sporting News, Basketball Times, NBCSports.com, CBSSports.com, BleacherReport.com, USA Today and Dick Vitale.
In addition, he was also honored with the Senior CLASS Award that takes into account his off-court contributions.
2) Doug McDermott finished his career fifth (he's currently seventh) in NCAA history with 3,150 career points. He broke the previous Creighton career scoring record of 2,116 (held by Rodney Buford) during his junior season.
3) Doug McDermott was featured on the cover of the March 17, 2014 edition of Sports Illustrated as the magazine tried to recreate an epic 1977 cover shot that featured Larry Bird.
4) Creighton went 16-0 at home during Doug McDermott's senior year and never trailed in the second half at any point in those home contests.
5) Creighton went 21-0 in his career when Doug McDermott scored 31 points or more.
6) Doug McDermott surpassed 3,000 career points in his final home game, a Senior Day win over Providence with Warren Buffett in attendance. McDermott scored a career-high 45 points in the victory.
7) Doug McDermott ranked third nationally in points per game as a sophomore (22.9), second as a junior (23.2) and first as a senior (26.7).
8) Doug McDermott set a BIG EAST record by being named BIG EAST Player of the Week eight times in 2013-14. In the nine weeks he was not named Player of the Week, he still averaged 23.8 points and 7.1 rebounds per game while shooting 49.6 percent from the field and 89.1 percent at the line.
9) Doug McDermott remains the Associated Press' only three-time First Team All-American since 1984-85.
10) Doug McDermott made 1,141 career field goals, which ranked 10th in NCAA history when he graduated. Of those, he made 498 shots off the backboard, 145 shots with his left hand and had just 19 dunks.
11) Former Villanova coach Jay Wright was pretty effusive with his praise after coaching against Doug McDermott on Feb. 16, 2014, saying
"I think he's as complete a player, and I do not use that term loosely, with size, as I've ever seen. With 6-8, 6-9, there's nothing he can't do. He can take you off the dribble. He guards, he's tough as hell guarding. He defends. He rebounds. He moves without the ball. He seals. He's the best post player that we've played against and he's the best perimeter player, and maybe one of the best passers, and he's 6-8, 6-9. I think he's as good a basketball player as I've seen."
#ProJays
Former Creighton All-American Doug McDermott is back for a third season with the San Antonio Spurs, giving Creighton at least one NBA player in 40 of the last 41 seasons. McDermott is in his 10th season in the NBA. Other famous Bluejays to play in the NBA in the past include Paul Silas, Kyle Korver and Anthony Tolliver.
Ticket Information
Single-game tickets for the 2023-24 season went on sale on September 28th.
Fans can purchase single-game tickets at CHI Health Center Omaha Box Office, Ryan Athletic Center, by calling Ticketmaster or visiting Ticketmaster.com, and charging by phone at (800) 745-3000.
For more information, call the Creighton Ticket Office at (402) 280-JAYS.
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/ Men's BasketballThursday, July 23
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