Wednesday, December 17
Cincinnati, OH
5:30 PM
Creighton University
at
Xavier
Men's Basketball Opens BIG EAST Play Wednesday at Xavier
12/15/2025 2:55:00 PM | Men's Basketball
CU starts 13th year in the BIG EAST
Game #11: Creighton Bluejays (5-5, 0-0 BIG EAST) at Xavier Musketeers (8-3, 0-0 BIG EAST)
Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025 • 5:30 p.m. CT • Cincinnati, Ohio • Cintas Center
| LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES | XU NOTES |
Next Game
Creighton (5-5, 0-0 BIG EAST) opens its 13th season in the BIG EAST on Wednesday, Dec. 17 when it takes on Xavier (8-3, 0-0 BIG EAST).
Tip-off inside Cintas Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, is set for 5:30 p.m. Central.
Broadcast Information
Wednesday's game will air on FS1, and streamed at https://FoxSports.com/live. Jeff Levering and LaPhonso Ellis will announce the game.
Radio Broadcast Information
KOZN (1620 AM) and KOOO (101.9 FM) will carry all Creighton men's basketball games during the 2025-26 season.
John Bishop will call the action. The audio is webcast live at www.1620thezone.com.
The game can also be heard on SiriusXM 383 as well as https://sxm.app.link/SXM973.
Live Stats Information
All of Creighton's games this season will have free live stats at http://Creighton.StatBroadcast.com.
Scouting Creighton
Creighton is 5-5 on the young season, and just 1-4 in games away from home. The Bluejays own victories over South Dakota, Maryland Eastern Shore, North Dakota, Oregon and Nicholls. Three of the five losses have come against teams who are currently ranked.
Five of the top six scorers are newcomers, led by Josh Dix (12.3 ppg.), Blake Harper (9.2 ppg., 5.3 rpg.) and Nik Graves (8.9 ppg., 3.2 apg.)
Creighton's most productive returner, Jackson McAndrew (6.8 ppg., 4.5 rpg.), as well as key subs Hudson Greer (8.0 ppg., 4.3 rpg.) and Josh Townley-Thomas (6.0 ppg.), have combined to play just nine games due to injuries.
Creighton is averaging 74.6 points per game and shooting 44.2 percent from the field, 32.5 percent from three-point range and 74.2 percent at the line.
Scouting Xavier
Xavier is 8-3 this season under new head coach Richard Pitino, including a 7-1 home mark. The Musketeers started 2-2 but have won five straight, including a 79-74 win over CIncinnati on Dec. 5th to retain bragging rights in the Queen City.
Tre Carroll (16.9 ppg., 5.7 rpg.) leads the Musketeers in scoring, just ahead of Jovan Milicevic (12.9 ppg,. 4.2 rpg.), Roddie Anderson III (12.6 ppg.) and All Wright (10.7 ppg.).
Filip Borovicanin leads the Muskies with 7.4 rebounds per game while Malik Messina-Moore averages a team-best 4.2 assists per game.
Xavier averages 78.4 points per game and allows 71.5 per contest. The Musketeers shoot 42.6 percent from the field, 37.1 percent from three-point range and 67.6 percent at the line while being outrebounded by 1.4 caroms per contest.
The Series With Xavier
Xavier owns a 23-20 lead in the series with Creighton, including a 13-8 edge in Cincinnati. Twenty-five of the 43 all-time meetings have been within five points in the final minute, including 11 of the last 22 games.
Greg McDermott is 14-14 against Xavier, but never faced Richard Pitino. Pitino has never faced Creighton.
The Creighton Coaches
Greg McDermott (Northern Iowa, 1988) owns a 355-176 record in his 16th season with the Bluejays. He owns a career mark of 635-371 in his 32nd season, and is 504-307 in 25 Division I campaigns.
McDermott led Creighton to its first BIG EAST regular-season title in 2019-20, taking a Bluejay team that was picked seventh in the league's preseason poll and ending the year ranked seventh nationally. The Cascade, Iowa native has coached Creighton to a share of its first regular-season BIG EAST title in 2019-20 its first Sweet 16 since 1974 in 2020-21 and its first Elite Eight since 1941 in 2022-23.
McDermott has previously been a head coach at Iowa State (2006-10), Northern Iowa (2001-06), North Dakota State (2000-01) and Wayne State (1994-2000).
He is assisted by Alan Huss, Derek Kellogg, Trey Zeigler, Mitch Ballock and Mike Nesbitt.
With A Win...
- Creighton would improve to 7-6 in BIG EAST openers all-time.
- Creighton would improve to 9-7 under Greg McDermott in its first conference game of the season, winning its first league opener since the 2021-22 team beat Villanova.
- Creighton would win its first BIG EAST opener that was also a road game since 2018-19 (Providence).
- Snap a two-game losing streak.
Milestone Watch
- Jasen Green owns 296 career points, just four short of 300.
- Nik Graves owns 99 made three-pointers.
- Liam McChesney is six rebounds short of 200 for his career.
- Josh Dix has 949 career points, just 51 shy of 1,000.
Conference Openers Have Gone Well
Creighton owns a 17-10 record in its last 27 conference openers, but has never opened league play against Xavier.
Greg McDermott enters Wednesday 12-12 all-time in conference openers as a Division I head coach, including an 8-7 mark at Creighton (6-6 in the BIG EAST).
Yearly League Openers Under Greg McDermott
Year Won (Final W-L) Lost (Final W-L)
2010-11 Illinois St. (10-8)
2011-12 Missouri St. (14-4)
2012-13 Evansville (13-5)
2013-14 Marquette (14-4)
2014-15 Providence (4-14)
2015-16 St. John's (9-9)
2016-17 Seton Hall (10-8)
2017-18 Seton Hall (10-8)
2018-19 Providence (9-9)
2019-20 Marquette (13-5)
2020-21 Marquette (14-6)
2021-22 Villanova (12-7)
2022-23 Marquette (14-6)
2023-24 Villanova (14-6)
2024-25 Georgetown (15-5)
Creighton &, Xavier To The Wire
Since both teams officially joined the BIG EAST in the summer of 2013, 18 of the 28 meetings (including BIG EAST Tournament contests) between Creighton and Xavier have been decided by eight points or less, with two games going to overtime.
Twenty-five of the 43 all-time meetings have been within five points in the final minute, including 11 of the last 22 games.
Creighton is 0-2 this season in games decided by eight points or less. Xavier is 3-1 in such games.
Finding A Way
Since the start of the 2020-21 season, Xavier (20) and Creighton (19) lead the BIG EAST in victories by three points or fewer. Marquette also has 19, while no one else owns more than 14.
Making An Entrance
Josh Dix, Blake Harper, Nik Graves, Owen Freeman, Hudson Greer, Kerem Konan, Liam McChesney and Aleksa Dimitrijevic could each play in their first career BIG EAST game on Wednesday.
Below is a listing of the only 21 men in league history to debut in the BIG EAST with a game of 25 or more points.
The most points by a Bluejay in their BIG EAST debut is 19 by Doug McDermott vs. Marquette on Dec. 31, 2013, then matched by Ryan Hawkins vs. Villanova on Dec. 17, 2021.
MOST POINTS - FIRST BIG EAST GAME
41 Steve Novak, Marquette vs. UConn, 1-3-06
40 James Bouknight, UConn vs. Creighton, 12-20-20
32 Moe Harkless, St. John's vs. Providence, 12-27-11
32 Jason Edwards, Providence at Butler, 12-13-25
30 Troy Murphy, Notre Dame vs. Providence, 12-8-98
Allen Iverson, Georgetown vs. Providence, 12-7-94
29 Caron Butler, Connecticut vs. Boston College, 1-3-01
Khalid El-Amin, Connecticut vs. WVU, 12-3-97
Tim Thomas, Villanova vs. Providence, 12-4-96
28 Troy Bell, Boston College vs. Providence, 1-8-00
Jeremy Hazell, Seton Hall vs. UConn, 1-3-08
Souley Boum, Xavier vs. Georgetown, 12-16-22
Michael Ajayi, Butler vs. Providence, 12-13-25
26 Seldon Jefferson, WVU vs. Georgetown, 12-2-95
Lawrence Moten, Syracuse vs. Boston College, 1-2-92
Shamorie Ponds, St. John's vs. Butler, 12-29-16
Jaylin Sellers, Providence at Butler, 12-13-25
25 Rodney Bullock, Providence at Butler, 12-31-15
Craig Smith, Boston College vs. Providence, 1-2-03
Jerome Coleman, Rutgers vs. Syracuse, 1-2-02
Steve Rich, Miami vs. Syracuse, 12-22-93
McDermott Among The Best
Greg McDermott ranks sixth in BIG EAST history with 138 regular-season league wins. The list contains six different coaches who have won at least one national title.
McDermott, along with Ed Cooley, Rick Pitino and Kevin Willard are the only four active coaches with 100 regular-season BIG EAST wins.
McDermott has been at his current job (16 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 15 years in the BIG EAST lead all active league coaches.
Most League Wins, BIG EAST MBB Coaches
Rk. Wins Name, School
1. 366 Jim Boeheim, Syracuse
2. 274 Jim Calhoun, UConn
3. 244 Jay Wright, Villanova
4. 198 John Thompson Jr., Georgetown
5. 140 Rick Pitino, Prov./Louisville/SJU
6. 138 Greg McDermott, Creighton
7. 136 Mike Brey, Notre Dame
8. 131 John Thompson III, Georgetown
9. 129 Ed Cooley, Providence/G'Town
10. 127 Lou Carnesecca, St. John's
More Than A Number
Wednesday's match-up features a pair of teams who have traditionally excelled in their respective conferences.
Xavier entered the 2019-20 season with a streak of 37 straight seasons in which it has finished .500 or better in league play before going 8-10 in 2019-20. Despite that and a few other down years recently, Xavier has been .500 or better in conference action in 39 of the last 43 seasons.
Creighton, meanwhile, enters this season having gone .500 or better in league play 30 of the past 31 seasons.
Collecting W's
Creighton and Xavier enter Wednesday's game with a ton of similarities since the start of the 2010-11 season. Creighton owns 355 victories, which ranks tied for 24th-most nationally in that time and 19 more than Xavier's 336 wins that rank tied for 35th.
Gonzaga (461), Kansas (434) and Duke (433) lead the nation in wins during the past 16 seasons, while Villanova (381) ranks 10th and is best among current BIG EAST schools.
The 355 wins accumulated by Creighton ranks ahead of other schools with a national following such as UConn (354), UCLA (346), Louisville (336), Syracuse (331), Marquette (323), Iowa State (317) and Texas (315), among others.
Uniform Success at Cintas
Xavier has been near unbeatable at Cintas Center since its 2000 opening, going 345-65 (.841) in the facility. The Musketeers are also an impressive 167-47 (.778) all-time in conference home games at Cintas Center.
By comparison, Creighton is 311-65 (.827) overall and 154-48 (.761) in league play all-time at CHI Health Center Omaha, another place where visiting teams have had trouble winning thanks to a tremendous home-court advantage.
Creighton (5x) is one of 12 visiting teams that have beaten Xavier at Cintas Center multiple times, joining Villanova (7x), Seton Hall (5x), Marquette (5x), Butler (3x), Providence (3x), St. John's (3x), DePaul (2x), UMass (2x), Richmond (2x), Saint Louis (2x) and Saint Joseph's (2x). A win on Wednesday would make Creighton the second visiting team with at least six wins over Xavier at Cintas Center, trailing only Villanova's seven.
One of those rare Musketeer home losses came on Nov. 30, 2004, when Creighton overcame an early 33-22 deficit (including 35-26 at half) to stun the Musketeers, 73-72, on a Tyler McKinney hoop with 21.5 ticks left. At the time, it was just Xavier's third non-conference home loss ever in the building.
On Feb. 4, 2015, Creighton picked up a 79-72 overtime win at Cintas Center. The Bluejays overcame a seven-point second half deficit to force overtime, and outscored the Muskies 14-7 in the extra session to hand the X-Men their first home loss of the year.
On January 16, 2017 in Cincinnati, No. 7 Creighton earned a 72-67 victory over No. 22 Xavier thanks to a 6-0 run in the final 50 seconds. Justin Patton had a tip-in with 49.0 left to give CU the lead, and Cole Huff and Khyri Thomas made insurance free throws after defensive stops. The win improved Creighton to 18-1 for the first time, but national assist leader Maurice Watson Jr. suffered a knee injury early in the first half and would miss the rest of the season.
In 2020 Creighton won 77-65 in Cincinnati as five men scored in double-figures to help Greg McDermott earn his 500th win as a head coach.
In 2024 Creighton led by as much as 20 and posted a 78-71 win at Xavier, with Ryan Kalkbrenner (28 points, four blocks) and Baylor Scheierman (16 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists) leading the way for CU.
Among The Best
Creighton owns more BIG EAST wins (82) than any other school in the last six seasons, 11 more than Marquette and Villanova's 71.
Since the league's 2013 realignment, Villanova has 161 league wins to lead the BIG EAST by a wide margin, but Creighton's 138 league victories are second-most.
Most Men's Basketball BIG EAST Wins
(2019-20 to 2024-25)
Team W L Pct.
Creighton 82 35 .701
Villanova 71 42 .628
Marquette 71 45 .612
UConn 69 27 .719
Providence 64 50 .561
Seton Hall 59 57 .509
Xavier 59 51 .536
St. John's 59 57 .509
Butler 45 73 .381
Georgetown 24 89 .212
DePaul 18 95 .159
Most Men's Basketball BIG EAST Wins
(2013-14 to 2024-25)
Team W L Pct.
Villanova 161 60 .729
Creighton 138 87 .613
Xavier 125 93 .573
Marquette 123 101 .549
Providence 122 100 .550
Seton Hall 112 112 .500
Butler 99 127 .438
St. John's 99 125 .442
Georgetown 70 151 .317
UConn 69 27 .719
DePaul 43 178 .195
Preseason All-BIG EAST Votes Revealed
The Creighton men's basketball team was picked to finish third in the BIG EAST Conference in the annual survey of league coaches, which was unveiled as part of 2025 BIG EAST Media Day on October 21.
It marks the fourth straight year the Bluejays have been tabbed for a top-three finish and the third time CU has been picked exactly third in the BIG EAST poll, having also happened in 2013-14 as well as 2016-17.
Defending league champion St. John's garnered 7-of-11 first place votes and was chosen atop the poll with 97 points, just ahead of Connecticut. The Huskies collected four first place votes and 94 points. Creighton was third with 80 points, just ahead of Providence (64) and Marquette (60). The second half of the league poll consists of Georgetown (57), Villanova (50), Xavier (33), DePaul (29), Butler (26) and Seton Hall (15).
Creighton finished 25-11 overall and 15-5 in BIG EAST play last season and returns starters Jackson McAndrew (7.8 ppg., 4.4 rpg.) and Jasen Green (4.9 ppg., 3.2 rpg.) along with a talented crop of newcomers.
Three of those newcomers join McAndrew with Preseason All-BIG EAST accolades, giving CU four honorees for the first time since its 2022-23 team that eventually finished the season in the Elite Eight. Owen Freeman was voted a Preseason All- BIG EAST First Team selection and Josh Dix was a Preseason All-BIG EAST Second Team choice. McAndrew and Nik Graves were both Preseason All-BIG EAST Third Team honorees.
Freeman is the eighth different Bluejay to earn Preseason All-BIG EAST First Team recognition, and first to do it prior to playing a game with the Bluejays. It also means CU has had a First Team pick each of the last four seasons, as Trey Alexander was chosen prior to 2023-24 and Ryan Kalkbrenner was honored each of the previous three campaigns.
Creighton has matched or exceeded its preseason projection in all but one season since joining the BIG EAST in 2013-14, the best showing in the league in that time. The Bluejays are seeking a 10th straight finish in the top four of the league standings.
Creighton's BIG EAST Preseason Poll History
Year Preseason Actual Preseason All-BIG EAST
2013-14 3rd 2nd Doug McDermott (POY, 1st)
2014-15 9th T-9th -
2015-16 9th 6th -
2016-17 3rd T-3rd Maurice Watson Jr. (1st); Marcus Foster (HM)
2017-18 5th T-3rd Marcus Foster (1st); Khyri Thomas (HM)
2018-19 9th T-3rd Martin Krampelj (HM)
2019-20 7th T-1st Ty-Shon Alexander (1st)
2020-21 2nd 2nd Marcus Zegarowski (POY, 1st); Mitch Ballock (2nd)
2021-22 8th 4th -
2022-23 1st 3rd Ryan Kalkbrenner (1st); Arthur Kaluma (2nd)
Ryan Nembhard (2nd); Baylor Scheierman (HM)
2023-24 2nd T-2nd Ryan Kalkbrenner (1st); Trey Alexander (1st)
Baylor Scheierman (2nd)
2024-25 2nd 2nd Ryan Kalkbrenner (POY, 1st); Steven Ashworth (3rd)
2025-26 3rd ? ? ? Owen Freeman (1st); Josh Dix (2nd)
Jackson McAndrew (3rd); Nik Graves (3rd)
League Of Their Own
Creighton has finished with a .500 mark or better in league play 29 times in the previous 30 seasons, one of six schools nationally that can say that.
The only BIG EAST teams to finish .500 or better in league play each of the previous 10 seasons are Creighton and Villanova.
Creighton is also the only "Power 5" school with an active streak of six years or longer with 12 or more league wins.
Most Seasons .500 or Better League Record
Last 30 Seasons (Entering 2025-26)
Seasons Team
30 Duke
30 Kansas
30 Gonzaga
29 Creighton
29 Kentucky
29 Michigan State
Consecutive Seasons .500 or Better League Record
Power 5 Schools (Entering 2025-26)
Seasons Team
36 Kansas
30 Duke
14 Oregon
13 Villanova
10 Creighton
10 Houston
10 Florida
Consecutive Seasons 12+ League Wins
Power 5 Schools (Entering 2025-26)
Seasons Team
6 Creighton
Still Fighting
Creighton is off to a 5-5 start through 10 games. Recent seasons would suggest it might be too early to write them off.
Last season Creighton started 7-5, including a loss at Georgetown to open league play, before heating up. The Jays would win 11 of their next 12 games, eventually finish 25-11, and go 15-5 in BIG EAST play to finish second in the league standings.
Creighton's 2022-23 team started 6-6, including a loss to open BIG EAST play at Marquette, before regrouping to win 11 of their next 13 games. That Bluejay team reached the Elite Eight.
After 10 Games
Here's a look at how Creighton has done statistically after 10 games in recent seasons, which is where CU is at right now.
Of note, Creighton has started 5-5 or better after 10 games in 30 of the past 31 seasons (including 2025-26).
The last time Creighton had exactly one player averaging in double-figures was its 2002-03 team that won the MVC Tourney and finished 29-5. That player was Kyle Korver.
Creighton Stats Through 10 Games, Since 1994-95
Year W-L PPG FG% 3FG 10+ PPG guys
2025-26 5-5 74.6 72.6 96 1
2024-25 7-3 78.0 .472 99 4
2023-24 8-2 84.5 .502 121 3
2022-23 6-4 78.7 .467 90 5
2021-22 8-2 73.4 .491 62 4
2020-21 8-2 81.3 .482 101 5
2019-20 8-2 78.5 .478 98 3
2018-19 7-3 83.8 .510 117 3
2017-18 8-2 90.2 .516 102 3
2016-17 10-0 91.6 .544 99 4
2015-16 7-3 85.5 .506 93 5
2014-15 8-2 73.8 .438 85 2
2013-14 8-2 83.7 .491 113 2
2012-13 9-1 80.2 .519 90 2
2011-12 9-1 86.0 .516 90 2
2010-11 6-4 69.0 .426 74 3
2009-10 4-6 71.3 .450 78 2
2008-09 8-2 75.6 .439 89 3
2007-08 9-1 80.8 .478 84 2
2006-07 6-4 66.0 .408 59 3
2005-06 7-3 69.3 .405 70 3
2004-05 8-2 69.2 .434 80 2
2003-04 10-0 72.1 .463 61 2
2002-03 10-0 84.9 .526 97 1
2001-02 6-4 75.9 .439 63 3
2000-01 8-2 76.0 .445 83 3
1999-00 9-1 74.7 .458 84 2
1998-99 8-2 78.4 .454 79 2
1997-98 7-3 77.3 .467 73 1
1996-97 5-5 65.7 .409 57 2
1995-96 5-5 66.7 .390 56 3
1994-95 4-6 65.1 .404 66 3
Best BIG EAST Years
Creighton's 15 league wins last season set a program record for most conference wins in any of its first 12 seasons in the BIG EAST. It was the third straight season CU won 14 league games or more, something only Villanova (2013-14 to 2017-18) and Connecticut (1993-94 to 1995-96) have done in BIG EAST history.
Four of CU's seven teams to win 12 or more BIG EAST games reached the BIG EAST Tournament final, with the prematurely cancelled 2019-20 campaign being one of the exceptions.
Creighton's 15 conference wins last year matched its most as a member of any league, as it picked up 15 conference wins in 2002-03 when it was a member of the Missouri Valley Conference.
Creighton has now set or tied program records for most conference wins in a one-year span (15), two-year span (29), thee-year span (43), four-year span (55), five-year span (69), six-year span (82) and seven-year span (91).
Creighton has finished first or second in the BIG EAST in four of the last six seasons.
Creighton's Most BIG EAST Wins, Season
W-L Year BIG EAST Tourney
15-5 2024-25 TBA
14-4 2013-14 Lost in Final
14-6 2020-21 Lost in Final
14-6 2022-23 Lost in Semi's
14-6 2023-24 Lost in Quarterfinals
13-5 2019-20 Tourney Cancelled
12-7 2021-22 Lost in Final
Creighton's Most Conference Wins, Season
W-L Year League
15-3 2002-03 MVC
15-5 2024-25 BIG EAST
14-4 2000-01 MVC
14-4 2001-02 MVC
14-4 2008-09 MVC
14-4 2011-12 MVC
14-4 2013-14 BIG EAST
14-6 2020-21 BIG EAST
14-6 2022-23 BIG EAST
14-6 2023-24 BIG EAST
Triple Jumper
Josh Dix has made a three-pointer in each of his first 10 games with Creighton, and also made a trey in his final 12 games with Iowa. His 22 game streak with a three-pointer is tied for the nation's 14th-longest active streak through games of Dec. 15.
Longest Active Streaks With a Made 3-Pointer (12/15)
Streak Name, Current School Next
57 Josh Hubbard, Mississippi State 12/16
41 Honor Huff, West Virginia 12/22
38 Martin Somerville, Florida State 12/16
38 John Camden, California 12/19
38 Bryce Lindsay, Villanova 12/19
37 Cliff Davis, James Madison 12/17
30 Tucker DeVries, Indiana 12/20
26 Emanuel Sharp, Houston 12/20
25 Jeremiah Wilkinson, Georgia 12/18
25 Milan Momcilovic, Iowa State 12/21
24 Vijami Vartiainen, Weber State 12/17
23 Nyle Ralph-Beyer, Sacred Heart 12/16
23 Ryan Conwell, Louisville 12/16
22 Josh Dix, Creighton 12/17
22 Tyler Nickel, Vanderbilt 12/17
22 Tyler Lundblade, Belmont 12/16
22 Solo Ball, Connecticut 12/16
21 Alex Chaikin, UC San Diego 12/16
21 Miles Barnstable, Tulsa 12/19
21 Simeon Cottle, Kennesaw State 12/17
Use The Swartz
Sophomore guard Austin Swartz has stepped up in the absence of Hudson Greer.
One game after a DNP-CD against Oregon to close out the Players Era Championship in Las Vegas, Swartz scored 11 points on Dec. 2 in 13 minutes vs. Nicholls, eclipsing his point total (8) in his first eight games of the season combined.
Swartz was a bright spot in the Dec. 7 game at Nebraska, scoring a career-high 16 points while also adding two steals. He shot 7-of-15 from the field, compared to 9-for-37 by the rest of the Jays.
Swartz made his first start with the Bluejays on Dec. 13, scoring a dozen points in 25 minutes.
In other words, Swartz has 39 points in CU's last three games after just eight total points in Creighton's initial seven contests.
Availability Reports
The BIG EAST is now requiring availability reports prior to each league game, with plans calling for the information will be released three hours prior to each conference contest.
The league website with that information is
https://bigeast.com/sports/2025/11/26/2526_mbb_availability_reports.aspx .
Balanced Effort
Creighton still has not had a player produce a 20-point game this season, its longest drought to start a season since it didn't happen in the first 12 games in 2003-04.
Since Greg McDermott's 2010 arrival, Creighton has had at least one player score 20 points or more in 57.4 percent (304) of its 530 games.
Three's Company
Creighton has made five or more three-pointers in 81 straight games, the nation's second-longest active streak.
CU's streak of 65 consecutive games with six or more three-pointers was snapped on Thanksgiving Day vs. Oregon when the Jays made five three-pointers.
Longest Active Streaks of 5+ 3FG Made (12/14)
Rk. Streak School Next Game
1. 107 North Florida 12/18
2. 81 Creighton 12/17
3. 80 BYU 12/16
4. 77 Wofford 12/15
Seeking the Pefect Blend
Creighton's roster includes nine newcomers and seven returners. CU has yet to play a single possession with five returners on the floor at the same time.
# of Newcomers CU Pts.-Opp Pts. % of Pts. by CU
0 Newcomers on Floor Hasn't Happened n/a
1 Newcomer on Floor 45-37 .549
2 Newcomers on Floor 135-154 .467
3 Newcomers on Floor 237-231 .506
4 Newcomers on Floor 320-295 .520
5 Newcomers on Floor 9-9 .500
Newcomers Lead The Way
For the season, 502 of Creighton's 746 points have been scored by newcomers, an astounding 67.3 percent. This shouldn't be too much of a shock though, as only 28.0 percent of last year's points returned.
By comparison, newcomers on last year's team were responsible for only 36.6 percent of the points.
McChesney Perserveres
Liam McChesney capped Creighton's 96-76 win with a tip-dunk in the final 30 seconds.
It was McChesney's first field goal in a game since scoring at Arch Madness on March 2, 2023 when he played for Illinois State, a span of 1,007 days.
Hudson Strong
Hudson Greer made 7-of-8 shots and scored 16 points in the Nov. 24 game vs. Baylor, an impressive showing for the true freshman who had his redshirt lifted just a few days earlier.
Greer became the first Bluejay freshman with 16 points or more in one of his first two games since Khyri Thomas scored 18 points in his collegiate debut vs. Texas Southern on Nov. 14, 2015.
McDermott's Coaching Tree
Greg McDermott's coaching tree includes 11 men who are currently a head coach at the Division I level, including three men at Power 5 schools.
Here's a list:
Darian DeVries - Indiana
Eric Henderson - Drake
Ben Jacobson - Northern Iowa
Steve Lutz - Oklahoma State
Ryan Miller - Murray State
TJ Otzelberger - Iowa State
Bryan Petersen - South Dakota State
David Richman - North Dakota State
Daniyal Robinson - North Texas
Paul Sather - North Dakota
Patrick Sellers - Central Connecticut State
If At First You Don't Succeed
Creighton scored 29 second-chance points in its season-opening win over South Dakota, 12 more than any other game last season. The last time CU had scored 29 or more second-chance points was the 2023-24 season-opener against Florida A&M.
This year's Creighton team is averaging 11.90 second chance points per game.
Since 2003-04, Creighton's highest second-chance points average has been 11.31 points per game in 2011-12, and its top average since joining the BIG EAST was 10.43 second chance points per game in 2013-14.
CU currently ranks 129th nationally in offensive rebound percentage (.329). Per KenPom.com, the last time Creighton's finished in the top 100 was way back in 1998-99 when it was 34th at .397. CU has been 278th, 274th, 280th, 165th, 258th and 295th nationally the previous six seasons.
Deep Thoughts
Greg McDermott talked in the off-season about how this year's squad figured to be the deepest team he's ever had at Creighton, and the early results have proven him right.
Creighton's bench has outscored foes 259-231 this season. That +28 figure would be CU's best year-end mark since 2018-19.
Creighton's bench has accounted for 34.72 percent of CU's scoring, and 25.90 points per game. That's the most bench points per game since the 2014-15 club averaged 27.21 points per game. CU's best figure in the last 20 seasons came in 2007-08, when the Jays averaged 36.91 bench points per game and actually outscored the starting line-up (34.61 ppg.).
Creighton entered this season with 48 straight wins when scoring 17 or more bench points, but are just 4-4 this year when scoring 18 points or more off the bench.
Postseason Success
Creighton has won at least one NCAA Tournament game in 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025. That makes CU one of four teams in the country to have a win in each of the last five NCAA Tournaments, joining Baylor, Gonzaga and Houston.
Nebraska, on the other hand, has never won an NCAA Tournament contest in men's basketball.
This is the first time that Creighton Basketball has won an NCAA Tournament game in five straight years. The only other CU program in any sport to win an NCAA Tournament game in five straight seasons is Creighton Volleyball (2015-19).
Even though a certain NCAA bid was wiped away in 2020 by COVID-19, Creighton has still appeared in each of the last five NCAA Tournaments (2021-25).
The only previous time that Creighton has appeared in five straight NCAA Tournaments was from 1999-2003.
Creighton is one of 13 teams to have appeared in each of the last five NCAA Tournaments (2021-25). That list consists of Alabama, Baylor, Connecticut, Creighton, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas, Illinois, Michigan State, Purdue, San Diego State, Tennessee and Texas.
Ain't Too Proud To Brag
Creighton has won 20 or more games in each of the past 10 seasons, tied for the nation's fourth-longest active streak. Kansas leads the way with 36, followed by Gonzaga (28) and Belmont (15). The others with 10 (like Creighton) include Oregon and Houston.
Creighton has won 22 games or more in six straight seasons. Only Gonzaga (28) and Houston (8) have longer streaks.
Creighton is one of two schools to have men's and women's basketball programs to both own 22 wins or more each of the previous four seasons, a list that includes Creighton and UConn.
Creighton is one of two teams in the nation with 25 or more wins in both men's basketball and women's basketball each of the previous two seasons. That list consists of Creighton and Gonzaga.
Most Consecutive 20-Win Seasons
Team Consec. 20-Win Seasons (entering 2025-26)
Kansas 36
Gonzaga 28
Belmont 15
Oregon 15
Creighton 10
Houston 10
Most Consecutive 22-Win Seasons
Team Consec. 22-Win Yrs. (entering 2025-26)
Gonzaga 28
Houston 8
Creighton 6
25 of 27 Seasons With 20 Wins
Creighton has won 20 or more games in 25 of the previous 27 seasons, a feat that puts the Jays among an exclusive group, nationally.
Entering 2025-26, just two schools have had 20 or more wins each of the previous 27 years: Gonzaga and Kansas. Duke has done it 26 times, Creighton and Kentucky 25 times each.
Most 20-Win Seasons, Previous 27 Seasons
Team 20-Win Seasons (Entering 2025-26)
Gonzaga 27
Kansas 27
Duke 26
Creighton 25
Kentucky 25
Arizona 23
Florida 23
Michigan State 23
BYU 22
Memphis 22
North Carolina 22
Ohio State 22
Wisconsin 22
Two Dozen, Cousin
Creighton is one of 15 schools to have won 24 games or more in 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024- 25. That group consists of Alabama, Arizona, Charleston, Connecticut, Creighton, Drake, Duke, Gonzaga, Grand Canyon, Houston, Purdue, Saint Mary's, Tennessee, Utah State and VCU.
Sweetness!
Creighton is one of just nine teams to have reached at least three of the last five Sweet 16s.
Houston has done it each of the previous five seasons, while Alabama, Arkansas and Gonzaga have done it four times each.
Doing it three times in the previous five seasons are Duke, Michigan, Purdue, Tennessee, UCLA and Creighton.
Most Sweet 16's, Previous Five Seasons
# Team Years
5 Houston 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
4 Alabama 2021 - 2023 2024 2025
4 Arkansas 2021 2022 2023 - 2025
4 Gonzaga 2021 2022 2023 2024 -
3 Creighton 2021 - 2023 2024 -
3 UCLA 2021 2022 2023 - -
3 Duke - 2022 - 2024 2025
3 Michigan 2021 2022 - - 2025
3 Purdue - 2022 - 2024 2025
3 Tennessee - - 2023 2024 2025
Coaching Consistency Is Key
Between women's basketball coach Jim Flanery (457) and men's basketball coach Greg McDermott (355), Creighton is the nation's only school with a pair of active head coaches with at least 350 victories at their current school.
Flanery (hired in 2002) and McDermott (2010) also make Creighton one of three schools to have the same men's and women's basketball head coaches each of the last 15 seasons, joining Boise State (Leon Rice and Gordy Presnell) and Northern Iowa (Ben Jacobsen and Tanya Warren).
Jacobsen played on teams McDermott assisted at North Dakota from 1989-93 and later replaced McDermott as head coach at UNI In 2006, while Warren was a former Creighton player and assistant and is one of two women in program history to have her number retired.
Stability is Key
One reason for Creighton's extended run of success has been the continuity within its coaching staff. The Bluejays have had just two head coaches in the last 32 years, Dana Altman (1994-2010) and Greg McDermott (2010-Present).
Here's a list of major conference schools to have a coach with 300 wins at that school, and their predecessor also had 300 wins at the school:
School Former Coach Current Coach
Creighton Dana Altman Greg McDermott
Kansas Roy Williams Bill Self
Michigan State Jud Heathcote Tom Izzo
Purdue Gene Keady Matt Painter
Long Run
Greg McDermott is in his 16th season on the Creighton sideline in 2025-26. That's tied for the 15th-longest active run of any men's coach with his current team.
Most Consecutive Years as Head Coach, Current Team
Years Name School
1995-Pr. Tom Izzo Michigan State
1998-Pr. Greg Kampe Oakland
1999-Pr. Mark Few Gonzaga
1999-Pr. James Jones Yale
2001-Pr. Randy Bennett Saint Mary's
2002-Pr. Bill Self Kansas
2003-Pr. Scott Drew Baylor
2005-Pr. Matt Painter Purdue
2006-Pr. Ben Jacobsen Northern Iowa
2006-Pr. Bill Coen Northeastern
2007-Pr. Mark Schmidt St. Bonaventure
2007-Pr. Brent Reed Lehigh
2007-Pr. Tommy Amaker Harvard
2009-Pr. LaVelle Moton North Carolina Central
2010-Pr. Greg McDermott Creighton
2010-Pr. Andy O'Toole Robert Morris
2010-Pr. Tad Boyle Colorado
2010-Pr. Leon Rice Boise State
2010-Pr. Dana Altman Oregon
2010-Pr. Russell Turner UC Irvine
2010-Pr. Brad Brownell Clemson
The McDermott Era
Greg McDermott owns 355 wins at Creighton since his arrival in 2010-11. It's the eighth-most of programs that have had the same coach the entire time.
Schools With Most Wins Since 2010-11, Only 1 Coach
(Through games of Dec. 15)
Rk. Wins School Coach Next
1. 462 Gonzaga Mark Few 12/17
2. 434 Kansas Bill Self 12/16
3. 393 Saint Mary's Randy Bennett 12/19
4. 383 Michigan State Tom Izzo 12/16
5. 375 Oregon Dana Altman 12/17
6. 369 Purdue Matt Painter 12/20
7. 364 Baylor Scott Drew 12/19
8. 355 Creighton Greg McDermott 12/17
National Ranks In The McDermott Era
Below is where Creighton ranks nationally since the start of the 2010-11 season among teams to have played 150 or more Division I games, per Basketball-Reference.com.
2010-11 to Dec. 13, 2025
Category CU Stat CU Rank
3FG Made 4,758 2nd
2FG Percentage .552 3rd
FG Percentage .476 4th
Assists 8,524 5th
3FG Percentage .371 6th
FG Made 14,485 8th
Points 40,558 9th
Wins 355 24th
Winning Percentage .669 32nd
Among The Best
CBS Sports conducted a pair of surveys during the summer that highlight Greg McDermott as one of the best in the country at what he does.
Who is the best X's and O's coach in college basketball right now? (Asked to roughly 100 coaches)
1. Matt Painter (Purdue): 19%
2. Dan Hurley (UConn): 18%
3. Greg McDermott (Creighton): 16%
4. Kelvin Sampson (Houston): 7%
5. Ben McCollum (Iowa): 5%
6. Randy Bennett (Saint Mary's): 4%
Tom Izzo (Michigan State): 4%
Dusty May Michigan): 4%
Bill Self (Kansas): 4%
10. Rick Barnes (Tennessee): 2%
Chris Collins (Northwestern): 2%
Grant McCasland (Texas Tech): 2%
Nate Oats (Alabama): 2%
Rick Pitino (St. John's): 2%
Mark Schmidt (St. Bonaventure): 2%
Others: 7%
Who are the best college basketball coaches? (Asked to 6 CBB writers)
1. Dan Hurley, Connecticut
2. Kelvin Sampson, Houston
3. Rick Pitino, St. John's
4. Bill Self, Kansas
5. Matt Painter, Purdue
6. Nate Oats, Alabama
7. Todd Golden, Florida
8. Tom Izzo, Michigan State
9. Mark Few, Gonzaga
10. Scott Drew, Baylor
11. Jon Scheyer, Duke
12. Dusty May, Michigan
13. Rick Barnes, Tennessee
14. John Calipari, Arkansas
15. Tommy Lloyd, Arizona
16. Mark Pope, Kentucky
17. Greg McDermott, Creighton
18. Grant McCasland, Texas Tech
19. Brad Underwood, Illinois
20. Pat Kelsey, Louisville
21. TJ Otzelberger, Iowa State
22. Chris Beard, Ole Miss
23. Mick Cronin, UCLA
24. Randy Bennett, Saint Mary's
25. Shaka Smart, Marquette
And 1. Ben McCollum, Iowa
Release, Rotation, Splash, Repeat
Creighton has made at least one three-pointer in 1,066 straight games. That ranks as the nation's 10th-longest active streak.
Creighton's last game without a three-pointer came at Illinois State on Feb. 20, 1993, when the Jays were 0-for-5. Creighton's last win without making a three-point basket came on March 3, 1991 when the Jays went 0-for-2 from three-point range in a 71-66 win over Southern Illinois in the championship game of the MVC Tournament.
Below is a list of the nation's longest active three-point streaks.
Longest Active 3-Point Streaks (12/15)
Rk. Streak School Next Game
1. 1,274 Duke 12/16
2. 1,270 UNLV 12/20
3. 1,202 East Tennessee State 12/16
4. 1,178 Oakland 12/17
5. 1,173 Texas 12/16
6. 1,172 Pacific 12/16
7. 1,110 Marshall 12/20
8. 1,105 Gonzaga 12/17
9. 1,093 Princeton 12/22
10. 1,066 Creighton 12/17
11. 1,057 Long Island 12/16
12. 1,052 Mount St. Mary's 12/19
Nifty Fifty Leads To Postseason?
Not counting 2019-20, when there was no postseason, Creighton has made the postseason each of the 12 most recent times in which it has made at least 50 percent of its field goal attempts to open the year.
Ten of those postseason trips were NCAA Tournament berths. The last time that didn't hold true was 1991-92, when CU shot 51.0 percent in the opener but finished just 9-19.
Creighton has shot 50 percent or better in 10 of its last 14 season-openers, including 50 percent (37-for-74) on Wednesday vs. South Dakota.
CU Season-Opener Field Goal Percentage 50+%
Since 1993-94
FG% Year Opponent Postseason
.541 1997-98 UMKC NIT
.524 1998-99 Towson State NCAA
.569 2000-01 Western Illinois NCAA
.594 2002-03 UT Arlington NCAA
.500 2012-13 North Texas NCAA
.556 2013-14 Alcorn State NCAA
.528 2015-16 Texas Southern NIT
.508 2016-17 UMKC NCAA
.558 2017-18 Yale NCAA
.524 2019-20 Kennesaw St. Postseason Ccd.
.585 2021-22 Ark.-Pine Bluff NCAA
.567 2023-24 Florida A&M NCAA
.600 2024-25 UTRGV NCAA
.500 2025-26 South Dakota ? ? ?
The Push For 90
Of Creighton's 26 all-time NCAA Tournament teams, 13 have scored 90 or more points in their season-opener.
Put another way...of CU's 20 teams (before 2025-26) to score 90 points in an opener, 13 would reach the NCAA Tournament.
Here's a look at Creighton's 12 most recent teams (before 2025-26) to score 90 or more points in a season-opener:
Final Post-
Score Opponent Date W-L Season
93-47 UT-San Antonio 11/30/90 24-8 NCAA
93-48 Towson State 11/14/98 22-9 NCAA
96-50 Western Illinois 11/20/00 24-8 NCAA
106-50 Texas-Arlington 11/17/02 29-5 NCAA
97-65 North Carolina A&T 11/11/11 29-6 NCAA
107-61 Alcorn State 11/08/13 27-8 NCAA
104-77 Central Arkansas 11/14/14 14-19 --
93-70 Texas Southern 11/14/15 20-15 NIT
92-76 Yale 11/10/17 21-12 NCAA
90-77 Arkansas-Pine Bluff 11/09/21 23-12 NCAA
105-54 Florida A&M 11/07/23 25-10 NCAA
99-86 UTRGV 11/06/24 25-11 NCAA
92-76 South Dakota 11/05/25 ? ? ? ? ? ?
NBA Jays
There are five former Creighton players in the NBA this season.
Former Creighton All-American Doug McDermott is with the Sacramento Kings as he begins his 12th year in the NBA. He was a Lottery pick in 2014 by the Denver Nuggets.
Baylor Scheierman is in his second year with the Boston Celtics after being a First Round pick in 2024.
Trey Alexander, who was named 2024-25 G-League Rookie of the Year in the Denver Nuggets organization, is now on a two-way contract with the New Orleans Pelicans.
There is palpable buzz around Ryan Kalkbrenner, a Second Round pick of the Charlotte Hornets, in his rookie campaign.
Lastly, former Creighton point guard Ryan Nembhard is on a two-way contract with the Dallas Mavericks. Nembhard played two years at Creighton before finishing his career at Gonzaga.
These men give Creighton at least one NBA player for the 42nd time in the last 43 seasons.
Other famous Bluejays to play in the NBA in the past include Paul Silas, Kyle Korver, Benoit Benjamin and Anthony Tolliver.
Who's Back?
With Creighton returning only seven of the 15 men who appeared in a game last season -- including its top three scorers -- much of the production is gone.
Below is a breakdown of what is back:
Stat Returners Departures
3FG Made 135 (39.2%) 209 (60.8%)
Minutes 2661 (36.7%) 4589 (63.3%)
Rebounds 426 (34.4%) 811 (65.6%)
Starts 61 (33.9%) 119 (66.1%)
Steals 43 (33.1%) 87 (66.9%)
Points 761 (28.0%) 1956 (72.0%)
Assists 112 (18.2%) 503 (81.8%)
Blocks 28 (17.4%) 133 (82.6%)
Charges Taken 2 (16.7%) 10 (83.3%)
McChesney On The Mend
Liam McChesney is a rare seventh-year junior who saw his first regular-season action in 979 days on Nov. 5 against South Dakota. He played just over four minutes, collecting a rebound and a blocked shot but missing both field goal attempts.
McChesney began his career in 2019-20 when he redshirted at Utah State. He played in three games at Utah State in 2020-21 before suffering a season-ending broken ankle.
The Prince Rupert, Canada native then transferred to Illinois State, where he played in 60 games and made 27 starts for the Redbirds in two seasons from 2021-23.
McChesney transferred to High Point to play for then-Panther head coach Alan Huss (now Creighton's associate head coach and head coach in waiting), but was sidelined after a preseason medical evaluation revealed an issue with one of his heart valves, which led to heart surgery that has caused him to miss the past two seasons as his weight dropped 208 to 172 pounds.
McChesney transferred to Creighton this summer and continues his comeback.
Preseason Top 25
The Creighton men's basketball team was ranked 23rd in the Associated Press Preseason Top 25 poll, the fourth straight season the Bluejays have been ranked among the nation's best in the preseason.
This year's announcement marks the eighth time in program history the writers have voted CU to the Top 25 in the preseason, joining 2006-07 (No. 19), 2012-13 (No. 16) and 2016-17 (No. 22), 2020-21 (No. 11), 2022-23 (No. 9), 2023-24 (No. 8) and 2024-25 (No. 15). All seven of those teams would end up in the NCAA Tournament, with three of the four most recent squads making the Sweet 16.
Creighton's best ranking in program history is seventh, done five times (Jan. 16, 2017, March 10, 2020, March 18, 2020, Jan. 7, 2021 and Nov. 28, 2022).
Including this year's preseason ranking, Creighton has now been ranked 148 times in program history, with 120 of those under the direction of Greg McDermott. Creighton is 180-78 all-time as a ranked team, including a 146-66 mark under McDermott. Creighton has now been ranked at least one week in 12 of McDermott's 16 seasons on The Hilltop after doing it just five different seasons in program history before his 2010 arrival.
Creighton has been one of 11 schools ranked in the Top 25 of the Preseason AP poll each of the last four years, joining Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Duke, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina and Tennessee.
Creighton was one of three BIG EAST Conference schools in the poll, joining No. 4 Connecticut and No. 5 St. John's.
Among Creighton's non-conference opponents in the poll are preseason No. 21 Gonzaga and preseason No. 16 Iowa State.
Creighton was also ranked 23rd in the preseason USA Today Coaches poll.
Let's Go On A Run
Creighton unleashed a 23-0 run on Iowa State during its exhibition meeting, turning an early 8-4 deficit into a 27-8 lead over a span of just under seven minutes (6:57).
Dating back to the start of the 2021-22 season, it was Creighton's largest run in any game, including exhibitions. Below is that list.
Longest Creighton Runs Since 2021-22
Run Opponent (Score change) Date
23-0* #16 Iowa State (4-8 to 27-8) 10/17/25
21-0* Upper Iowa (32-29 to 53-29) 10//30/21
20-0 Texas Southern (61-44 to 81-44) 11/18/23
19-0 vs. #11 Providence (37-27 to 56-27) 03/11/22
19-0 Georgetown (0-0 to 19-0) 03/01/23
18-0 Houston Christian (19-9 to 37-9) 11/13/24
*exhibition game
Who Are These Guys?
Creighton returns 61 starts from last year's team (31 by Jackson McAndrew, 25 by Jasen Green, 4 by Isaac Traudt, 1 by Ty Davis), its fewest since the 2021-22 team returned just two starts.
Returning Returning Starts Final
Year Starters From Previous Year W-L
2025-26 2 61 ? ? ?
2024-25 3 105 25-11
2023-24 3 111 25-10
2022-23 3 104 24-13
2021-22 0 2 23-12
2020-21 5 124 22-9
2019-20 4 136 24-7
2018-19 2 57 20-15
2017-18 2 72 21-12
2016-17 4 130 25-10
2015-16 1 64 20-15
2014-15 1 49 14-19
2013-14 4 144 27-8
2012-13 4 140 28-8
2011-12 3 101 29-6
2010-11 4 123 23-16
2009-10 3 106 18-16
2008-09 3 83 27-8
2007-08 1 44 22-11
2006-07 4 120 22-11
2005-06 4 134 20-10
2004-05 2 58 23-11
2003-04 3 101 20-9
2002-03 5 159 29-5
2001-02 2 65 23-9
2000-01 3 90 24-8
1999-00 3 84 23-10
1998-99 3 84 22-9
1997-98 4 72 18-10
1996-97 4 126 15-15
1995-96 4 100 14-15
1994-95 2 52 7-19
1993-94 3 73 7-22
1992-93 2 64 8-18
1991-92 2 51 9-19
1990-91 4 132 24-8
1989-90 4 127 21-12
1988-89 4 123 20-11
1987-88 3 83 16-16
1986-87 2 65 9-19
1985-86 1 48 12-16
1984-85 4 124 20-12
1983-84 3 72 17-14
1982-83 3 77 8-19
1981-82 2 78 7-20
1980-81 4 112 21-9
Big Deficits, No Big Deal
Creighton owns 30 victories since the start of the 2010-11 season after trailing by double-figures at some point.
Fourteen of those 30 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
17 vs. DePaul 03/13/25
16 at Evansville 02/16/13
16 at Seton Hall 01/27/21
16 SIU Edwardsville 11/27/21
15 Arkansas-Pine Bluff 11/09/21
14 Evansville 02/21/12
14 vs. San Diego State 03/17/22
13 at Saint Joseph's 11/16/13
13 Xavier 01/12/14
13 #22 Xavier 12/23/20
12 Saint Joseph's 12/11/10
12 at DePaul 01/17/16
12 East Tennessee State 11/11/18
11 at Wichita State 12/31/11
11 Northern Iowa 01/10/12
11 vs. Alabama 03/16/12
11 vs. Ole Miss 11/21/16
11 vs. Connecticut 03/12/21
11 DePaul 01/22/22
11 St. John's 12/31/24
10 UAB 11/14/12
10 vs. Drake 03/02/12
10 at Nebraska 12/07/14
10 South Dakota 12/09/14
10 St. John's 01/03/18
10 at DePaul 02/07/18
10 Bemidji State 02/13/18
10 Georgetown 02/23/25
Triple Trouble
During Creighton's current streak of 1,066 straight games with a three-pointer, the Jays have drained 8,600 trifectas, an average of 8.07 treys per game.
Only five times in the streak has Creighton made just one three-pointer, but on 328 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 107-30 when making eight or more three-pointers, compared to a 38-36 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: 105 times 6: 113 times
7: 154 times 8: 135 times 9: 96 times
10: 91 times 11: 67 times 12: 65 times
13: 50 times 14: 26 times 15: 9 times
16: 9 times 17: 5 times 18: 1 time
19: 2 times 20: 1 time 21: 1 time 22: 1 time
McDermott Is Wins Leader
Greg McDermott has 355 victories at Creighton, passing his predecessor Dana Altman (327) for the most in program history in CU's Nov. 13, 2024 win vs. Houston Christian.
McDermott broke a different record on Jan. 21, 2025 at DePaul when he coached his 504th game on the Bluejay sideline, breaking the mark of 503 held by Altman.
McDermott's .669 winning percentage is Creighton's best since Arthur A. Schabinger's .714 win rate from 90 years ago.
Most Coaching Wins, Creighton MBB History
Rk. W-L Name Years
1. 355-176 Greg McDermott 2010-Pres.
2. 327-176 Dana Altman 1994-2010
3. 165-66 Arthur A. Schabinger 1922-1935
4. 138-118 John J. "Red" McManus 1959-1969
5. 130-64 Tom Apke 1974-1981
CHI Health Center Omaha Dramatics
Creighton is 8-8 in contests with a game-winning go-ahead score in the final 10 seconds at CHI Health Center Omaha, which opened in 2003.
The last time such a game happened was in 2020 when Creighton's Marcus Zegarowski hit a shot with 3.2 seconds left to beat Providence.
Creighton's Go-Ahead Scores in Wins at
CHI Health Center Omaha, Last 10 Seconds
Date Opponent Score Player/Score Time
11/26/05 Dayton W 91-90* Funk FG :5.7
01/28/06 Wichita St. W 57-55 Tolliver FG :0.0
11/25/06 George Mason W 58-56 Watts FT :7.5
03/18/08 Rhode Island W 74-73 Witter 3FG :3.2
01/13/10 Southern Illinois W 71-69 Young FG :1.3
02/18/12 Long Beach St. W 81-79 Young FG :0.3
01/28/14 St. John's W 63-60 McDermott 3FG :2.8
01/18/20 Providence W 78-74 Zegarowski 3FG :3.2
*double-overtime
Opponent Go-Ahead Scores in CU Losses at
CHI Health Center Omaha, Last 10 Seconds
Date Opponent Score Player/Score Time
03/20/06 Miami (Fla.) L 53-52 G. Diaz FT :2.6
01/20/07 Southern Illinois L 58-57 B. Mullins FG :4.1
01/10/15 #19 Seton Hall L 68-67 S. Gibbs 3FG :2.2
02/16/15 #19 Butler L 58-56 R. Jones FG :1.9
03/07/15 Xavier L 74-73 D. Davis FT's :6.3
01/12/16 #12 Providence L 50-48 K. Dunn FG :0.0
02/22/17 Providence L 68-66 K. Cartwright 3FG :2.4
02/10/18 #5 Xavier L 71-72 Q. Goodin FT's :0.3
Top-20 Crowds
Here's a look at Creighton's top-20 home crowds all-time.
Rank Att. Opponent Date
1. 18,868 Providence 03/08/14
2. 18,859 Georgetown 01/25/14
3. 18,831 #1 Villanova 12/31/16
4. 18,797 #6 Villanova 02/16/14
5. 18,759 #1 Gonzaga 12/01/18
6. 18,742 Seton Hall 02/23/14
7. 18,735 Wichita State 02/11/12
8. 18,613 Wichita State 03/02/13
9. 18,571 DePaul 01/22/24
10. 18,525 Marquette 12/31/13
11. 18,519 #8 Seton Hall 03/07/20
12. 18,518 Georgetown 01/27/18
13. 18,509 Villanova 02/04/23
14. 18,495 Marquette 02/17/18
15. 18,494 Illinois State 02/09/13
16. 18,475 Nebraska 11/22/24
17. 18,458 Evansville 12/29/12
18. 18,436 Bradley 01/28/12
19. 18,430 Seton Hall 01/25/25
20. 18,323 DePaul 02/07/14
CHI Health Center Omaha Success
Creighton has played 376 regular and postseason contests at CHI Health Center Omaha all-time in the now 23-year-old facility.
The Bluejays own a 311-65 (.827) record all-time at the facility.
Creighton's Nov. 25, 2017 win over SIU Edwardsville was the program's 200th at the facility, coming in its 242nd home game. CU's 100th win came on Nov. 17, 2010, a 63-58 win over Louisiana.
Creighton has outscored its opponents 29,576-24,692 in games at CHI Health Center Omaha, an average margin of 12.99 points per game. Creighton has not trailed 94 different times, including once this year (Maryland Eastern Shore).
Incredibly, Creighton hasn't trailed in its home opener in 10 of the past 25 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 34-38 all-time in the 72 games at the arena in which it's fallen behind by double-figures at any point, 8-13 when down by 10+ points at halftime in the facility, and 42-31 when trailing at halftime at CHI Health Center Omaha.
Creighton is 214-47 (.820) at CHI Health Center Omaha under Greg McDermott and hasn't trailed in 67 of those games. In that same span, CU owns a 111-11 home record (.910) 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 329-65 (.835) at home since the start of the 2002-03 campaign.
Home Run
Under Greg McDermott Creighton is averaging 80.78 points per home game (21,083 points in 261 home games), a figure that climbs to 84.25 points in non-conference home games (10,279 points in 122 home games).
Creighton is 158-7 all-time at CHI Health Center Omaha when scoring 80 or points.
Perfect 10
Greg McDermott has guided his team to the NCAA Tournament 10 times at Creighton. That put him in the company of some of the greatest coaches in CU Athletics history, and most among basketball coaches.
McDermott is one of three head coaches in Creighton history to lead 10 or more NCAA Tournament teams.
Name Sport NCAA's @CU
Kirsten Bernthal Booth Volleyball 14
Bob Warming Men's Soccer 11
Greg McDermott Men's Basketball 10
Jim Flanery Women's Basketball 8
Dana Altman Men's Basketball 7
Brent Vigness Softball 7
Firing On All Cylinders
Creighton finished the 2024-25 season ranked 35th overall by KenPom.com. That included the nation's No. 33 offense, and No. 44 defense.
Creighton has finished with a top-25 offense per KenPom eight times and a top-25 defense three times in 15 completed seasons under Greg McDermott.
Year Off. Rating Def. Rating Overall Rank
2010-11 66 174 98
2011-12 5 166 28
2012-13 5 66 15
2013-14 2 124 17
2014-15 59 138 79
2015-16 43 76 40
2016-17 32 46 28
2017-18 25 58 30
2018-19 47 83 55
2019-20 3 78 12
2020-21 25 32 22
2021-22 112 19 50
2022-23 23 14 12
2023-24 9 24 11
2024-25 33 44 35
2025-26 (12/14) 69 87 73
Ticket Information
Single-game tickets for the 2025-26 season went on sale on October 16th.
Fans can purchase single-game tickets at CHI Health Center Omaha Box Office, Ryan Athletic Center, by calling Ticketmaster or visiting Ticketmaster.com, and charging by phone at (800) 745-3000.
For more information, call the Creighton Ticket Office at (402) 280-JAYS.
Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025 • 5:30 p.m. CT • Cincinnati, Ohio • Cintas Center
| LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES | XU NOTES |
Next Game
Creighton (5-5, 0-0 BIG EAST) opens its 13th season in the BIG EAST on Wednesday, Dec. 17 when it takes on Xavier (8-3, 0-0 BIG EAST).
Tip-off inside Cintas Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, is set for 5:30 p.m. Central.
Broadcast Information
Wednesday's game will air on FS1, and streamed at https://FoxSports.com/live. Jeff Levering and LaPhonso Ellis will announce the game.
Radio Broadcast Information
KOZN (1620 AM) and KOOO (101.9 FM) will carry all Creighton men's basketball games during the 2025-26 season.
John Bishop will call the action. The audio is webcast live at www.1620thezone.com.
The game can also be heard on SiriusXM 383 as well as https://sxm.app.link/SXM973.
Live Stats Information
All of Creighton's games this season will have free live stats at http://Creighton.StatBroadcast.com.
Scouting Creighton
Creighton is 5-5 on the young season, and just 1-4 in games away from home. The Bluejays own victories over South Dakota, Maryland Eastern Shore, North Dakota, Oregon and Nicholls. Three of the five losses have come against teams who are currently ranked.
Five of the top six scorers are newcomers, led by Josh Dix (12.3 ppg.), Blake Harper (9.2 ppg., 5.3 rpg.) and Nik Graves (8.9 ppg., 3.2 apg.)
Creighton's most productive returner, Jackson McAndrew (6.8 ppg., 4.5 rpg.), as well as key subs Hudson Greer (8.0 ppg., 4.3 rpg.) and Josh Townley-Thomas (6.0 ppg.), have combined to play just nine games due to injuries.
Creighton is averaging 74.6 points per game and shooting 44.2 percent from the field, 32.5 percent from three-point range and 74.2 percent at the line.
Scouting Xavier
Xavier is 8-3 this season under new head coach Richard Pitino, including a 7-1 home mark. The Musketeers started 2-2 but have won five straight, including a 79-74 win over CIncinnati on Dec. 5th to retain bragging rights in the Queen City.
Tre Carroll (16.9 ppg., 5.7 rpg.) leads the Musketeers in scoring, just ahead of Jovan Milicevic (12.9 ppg,. 4.2 rpg.), Roddie Anderson III (12.6 ppg.) and All Wright (10.7 ppg.).
Filip Borovicanin leads the Muskies with 7.4 rebounds per game while Malik Messina-Moore averages a team-best 4.2 assists per game.
Xavier averages 78.4 points per game and allows 71.5 per contest. The Musketeers shoot 42.6 percent from the field, 37.1 percent from three-point range and 67.6 percent at the line while being outrebounded by 1.4 caroms per contest.
The Series With Xavier
Xavier owns a 23-20 lead in the series with Creighton, including a 13-8 edge in Cincinnati. Twenty-five of the 43 all-time meetings have been within five points in the final minute, including 11 of the last 22 games.
Greg McDermott is 14-14 against Xavier, but never faced Richard Pitino. Pitino has never faced Creighton.
The Creighton Coaches
Greg McDermott (Northern Iowa, 1988) owns a 355-176 record in his 16th season with the Bluejays. He owns a career mark of 635-371 in his 32nd season, and is 504-307 in 25 Division I campaigns.
McDermott led Creighton to its first BIG EAST regular-season title in 2019-20, taking a Bluejay team that was picked seventh in the league's preseason poll and ending the year ranked seventh nationally. The Cascade, Iowa native has coached Creighton to a share of its first regular-season BIG EAST title in 2019-20 its first Sweet 16 since 1974 in 2020-21 and its first Elite Eight since 1941 in 2022-23.
McDermott has previously been a head coach at Iowa State (2006-10), Northern Iowa (2001-06), North Dakota State (2000-01) and Wayne State (1994-2000).
He is assisted by Alan Huss, Derek Kellogg, Trey Zeigler, Mitch Ballock and Mike Nesbitt.
With A Win...
- Creighton would improve to 7-6 in BIG EAST openers all-time.
- Creighton would improve to 9-7 under Greg McDermott in its first conference game of the season, winning its first league opener since the 2021-22 team beat Villanova.
- Creighton would win its first BIG EAST opener that was also a road game since 2018-19 (Providence).
- Snap a two-game losing streak.
Milestone Watch
- Jasen Green owns 296 career points, just four short of 300.
- Nik Graves owns 99 made three-pointers.
- Liam McChesney is six rebounds short of 200 for his career.
- Josh Dix has 949 career points, just 51 shy of 1,000.
Conference Openers Have Gone Well
Creighton owns a 17-10 record in its last 27 conference openers, but has never opened league play against Xavier.
Greg McDermott enters Wednesday 12-12 all-time in conference openers as a Division I head coach, including an 8-7 mark at Creighton (6-6 in the BIG EAST).
Yearly League Openers Under Greg McDermott
Year Won (Final W-L) Lost (Final W-L)
2010-11 Illinois St. (10-8)
2011-12 Missouri St. (14-4)
2012-13 Evansville (13-5)
2013-14 Marquette (14-4)
2014-15 Providence (4-14)
2015-16 St. John's (9-9)
2016-17 Seton Hall (10-8)
2017-18 Seton Hall (10-8)
2018-19 Providence (9-9)
2019-20 Marquette (13-5)
2020-21 Marquette (14-6)
2021-22 Villanova (12-7)
2022-23 Marquette (14-6)
2023-24 Villanova (14-6)
2024-25 Georgetown (15-5)
Creighton &, Xavier To The Wire
Since both teams officially joined the BIG EAST in the summer of 2013, 18 of the 28 meetings (including BIG EAST Tournament contests) between Creighton and Xavier have been decided by eight points or less, with two games going to overtime.
Twenty-five of the 43 all-time meetings have been within five points in the final minute, including 11 of the last 22 games.
Creighton is 0-2 this season in games decided by eight points or less. Xavier is 3-1 in such games.
Finding A Way
Since the start of the 2020-21 season, Xavier (20) and Creighton (19) lead the BIG EAST in victories by three points or fewer. Marquette also has 19, while no one else owns more than 14.
Making An Entrance
Josh Dix, Blake Harper, Nik Graves, Owen Freeman, Hudson Greer, Kerem Konan, Liam McChesney and Aleksa Dimitrijevic could each play in their first career BIG EAST game on Wednesday.
Below is a listing of the only 21 men in league history to debut in the BIG EAST with a game of 25 or more points.
The most points by a Bluejay in their BIG EAST debut is 19 by Doug McDermott vs. Marquette on Dec. 31, 2013, then matched by Ryan Hawkins vs. Villanova on Dec. 17, 2021.
MOST POINTS - FIRST BIG EAST GAME
41 Steve Novak, Marquette vs. UConn, 1-3-06
40 James Bouknight, UConn vs. Creighton, 12-20-20
32 Moe Harkless, St. John's vs. Providence, 12-27-11
32 Jason Edwards, Providence at Butler, 12-13-25
30 Troy Murphy, Notre Dame vs. Providence, 12-8-98
Allen Iverson, Georgetown vs. Providence, 12-7-94
29 Caron Butler, Connecticut vs. Boston College, 1-3-01
Khalid El-Amin, Connecticut vs. WVU, 12-3-97
Tim Thomas, Villanova vs. Providence, 12-4-96
28 Troy Bell, Boston College vs. Providence, 1-8-00
Jeremy Hazell, Seton Hall vs. UConn, 1-3-08
Souley Boum, Xavier vs. Georgetown, 12-16-22
Michael Ajayi, Butler vs. Providence, 12-13-25
26 Seldon Jefferson, WVU vs. Georgetown, 12-2-95
Lawrence Moten, Syracuse vs. Boston College, 1-2-92
Shamorie Ponds, St. John's vs. Butler, 12-29-16
Jaylin Sellers, Providence at Butler, 12-13-25
25 Rodney Bullock, Providence at Butler, 12-31-15
Craig Smith, Boston College vs. Providence, 1-2-03
Jerome Coleman, Rutgers vs. Syracuse, 1-2-02
Steve Rich, Miami vs. Syracuse, 12-22-93
McDermott Among The Best
Greg McDermott ranks sixth in BIG EAST history with 138 regular-season league wins. The list contains six different coaches who have won at least one national title.
McDermott, along with Ed Cooley, Rick Pitino and Kevin Willard are the only four active coaches with 100 regular-season BIG EAST wins.
McDermott has been at his current job (16 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 15 years in the BIG EAST lead all active league coaches.
Most League Wins, BIG EAST MBB Coaches
Rk. Wins Name, School
1. 366 Jim Boeheim, Syracuse
2. 274 Jim Calhoun, UConn
3. 244 Jay Wright, Villanova
4. 198 John Thompson Jr., Georgetown
5. 140 Rick Pitino, Prov./Louisville/SJU
6. 138 Greg McDermott, Creighton
7. 136 Mike Brey, Notre Dame
8. 131 John Thompson III, Georgetown
9. 129 Ed Cooley, Providence/G'Town
10. 127 Lou Carnesecca, St. John's
More Than A Number
Wednesday's match-up features a pair of teams who have traditionally excelled in their respective conferences.
Xavier entered the 2019-20 season with a streak of 37 straight seasons in which it has finished .500 or better in league play before going 8-10 in 2019-20. Despite that and a few other down years recently, Xavier has been .500 or better in conference action in 39 of the last 43 seasons.
Creighton, meanwhile, enters this season having gone .500 or better in league play 30 of the past 31 seasons.
Collecting W's
Creighton and Xavier enter Wednesday's game with a ton of similarities since the start of the 2010-11 season. Creighton owns 355 victories, which ranks tied for 24th-most nationally in that time and 19 more than Xavier's 336 wins that rank tied for 35th.
Gonzaga (461), Kansas (434) and Duke (433) lead the nation in wins during the past 16 seasons, while Villanova (381) ranks 10th and is best among current BIG EAST schools.
The 355 wins accumulated by Creighton ranks ahead of other schools with a national following such as UConn (354), UCLA (346), Louisville (336), Syracuse (331), Marquette (323), Iowa State (317) and Texas (315), among others.
Uniform Success at Cintas
Xavier has been near unbeatable at Cintas Center since its 2000 opening, going 345-65 (.841) in the facility. The Musketeers are also an impressive 167-47 (.778) all-time in conference home games at Cintas Center.
By comparison, Creighton is 311-65 (.827) overall and 154-48 (.761) in league play all-time at CHI Health Center Omaha, another place where visiting teams have had trouble winning thanks to a tremendous home-court advantage.
Creighton (5x) is one of 12 visiting teams that have beaten Xavier at Cintas Center multiple times, joining Villanova (7x), Seton Hall (5x), Marquette (5x), Butler (3x), Providence (3x), St. John's (3x), DePaul (2x), UMass (2x), Richmond (2x), Saint Louis (2x) and Saint Joseph's (2x). A win on Wednesday would make Creighton the second visiting team with at least six wins over Xavier at Cintas Center, trailing only Villanova's seven.
One of those rare Musketeer home losses came on Nov. 30, 2004, when Creighton overcame an early 33-22 deficit (including 35-26 at half) to stun the Musketeers, 73-72, on a Tyler McKinney hoop with 21.5 ticks left. At the time, it was just Xavier's third non-conference home loss ever in the building.
On Feb. 4, 2015, Creighton picked up a 79-72 overtime win at Cintas Center. The Bluejays overcame a seven-point second half deficit to force overtime, and outscored the Muskies 14-7 in the extra session to hand the X-Men their first home loss of the year.
On January 16, 2017 in Cincinnati, No. 7 Creighton earned a 72-67 victory over No. 22 Xavier thanks to a 6-0 run in the final 50 seconds. Justin Patton had a tip-in with 49.0 left to give CU the lead, and Cole Huff and Khyri Thomas made insurance free throws after defensive stops. The win improved Creighton to 18-1 for the first time, but national assist leader Maurice Watson Jr. suffered a knee injury early in the first half and would miss the rest of the season.
In 2020 Creighton won 77-65 in Cincinnati as five men scored in double-figures to help Greg McDermott earn his 500th win as a head coach.
In 2024 Creighton led by as much as 20 and posted a 78-71 win at Xavier, with Ryan Kalkbrenner (28 points, four blocks) and Baylor Scheierman (16 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists) leading the way for CU.
Among The Best
Creighton owns more BIG EAST wins (82) than any other school in the last six seasons, 11 more than Marquette and Villanova's 71.
Since the league's 2013 realignment, Villanova has 161 league wins to lead the BIG EAST by a wide margin, but Creighton's 138 league victories are second-most.
Most Men's Basketball BIG EAST Wins
(2019-20 to 2024-25)
Team W L Pct.
Creighton 82 35 .701
Villanova 71 42 .628
Marquette 71 45 .612
UConn 69 27 .719
Providence 64 50 .561
Seton Hall 59 57 .509
Xavier 59 51 .536
St. John's 59 57 .509
Butler 45 73 .381
Georgetown 24 89 .212
DePaul 18 95 .159
Most Men's Basketball BIG EAST Wins
(2013-14 to 2024-25)
Team W L Pct.
Villanova 161 60 .729
Creighton 138 87 .613
Xavier 125 93 .573
Marquette 123 101 .549
Providence 122 100 .550
Seton Hall 112 112 .500
Butler 99 127 .438
St. John's 99 125 .442
Georgetown 70 151 .317
UConn 69 27 .719
DePaul 43 178 .195
Preseason All-BIG EAST Votes Revealed
The Creighton men's basketball team was picked to finish third in the BIG EAST Conference in the annual survey of league coaches, which was unveiled as part of 2025 BIG EAST Media Day on October 21.
It marks the fourth straight year the Bluejays have been tabbed for a top-three finish and the third time CU has been picked exactly third in the BIG EAST poll, having also happened in 2013-14 as well as 2016-17.
Defending league champion St. John's garnered 7-of-11 first place votes and was chosen atop the poll with 97 points, just ahead of Connecticut. The Huskies collected four first place votes and 94 points. Creighton was third with 80 points, just ahead of Providence (64) and Marquette (60). The second half of the league poll consists of Georgetown (57), Villanova (50), Xavier (33), DePaul (29), Butler (26) and Seton Hall (15).
Creighton finished 25-11 overall and 15-5 in BIG EAST play last season and returns starters Jackson McAndrew (7.8 ppg., 4.4 rpg.) and Jasen Green (4.9 ppg., 3.2 rpg.) along with a talented crop of newcomers.
Three of those newcomers join McAndrew with Preseason All-BIG EAST accolades, giving CU four honorees for the first time since its 2022-23 team that eventually finished the season in the Elite Eight. Owen Freeman was voted a Preseason All- BIG EAST First Team selection and Josh Dix was a Preseason All-BIG EAST Second Team choice. McAndrew and Nik Graves were both Preseason All-BIG EAST Third Team honorees.
Freeman is the eighth different Bluejay to earn Preseason All-BIG EAST First Team recognition, and first to do it prior to playing a game with the Bluejays. It also means CU has had a First Team pick each of the last four seasons, as Trey Alexander was chosen prior to 2023-24 and Ryan Kalkbrenner was honored each of the previous three campaigns.
Creighton has matched or exceeded its preseason projection in all but one season since joining the BIG EAST in 2013-14, the best showing in the league in that time. The Bluejays are seeking a 10th straight finish in the top four of the league standings.
Creighton's BIG EAST Preseason Poll History
Year Preseason Actual Preseason All-BIG EAST
2013-14 3rd 2nd Doug McDermott (POY, 1st)
2014-15 9th T-9th -
2015-16 9th 6th -
2016-17 3rd T-3rd Maurice Watson Jr. (1st); Marcus Foster (HM)
2017-18 5th T-3rd Marcus Foster (1st); Khyri Thomas (HM)
2018-19 9th T-3rd Martin Krampelj (HM)
2019-20 7th T-1st Ty-Shon Alexander (1st)
2020-21 2nd 2nd Marcus Zegarowski (POY, 1st); Mitch Ballock (2nd)
2021-22 8th 4th -
2022-23 1st 3rd Ryan Kalkbrenner (1st); Arthur Kaluma (2nd)
Ryan Nembhard (2nd); Baylor Scheierman (HM)
2023-24 2nd T-2nd Ryan Kalkbrenner (1st); Trey Alexander (1st)
Baylor Scheierman (2nd)
2024-25 2nd 2nd Ryan Kalkbrenner (POY, 1st); Steven Ashworth (3rd)
2025-26 3rd ? ? ? Owen Freeman (1st); Josh Dix (2nd)
Jackson McAndrew (3rd); Nik Graves (3rd)
League Of Their Own
Creighton has finished with a .500 mark or better in league play 29 times in the previous 30 seasons, one of six schools nationally that can say that.
The only BIG EAST teams to finish .500 or better in league play each of the previous 10 seasons are Creighton and Villanova.
Creighton is also the only "Power 5" school with an active streak of six years or longer with 12 or more league wins.
Most Seasons .500 or Better League Record
Last 30 Seasons (Entering 2025-26)
Seasons Team
30 Duke
30 Kansas
30 Gonzaga
29 Creighton
29 Kentucky
29 Michigan State
Consecutive Seasons .500 or Better League Record
Power 5 Schools (Entering 2025-26)
Seasons Team
36 Kansas
30 Duke
14 Oregon
13 Villanova
10 Creighton
10 Houston
10 Florida
Consecutive Seasons 12+ League Wins
Power 5 Schools (Entering 2025-26)
Seasons Team
6 Creighton
Still Fighting
Creighton is off to a 5-5 start through 10 games. Recent seasons would suggest it might be too early to write them off.
Last season Creighton started 7-5, including a loss at Georgetown to open league play, before heating up. The Jays would win 11 of their next 12 games, eventually finish 25-11, and go 15-5 in BIG EAST play to finish second in the league standings.
Creighton's 2022-23 team started 6-6, including a loss to open BIG EAST play at Marquette, before regrouping to win 11 of their next 13 games. That Bluejay team reached the Elite Eight.
After 10 Games
Here's a look at how Creighton has done statistically after 10 games in recent seasons, which is where CU is at right now.
Of note, Creighton has started 5-5 or better after 10 games in 30 of the past 31 seasons (including 2025-26).
The last time Creighton had exactly one player averaging in double-figures was its 2002-03 team that won the MVC Tourney and finished 29-5. That player was Kyle Korver.
Creighton Stats Through 10 Games, Since 1994-95
Year W-L PPG FG% 3FG 10+ PPG guys
2025-26 5-5 74.6 72.6 96 1
2024-25 7-3 78.0 .472 99 4
2023-24 8-2 84.5 .502 121 3
2022-23 6-4 78.7 .467 90 5
2021-22 8-2 73.4 .491 62 4
2020-21 8-2 81.3 .482 101 5
2019-20 8-2 78.5 .478 98 3
2018-19 7-3 83.8 .510 117 3
2017-18 8-2 90.2 .516 102 3
2016-17 10-0 91.6 .544 99 4
2015-16 7-3 85.5 .506 93 5
2014-15 8-2 73.8 .438 85 2
2013-14 8-2 83.7 .491 113 2
2012-13 9-1 80.2 .519 90 2
2011-12 9-1 86.0 .516 90 2
2010-11 6-4 69.0 .426 74 3
2009-10 4-6 71.3 .450 78 2
2008-09 8-2 75.6 .439 89 3
2007-08 9-1 80.8 .478 84 2
2006-07 6-4 66.0 .408 59 3
2005-06 7-3 69.3 .405 70 3
2004-05 8-2 69.2 .434 80 2
2003-04 10-0 72.1 .463 61 2
2002-03 10-0 84.9 .526 97 1
2001-02 6-4 75.9 .439 63 3
2000-01 8-2 76.0 .445 83 3
1999-00 9-1 74.7 .458 84 2
1998-99 8-2 78.4 .454 79 2
1997-98 7-3 77.3 .467 73 1
1996-97 5-5 65.7 .409 57 2
1995-96 5-5 66.7 .390 56 3
1994-95 4-6 65.1 .404 66 3
Best BIG EAST Years
Creighton's 15 league wins last season set a program record for most conference wins in any of its first 12 seasons in the BIG EAST. It was the third straight season CU won 14 league games or more, something only Villanova (2013-14 to 2017-18) and Connecticut (1993-94 to 1995-96) have done in BIG EAST history.
Four of CU's seven teams to win 12 or more BIG EAST games reached the BIG EAST Tournament final, with the prematurely cancelled 2019-20 campaign being one of the exceptions.
Creighton's 15 conference wins last year matched its most as a member of any league, as it picked up 15 conference wins in 2002-03 when it was a member of the Missouri Valley Conference.
Creighton has now set or tied program records for most conference wins in a one-year span (15), two-year span (29), thee-year span (43), four-year span (55), five-year span (69), six-year span (82) and seven-year span (91).
Creighton has finished first or second in the BIG EAST in four of the last six seasons.
Creighton's Most BIG EAST Wins, Season
W-L Year BIG EAST Tourney
15-5 2024-25 TBA
14-4 2013-14 Lost in Final
14-6 2020-21 Lost in Final
14-6 2022-23 Lost in Semi's
14-6 2023-24 Lost in Quarterfinals
13-5 2019-20 Tourney Cancelled
12-7 2021-22 Lost in Final
Creighton's Most Conference Wins, Season
W-L Year League
15-3 2002-03 MVC
15-5 2024-25 BIG EAST
14-4 2000-01 MVC
14-4 2001-02 MVC
14-4 2008-09 MVC
14-4 2011-12 MVC
14-4 2013-14 BIG EAST
14-6 2020-21 BIG EAST
14-6 2022-23 BIG EAST
14-6 2023-24 BIG EAST
Triple Jumper
Josh Dix has made a three-pointer in each of his first 10 games with Creighton, and also made a trey in his final 12 games with Iowa. His 22 game streak with a three-pointer is tied for the nation's 14th-longest active streak through games of Dec. 15.
Longest Active Streaks With a Made 3-Pointer (12/15)
Streak Name, Current School Next
57 Josh Hubbard, Mississippi State 12/16
41 Honor Huff, West Virginia 12/22
38 Martin Somerville, Florida State 12/16
38 John Camden, California 12/19
38 Bryce Lindsay, Villanova 12/19
37 Cliff Davis, James Madison 12/17
30 Tucker DeVries, Indiana 12/20
26 Emanuel Sharp, Houston 12/20
25 Jeremiah Wilkinson, Georgia 12/18
25 Milan Momcilovic, Iowa State 12/21
24 Vijami Vartiainen, Weber State 12/17
23 Nyle Ralph-Beyer, Sacred Heart 12/16
23 Ryan Conwell, Louisville 12/16
22 Josh Dix, Creighton 12/17
22 Tyler Nickel, Vanderbilt 12/17
22 Tyler Lundblade, Belmont 12/16
22 Solo Ball, Connecticut 12/16
21 Alex Chaikin, UC San Diego 12/16
21 Miles Barnstable, Tulsa 12/19
21 Simeon Cottle, Kennesaw State 12/17
Use The Swartz
Sophomore guard Austin Swartz has stepped up in the absence of Hudson Greer.
One game after a DNP-CD against Oregon to close out the Players Era Championship in Las Vegas, Swartz scored 11 points on Dec. 2 in 13 minutes vs. Nicholls, eclipsing his point total (8) in his first eight games of the season combined.
Swartz was a bright spot in the Dec. 7 game at Nebraska, scoring a career-high 16 points while also adding two steals. He shot 7-of-15 from the field, compared to 9-for-37 by the rest of the Jays.
Swartz made his first start with the Bluejays on Dec. 13, scoring a dozen points in 25 minutes.
In other words, Swartz has 39 points in CU's last three games after just eight total points in Creighton's initial seven contests.
Availability Reports
The BIG EAST is now requiring availability reports prior to each league game, with plans calling for the information will be released three hours prior to each conference contest.
The league website with that information is
https://bigeast.com/sports/2025/11/26/2526_mbb_availability_reports.aspx .
Balanced Effort
Creighton still has not had a player produce a 20-point game this season, its longest drought to start a season since it didn't happen in the first 12 games in 2003-04.
Since Greg McDermott's 2010 arrival, Creighton has had at least one player score 20 points or more in 57.4 percent (304) of its 530 games.
Three's Company
Creighton has made five or more three-pointers in 81 straight games, the nation's second-longest active streak.
CU's streak of 65 consecutive games with six or more three-pointers was snapped on Thanksgiving Day vs. Oregon when the Jays made five three-pointers.
Longest Active Streaks of 5+ 3FG Made (12/14)
Rk. Streak School Next Game
1. 107 North Florida 12/18
2. 81 Creighton 12/17
3. 80 BYU 12/16
4. 77 Wofford 12/15
Seeking the Pefect Blend
Creighton's roster includes nine newcomers and seven returners. CU has yet to play a single possession with five returners on the floor at the same time.
# of Newcomers CU Pts.-Opp Pts. % of Pts. by CU
0 Newcomers on Floor Hasn't Happened n/a
1 Newcomer on Floor 45-37 .549
2 Newcomers on Floor 135-154 .467
3 Newcomers on Floor 237-231 .506
4 Newcomers on Floor 320-295 .520
5 Newcomers on Floor 9-9 .500
Newcomers Lead The Way
For the season, 502 of Creighton's 746 points have been scored by newcomers, an astounding 67.3 percent. This shouldn't be too much of a shock though, as only 28.0 percent of last year's points returned.
By comparison, newcomers on last year's team were responsible for only 36.6 percent of the points.
McChesney Perserveres
Liam McChesney capped Creighton's 96-76 win with a tip-dunk in the final 30 seconds.
It was McChesney's first field goal in a game since scoring at Arch Madness on March 2, 2023 when he played for Illinois State, a span of 1,007 days.
Hudson Strong
Hudson Greer made 7-of-8 shots and scored 16 points in the Nov. 24 game vs. Baylor, an impressive showing for the true freshman who had his redshirt lifted just a few days earlier.
Greer became the first Bluejay freshman with 16 points or more in one of his first two games since Khyri Thomas scored 18 points in his collegiate debut vs. Texas Southern on Nov. 14, 2015.
McDermott's Coaching Tree
Greg McDermott's coaching tree includes 11 men who are currently a head coach at the Division I level, including three men at Power 5 schools.
Here's a list:
Darian DeVries - Indiana
Eric Henderson - Drake
Ben Jacobson - Northern Iowa
Steve Lutz - Oklahoma State
Ryan Miller - Murray State
TJ Otzelberger - Iowa State
Bryan Petersen - South Dakota State
David Richman - North Dakota State
Daniyal Robinson - North Texas
Paul Sather - North Dakota
Patrick Sellers - Central Connecticut State
If At First You Don't Succeed
Creighton scored 29 second-chance points in its season-opening win over South Dakota, 12 more than any other game last season. The last time CU had scored 29 or more second-chance points was the 2023-24 season-opener against Florida A&M.
This year's Creighton team is averaging 11.90 second chance points per game.
Since 2003-04, Creighton's highest second-chance points average has been 11.31 points per game in 2011-12, and its top average since joining the BIG EAST was 10.43 second chance points per game in 2013-14.
CU currently ranks 129th nationally in offensive rebound percentage (.329). Per KenPom.com, the last time Creighton's finished in the top 100 was way back in 1998-99 when it was 34th at .397. CU has been 278th, 274th, 280th, 165th, 258th and 295th nationally the previous six seasons.
Deep Thoughts
Greg McDermott talked in the off-season about how this year's squad figured to be the deepest team he's ever had at Creighton, and the early results have proven him right.
Creighton's bench has outscored foes 259-231 this season. That +28 figure would be CU's best year-end mark since 2018-19.
Creighton's bench has accounted for 34.72 percent of CU's scoring, and 25.90 points per game. That's the most bench points per game since the 2014-15 club averaged 27.21 points per game. CU's best figure in the last 20 seasons came in 2007-08, when the Jays averaged 36.91 bench points per game and actually outscored the starting line-up (34.61 ppg.).
Creighton entered this season with 48 straight wins when scoring 17 or more bench points, but are just 4-4 this year when scoring 18 points or more off the bench.
Postseason Success
Creighton has won at least one NCAA Tournament game in 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025. That makes CU one of four teams in the country to have a win in each of the last five NCAA Tournaments, joining Baylor, Gonzaga and Houston.
Nebraska, on the other hand, has never won an NCAA Tournament contest in men's basketball.
This is the first time that Creighton Basketball has won an NCAA Tournament game in five straight years. The only other CU program in any sport to win an NCAA Tournament game in five straight seasons is Creighton Volleyball (2015-19).
Even though a certain NCAA bid was wiped away in 2020 by COVID-19, Creighton has still appeared in each of the last five NCAA Tournaments (2021-25).
The only previous time that Creighton has appeared in five straight NCAA Tournaments was from 1999-2003.
Creighton is one of 13 teams to have appeared in each of the last five NCAA Tournaments (2021-25). That list consists of Alabama, Baylor, Connecticut, Creighton, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas, Illinois, Michigan State, Purdue, San Diego State, Tennessee and Texas.
Ain't Too Proud To Brag
Creighton has won 20 or more games in each of the past 10 seasons, tied for the nation's fourth-longest active streak. Kansas leads the way with 36, followed by Gonzaga (28) and Belmont (15). The others with 10 (like Creighton) include Oregon and Houston.
Creighton has won 22 games or more in six straight seasons. Only Gonzaga (28) and Houston (8) have longer streaks.
Creighton is one of two schools to have men's and women's basketball programs to both own 22 wins or more each of the previous four seasons, a list that includes Creighton and UConn.
Creighton is one of two teams in the nation with 25 or more wins in both men's basketball and women's basketball each of the previous two seasons. That list consists of Creighton and Gonzaga.
Most Consecutive 20-Win Seasons
Team Consec. 20-Win Seasons (entering 2025-26)
Kansas 36
Gonzaga 28
Belmont 15
Oregon 15
Creighton 10
Houston 10
Most Consecutive 22-Win Seasons
Team Consec. 22-Win Yrs. (entering 2025-26)
Gonzaga 28
Houston 8
Creighton 6
25 of 27 Seasons With 20 Wins
Creighton has won 20 or more games in 25 of the previous 27 seasons, a feat that puts the Jays among an exclusive group, nationally.
Entering 2025-26, just two schools have had 20 or more wins each of the previous 27 years: Gonzaga and Kansas. Duke has done it 26 times, Creighton and Kentucky 25 times each.
Most 20-Win Seasons, Previous 27 Seasons
Team 20-Win Seasons (Entering 2025-26)
Gonzaga 27
Kansas 27
Duke 26
Creighton 25
Kentucky 25
Arizona 23
Florida 23
Michigan State 23
BYU 22
Memphis 22
North Carolina 22
Ohio State 22
Wisconsin 22
Two Dozen, Cousin
Creighton is one of 15 schools to have won 24 games or more in 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024- 25. That group consists of Alabama, Arizona, Charleston, Connecticut, Creighton, Drake, Duke, Gonzaga, Grand Canyon, Houston, Purdue, Saint Mary's, Tennessee, Utah State and VCU.
Sweetness!
Creighton is one of just nine teams to have reached at least three of the last five Sweet 16s.
Houston has done it each of the previous five seasons, while Alabama, Arkansas and Gonzaga have done it four times each.
Doing it three times in the previous five seasons are Duke, Michigan, Purdue, Tennessee, UCLA and Creighton.
Most Sweet 16's, Previous Five Seasons
# Team Years
5 Houston 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
4 Alabama 2021 - 2023 2024 2025
4 Arkansas 2021 2022 2023 - 2025
4 Gonzaga 2021 2022 2023 2024 -
3 Creighton 2021 - 2023 2024 -
3 UCLA 2021 2022 2023 - -
3 Duke - 2022 - 2024 2025
3 Michigan 2021 2022 - - 2025
3 Purdue - 2022 - 2024 2025
3 Tennessee - - 2023 2024 2025
Coaching Consistency Is Key
Between women's basketball coach Jim Flanery (457) and men's basketball coach Greg McDermott (355), Creighton is the nation's only school with a pair of active head coaches with at least 350 victories at their current school.
Flanery (hired in 2002) and McDermott (2010) also make Creighton one of three schools to have the same men's and women's basketball head coaches each of the last 15 seasons, joining Boise State (Leon Rice and Gordy Presnell) and Northern Iowa (Ben Jacobsen and Tanya Warren).
Jacobsen played on teams McDermott assisted at North Dakota from 1989-93 and later replaced McDermott as head coach at UNI In 2006, while Warren was a former Creighton player and assistant and is one of two women in program history to have her number retired.
Stability is Key
One reason for Creighton's extended run of success has been the continuity within its coaching staff. The Bluejays have had just two head coaches in the last 32 years, Dana Altman (1994-2010) and Greg McDermott (2010-Present).
Here's a list of major conference schools to have a coach with 300 wins at that school, and their predecessor also had 300 wins at the school:
School Former Coach Current Coach
Creighton Dana Altman Greg McDermott
Kansas Roy Williams Bill Self
Michigan State Jud Heathcote Tom Izzo
Purdue Gene Keady Matt Painter
Long Run
Greg McDermott is in his 16th season on the Creighton sideline in 2025-26. That's tied for the 15th-longest active run of any men's coach with his current team.
Most Consecutive Years as Head Coach, Current Team
Years Name School
1995-Pr. Tom Izzo Michigan State
1998-Pr. Greg Kampe Oakland
1999-Pr. Mark Few Gonzaga
1999-Pr. James Jones Yale
2001-Pr. Randy Bennett Saint Mary's
2002-Pr. Bill Self Kansas
2003-Pr. Scott Drew Baylor
2005-Pr. Matt Painter Purdue
2006-Pr. Ben Jacobsen Northern Iowa
2006-Pr. Bill Coen Northeastern
2007-Pr. Mark Schmidt St. Bonaventure
2007-Pr. Brent Reed Lehigh
2007-Pr. Tommy Amaker Harvard
2009-Pr. LaVelle Moton North Carolina Central
2010-Pr. Greg McDermott Creighton
2010-Pr. Andy O'Toole Robert Morris
2010-Pr. Tad Boyle Colorado
2010-Pr. Leon Rice Boise State
2010-Pr. Dana Altman Oregon
2010-Pr. Russell Turner UC Irvine
2010-Pr. Brad Brownell Clemson
The McDermott Era
Greg McDermott owns 355 wins at Creighton since his arrival in 2010-11. It's the eighth-most of programs that have had the same coach the entire time.
Schools With Most Wins Since 2010-11, Only 1 Coach
(Through games of Dec. 15)
Rk. Wins School Coach Next
1. 462 Gonzaga Mark Few 12/17
2. 434 Kansas Bill Self 12/16
3. 393 Saint Mary's Randy Bennett 12/19
4. 383 Michigan State Tom Izzo 12/16
5. 375 Oregon Dana Altman 12/17
6. 369 Purdue Matt Painter 12/20
7. 364 Baylor Scott Drew 12/19
8. 355 Creighton Greg McDermott 12/17
National Ranks In The McDermott Era
Below is where Creighton ranks nationally since the start of the 2010-11 season among teams to have played 150 or more Division I games, per Basketball-Reference.com.
2010-11 to Dec. 13, 2025
Category CU Stat CU Rank
3FG Made 4,758 2nd
2FG Percentage .552 3rd
FG Percentage .476 4th
Assists 8,524 5th
3FG Percentage .371 6th
FG Made 14,485 8th
Points 40,558 9th
Wins 355 24th
Winning Percentage .669 32nd
Among The Best
CBS Sports conducted a pair of surveys during the summer that highlight Greg McDermott as one of the best in the country at what he does.
Who is the best X's and O's coach in college basketball right now? (Asked to roughly 100 coaches)
1. Matt Painter (Purdue): 19%
2. Dan Hurley (UConn): 18%
3. Greg McDermott (Creighton): 16%
4. Kelvin Sampson (Houston): 7%
5. Ben McCollum (Iowa): 5%
6. Randy Bennett (Saint Mary's): 4%
Tom Izzo (Michigan State): 4%
Dusty May Michigan): 4%
Bill Self (Kansas): 4%
10. Rick Barnes (Tennessee): 2%
Chris Collins (Northwestern): 2%
Grant McCasland (Texas Tech): 2%
Nate Oats (Alabama): 2%
Rick Pitino (St. John's): 2%
Mark Schmidt (St. Bonaventure): 2%
Others: 7%
Who are the best college basketball coaches? (Asked to 6 CBB writers)
1. Dan Hurley, Connecticut
2. Kelvin Sampson, Houston
3. Rick Pitino, St. John's
4. Bill Self, Kansas
5. Matt Painter, Purdue
6. Nate Oats, Alabama
7. Todd Golden, Florida
8. Tom Izzo, Michigan State
9. Mark Few, Gonzaga
10. Scott Drew, Baylor
11. Jon Scheyer, Duke
12. Dusty May, Michigan
13. Rick Barnes, Tennessee
14. John Calipari, Arkansas
15. Tommy Lloyd, Arizona
16. Mark Pope, Kentucky
17. Greg McDermott, Creighton
18. Grant McCasland, Texas Tech
19. Brad Underwood, Illinois
20. Pat Kelsey, Louisville
21. TJ Otzelberger, Iowa State
22. Chris Beard, Ole Miss
23. Mick Cronin, UCLA
24. Randy Bennett, Saint Mary's
25. Shaka Smart, Marquette
And 1. Ben McCollum, Iowa
Release, Rotation, Splash, Repeat
Creighton has made at least one three-pointer in 1,066 straight games. That ranks as the nation's 10th-longest active streak.
Creighton's last game without a three-pointer came at Illinois State on Feb. 20, 1993, when the Jays were 0-for-5. Creighton's last win without making a three-point basket came on March 3, 1991 when the Jays went 0-for-2 from three-point range in a 71-66 win over Southern Illinois in the championship game of the MVC Tournament.
Below is a list of the nation's longest active three-point streaks.
Longest Active 3-Point Streaks (12/15)
Rk. Streak School Next Game
1. 1,274 Duke 12/16
2. 1,270 UNLV 12/20
3. 1,202 East Tennessee State 12/16
4. 1,178 Oakland 12/17
5. 1,173 Texas 12/16
6. 1,172 Pacific 12/16
7. 1,110 Marshall 12/20
8. 1,105 Gonzaga 12/17
9. 1,093 Princeton 12/22
10. 1,066 Creighton 12/17
11. 1,057 Long Island 12/16
12. 1,052 Mount St. Mary's 12/19
Nifty Fifty Leads To Postseason?
Not counting 2019-20, when there was no postseason, Creighton has made the postseason each of the 12 most recent times in which it has made at least 50 percent of its field goal attempts to open the year.
Ten of those postseason trips were NCAA Tournament berths. The last time that didn't hold true was 1991-92, when CU shot 51.0 percent in the opener but finished just 9-19.
Creighton has shot 50 percent or better in 10 of its last 14 season-openers, including 50 percent (37-for-74) on Wednesday vs. South Dakota.
CU Season-Opener Field Goal Percentage 50+%
Since 1993-94
FG% Year Opponent Postseason
.541 1997-98 UMKC NIT
.524 1998-99 Towson State NCAA
.569 2000-01 Western Illinois NCAA
.594 2002-03 UT Arlington NCAA
.500 2012-13 North Texas NCAA
.556 2013-14 Alcorn State NCAA
.528 2015-16 Texas Southern NIT
.508 2016-17 UMKC NCAA
.558 2017-18 Yale NCAA
.524 2019-20 Kennesaw St. Postseason Ccd.
.585 2021-22 Ark.-Pine Bluff NCAA
.567 2023-24 Florida A&M NCAA
.600 2024-25 UTRGV NCAA
.500 2025-26 South Dakota ? ? ?
The Push For 90
Of Creighton's 26 all-time NCAA Tournament teams, 13 have scored 90 or more points in their season-opener.
Put another way...of CU's 20 teams (before 2025-26) to score 90 points in an opener, 13 would reach the NCAA Tournament.
Here's a look at Creighton's 12 most recent teams (before 2025-26) to score 90 or more points in a season-opener:
Final Post-
Score Opponent Date W-L Season
93-47 UT-San Antonio 11/30/90 24-8 NCAA
93-48 Towson State 11/14/98 22-9 NCAA
96-50 Western Illinois 11/20/00 24-8 NCAA
106-50 Texas-Arlington 11/17/02 29-5 NCAA
97-65 North Carolina A&T 11/11/11 29-6 NCAA
107-61 Alcorn State 11/08/13 27-8 NCAA
104-77 Central Arkansas 11/14/14 14-19 --
93-70 Texas Southern 11/14/15 20-15 NIT
92-76 Yale 11/10/17 21-12 NCAA
90-77 Arkansas-Pine Bluff 11/09/21 23-12 NCAA
105-54 Florida A&M 11/07/23 25-10 NCAA
99-86 UTRGV 11/06/24 25-11 NCAA
92-76 South Dakota 11/05/25 ? ? ? ? ? ?
NBA Jays
There are five former Creighton players in the NBA this season.
Former Creighton All-American Doug McDermott is with the Sacramento Kings as he begins his 12th year in the NBA. He was a Lottery pick in 2014 by the Denver Nuggets.
Baylor Scheierman is in his second year with the Boston Celtics after being a First Round pick in 2024.
Trey Alexander, who was named 2024-25 G-League Rookie of the Year in the Denver Nuggets organization, is now on a two-way contract with the New Orleans Pelicans.
There is palpable buzz around Ryan Kalkbrenner, a Second Round pick of the Charlotte Hornets, in his rookie campaign.
Lastly, former Creighton point guard Ryan Nembhard is on a two-way contract with the Dallas Mavericks. Nembhard played two years at Creighton before finishing his career at Gonzaga.
These men give Creighton at least one NBA player for the 42nd time in the last 43 seasons.
Other famous Bluejays to play in the NBA in the past include Paul Silas, Kyle Korver, Benoit Benjamin and Anthony Tolliver.
Who's Back?
With Creighton returning only seven of the 15 men who appeared in a game last season -- including its top three scorers -- much of the production is gone.
Below is a breakdown of what is back:
Stat Returners Departures
3FG Made 135 (39.2%) 209 (60.8%)
Minutes 2661 (36.7%) 4589 (63.3%)
Rebounds 426 (34.4%) 811 (65.6%)
Starts 61 (33.9%) 119 (66.1%)
Steals 43 (33.1%) 87 (66.9%)
Points 761 (28.0%) 1956 (72.0%)
Assists 112 (18.2%) 503 (81.8%)
Blocks 28 (17.4%) 133 (82.6%)
Charges Taken 2 (16.7%) 10 (83.3%)
McChesney On The Mend
Liam McChesney is a rare seventh-year junior who saw his first regular-season action in 979 days on Nov. 5 against South Dakota. He played just over four minutes, collecting a rebound and a blocked shot but missing both field goal attempts.
McChesney began his career in 2019-20 when he redshirted at Utah State. He played in three games at Utah State in 2020-21 before suffering a season-ending broken ankle.
The Prince Rupert, Canada native then transferred to Illinois State, where he played in 60 games and made 27 starts for the Redbirds in two seasons from 2021-23.
McChesney transferred to High Point to play for then-Panther head coach Alan Huss (now Creighton's associate head coach and head coach in waiting), but was sidelined after a preseason medical evaluation revealed an issue with one of his heart valves, which led to heart surgery that has caused him to miss the past two seasons as his weight dropped 208 to 172 pounds.
McChesney transferred to Creighton this summer and continues his comeback.
Preseason Top 25
The Creighton men's basketball team was ranked 23rd in the Associated Press Preseason Top 25 poll, the fourth straight season the Bluejays have been ranked among the nation's best in the preseason.
This year's announcement marks the eighth time in program history the writers have voted CU to the Top 25 in the preseason, joining 2006-07 (No. 19), 2012-13 (No. 16) and 2016-17 (No. 22), 2020-21 (No. 11), 2022-23 (No. 9), 2023-24 (No. 8) and 2024-25 (No. 15). All seven of those teams would end up in the NCAA Tournament, with three of the four most recent squads making the Sweet 16.
Creighton's best ranking in program history is seventh, done five times (Jan. 16, 2017, March 10, 2020, March 18, 2020, Jan. 7, 2021 and Nov. 28, 2022).
Including this year's preseason ranking, Creighton has now been ranked 148 times in program history, with 120 of those under the direction of Greg McDermott. Creighton is 180-78 all-time as a ranked team, including a 146-66 mark under McDermott. Creighton has now been ranked at least one week in 12 of McDermott's 16 seasons on The Hilltop after doing it just five different seasons in program history before his 2010 arrival.
Creighton has been one of 11 schools ranked in the Top 25 of the Preseason AP poll each of the last four years, joining Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Duke, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina and Tennessee.
Creighton was one of three BIG EAST Conference schools in the poll, joining No. 4 Connecticut and No. 5 St. John's.
Among Creighton's non-conference opponents in the poll are preseason No. 21 Gonzaga and preseason No. 16 Iowa State.
Creighton was also ranked 23rd in the preseason USA Today Coaches poll.
Let's Go On A Run
Creighton unleashed a 23-0 run on Iowa State during its exhibition meeting, turning an early 8-4 deficit into a 27-8 lead over a span of just under seven minutes (6:57).
Dating back to the start of the 2021-22 season, it was Creighton's largest run in any game, including exhibitions. Below is that list.
Longest Creighton Runs Since 2021-22
Run Opponent (Score change) Date
23-0* #16 Iowa State (4-8 to 27-8) 10/17/25
21-0* Upper Iowa (32-29 to 53-29) 10//30/21
20-0 Texas Southern (61-44 to 81-44) 11/18/23
19-0 vs. #11 Providence (37-27 to 56-27) 03/11/22
19-0 Georgetown (0-0 to 19-0) 03/01/23
18-0 Houston Christian (19-9 to 37-9) 11/13/24
*exhibition game
Who Are These Guys?
Creighton returns 61 starts from last year's team (31 by Jackson McAndrew, 25 by Jasen Green, 4 by Isaac Traudt, 1 by Ty Davis), its fewest since the 2021-22 team returned just two starts.
Returning Returning Starts Final
Year Starters From Previous Year W-L
2025-26 2 61 ? ? ?
2024-25 3 105 25-11
2023-24 3 111 25-10
2022-23 3 104 24-13
2021-22 0 2 23-12
2020-21 5 124 22-9
2019-20 4 136 24-7
2018-19 2 57 20-15
2017-18 2 72 21-12
2016-17 4 130 25-10
2015-16 1 64 20-15
2014-15 1 49 14-19
2013-14 4 144 27-8
2012-13 4 140 28-8
2011-12 3 101 29-6
2010-11 4 123 23-16
2009-10 3 106 18-16
2008-09 3 83 27-8
2007-08 1 44 22-11
2006-07 4 120 22-11
2005-06 4 134 20-10
2004-05 2 58 23-11
2003-04 3 101 20-9
2002-03 5 159 29-5
2001-02 2 65 23-9
2000-01 3 90 24-8
1999-00 3 84 23-10
1998-99 3 84 22-9
1997-98 4 72 18-10
1996-97 4 126 15-15
1995-96 4 100 14-15
1994-95 2 52 7-19
1993-94 3 73 7-22
1992-93 2 64 8-18
1991-92 2 51 9-19
1990-91 4 132 24-8
1989-90 4 127 21-12
1988-89 4 123 20-11
1987-88 3 83 16-16
1986-87 2 65 9-19
1985-86 1 48 12-16
1984-85 4 124 20-12
1983-84 3 72 17-14
1982-83 3 77 8-19
1981-82 2 78 7-20
1980-81 4 112 21-9
Big Deficits, No Big Deal
Creighton owns 30 victories since the start of the 2010-11 season after trailing by double-figures at some point.
Fourteen of those 30 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
17 vs. DePaul 03/13/25
16 at Evansville 02/16/13
16 at Seton Hall 01/27/21
16 SIU Edwardsville 11/27/21
15 Arkansas-Pine Bluff 11/09/21
14 Evansville 02/21/12
14 vs. San Diego State 03/17/22
13 at Saint Joseph's 11/16/13
13 Xavier 01/12/14
13 #22 Xavier 12/23/20
12 Saint Joseph's 12/11/10
12 at DePaul 01/17/16
12 East Tennessee State 11/11/18
11 at Wichita State 12/31/11
11 Northern Iowa 01/10/12
11 vs. Alabama 03/16/12
11 vs. Ole Miss 11/21/16
11 vs. Connecticut 03/12/21
11 DePaul 01/22/22
11 St. John's 12/31/24
10 UAB 11/14/12
10 vs. Drake 03/02/12
10 at Nebraska 12/07/14
10 South Dakota 12/09/14
10 St. John's 01/03/18
10 at DePaul 02/07/18
10 Bemidji State 02/13/18
10 Georgetown 02/23/25
Triple Trouble
During Creighton's current streak of 1,066 straight games with a three-pointer, the Jays have drained 8,600 trifectas, an average of 8.07 treys per game.
Only five times in the streak has Creighton made just one three-pointer, but on 328 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 107-30 when making eight or more three-pointers, compared to a 38-36 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: 105 times 6: 113 times
7: 154 times 8: 135 times 9: 96 times
10: 91 times 11: 67 times 12: 65 times
13: 50 times 14: 26 times 15: 9 times
16: 9 times 17: 5 times 18: 1 time
19: 2 times 20: 1 time 21: 1 time 22: 1 time
McDermott Is Wins Leader
Greg McDermott has 355 victories at Creighton, passing his predecessor Dana Altman (327) for the most in program history in CU's Nov. 13, 2024 win vs. Houston Christian.
McDermott broke a different record on Jan. 21, 2025 at DePaul when he coached his 504th game on the Bluejay sideline, breaking the mark of 503 held by Altman.
McDermott's .669 winning percentage is Creighton's best since Arthur A. Schabinger's .714 win rate from 90 years ago.
Most Coaching Wins, Creighton MBB History
Rk. W-L Name Years
1. 355-176 Greg McDermott 2010-Pres.
2. 327-176 Dana Altman 1994-2010
3. 165-66 Arthur A. Schabinger 1922-1935
4. 138-118 John J. "Red" McManus 1959-1969
5. 130-64 Tom Apke 1974-1981
CHI Health Center Omaha Dramatics
Creighton is 8-8 in contests with a game-winning go-ahead score in the final 10 seconds at CHI Health Center Omaha, which opened in 2003.
The last time such a game happened was in 2020 when Creighton's Marcus Zegarowski hit a shot with 3.2 seconds left to beat Providence.
Creighton's Go-Ahead Scores in Wins at
CHI Health Center Omaha, Last 10 Seconds
Date Opponent Score Player/Score Time
11/26/05 Dayton W 91-90* Funk FG :5.7
01/28/06 Wichita St. W 57-55 Tolliver FG :0.0
11/25/06 George Mason W 58-56 Watts FT :7.5
03/18/08 Rhode Island W 74-73 Witter 3FG :3.2
01/13/10 Southern Illinois W 71-69 Young FG :1.3
02/18/12 Long Beach St. W 81-79 Young FG :0.3
01/28/14 St. John's W 63-60 McDermott 3FG :2.8
01/18/20 Providence W 78-74 Zegarowski 3FG :3.2
*double-overtime
Opponent Go-Ahead Scores in CU Losses at
CHI Health Center Omaha, Last 10 Seconds
Date Opponent Score Player/Score Time
03/20/06 Miami (Fla.) L 53-52 G. Diaz FT :2.6
01/20/07 Southern Illinois L 58-57 B. Mullins FG :4.1
01/10/15 #19 Seton Hall L 68-67 S. Gibbs 3FG :2.2
02/16/15 #19 Butler L 58-56 R. Jones FG :1.9
03/07/15 Xavier L 74-73 D. Davis FT's :6.3
01/12/16 #12 Providence L 50-48 K. Dunn FG :0.0
02/22/17 Providence L 68-66 K. Cartwright 3FG :2.4
02/10/18 #5 Xavier L 71-72 Q. Goodin FT's :0.3
Top-20 Crowds
Here's a look at Creighton's top-20 home crowds all-time.
Rank Att. Opponent Date
1. 18,868 Providence 03/08/14
2. 18,859 Georgetown 01/25/14
3. 18,831 #1 Villanova 12/31/16
4. 18,797 #6 Villanova 02/16/14
5. 18,759 #1 Gonzaga 12/01/18
6. 18,742 Seton Hall 02/23/14
7. 18,735 Wichita State 02/11/12
8. 18,613 Wichita State 03/02/13
9. 18,571 DePaul 01/22/24
10. 18,525 Marquette 12/31/13
11. 18,519 #8 Seton Hall 03/07/20
12. 18,518 Georgetown 01/27/18
13. 18,509 Villanova 02/04/23
14. 18,495 Marquette 02/17/18
15. 18,494 Illinois State 02/09/13
16. 18,475 Nebraska 11/22/24
17. 18,458 Evansville 12/29/12
18. 18,436 Bradley 01/28/12
19. 18,430 Seton Hall 01/25/25
20. 18,323 DePaul 02/07/14
CHI Health Center Omaha Success
Creighton has played 376 regular and postseason contests at CHI Health Center Omaha all-time in the now 23-year-old facility.
The Bluejays own a 311-65 (.827) record all-time at the facility.
Creighton's Nov. 25, 2017 win over SIU Edwardsville was the program's 200th at the facility, coming in its 242nd home game. CU's 100th win came on Nov. 17, 2010, a 63-58 win over Louisiana.
Creighton has outscored its opponents 29,576-24,692 in games at CHI Health Center Omaha, an average margin of 12.99 points per game. Creighton has not trailed 94 different times, including once this year (Maryland Eastern Shore).
Incredibly, Creighton hasn't trailed in its home opener in 10 of the past 25 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 34-38 all-time in the 72 games at the arena in which it's fallen behind by double-figures at any point, 8-13 when down by 10+ points at halftime in the facility, and 42-31 when trailing at halftime at CHI Health Center Omaha.
Creighton is 214-47 (.820) at CHI Health Center Omaha under Greg McDermott and hasn't trailed in 67 of those games. In that same span, CU owns a 111-11 home record (.910) 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 329-65 (.835) at home since the start of the 2002-03 campaign.
Home Run
Under Greg McDermott Creighton is averaging 80.78 points per home game (21,083 points in 261 home games), a figure that climbs to 84.25 points in non-conference home games (10,279 points in 122 home games).
Creighton is 158-7 all-time at CHI Health Center Omaha when scoring 80 or points.
Perfect 10
Greg McDermott has guided his team to the NCAA Tournament 10 times at Creighton. That put him in the company of some of the greatest coaches in CU Athletics history, and most among basketball coaches.
McDermott is one of three head coaches in Creighton history to lead 10 or more NCAA Tournament teams.
Name Sport NCAA's @CU
Kirsten Bernthal Booth Volleyball 14
Bob Warming Men's Soccer 11
Greg McDermott Men's Basketball 10
Jim Flanery Women's Basketball 8
Dana Altman Men's Basketball 7
Brent Vigness Softball 7
Firing On All Cylinders
Creighton finished the 2024-25 season ranked 35th overall by KenPom.com. That included the nation's No. 33 offense, and No. 44 defense.
Creighton has finished with a top-25 offense per KenPom eight times and a top-25 defense three times in 15 completed seasons under Greg McDermott.
Year Off. Rating Def. Rating Overall Rank
2010-11 66 174 98
2011-12 5 166 28
2012-13 5 66 15
2013-14 2 124 17
2014-15 59 138 79
2015-16 43 76 40
2016-17 32 46 28
2017-18 25 58 30
2018-19 47 83 55
2019-20 3 78 12
2020-21 25 32 22
2021-22 112 19 50
2022-23 23 14 12
2023-24 9 24 11
2024-25 33 44 35
2025-26 (12/14) 69 87 73
Ticket Information
Single-game tickets for the 2025-26 season went on sale on October 16th.
Fans can purchase single-game tickets at CHI Health Center Omaha Box Office, Ryan Athletic Center, by calling Ticketmaster or visiting Ticketmaster.com, and charging by phone at (800) 745-3000.
For more information, call the Creighton Ticket Office at (402) 280-JAYS.
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's BasketballCreighton Men's Basketball Highlights vs. Kansas State - 12/13/25
Saturday, December 13
Creighton Men's Basketball vs. Kansas State Press Conference - 12/13/25
Thursday, December 11
Creighton Men's Basketball Press Conference vs. Nebraska, 12/7/25
Monday, December 08
Creighton Men's Basketball Media Availability, 12/5/25
Friday, December 05
