Men's Hoops Seeks First BIG EAST Tournament Title vs. #6 St. John's

Game #34: Creighton Bluejays (24-9) vs. #6 St. John's Red Storm (29-4)
Saturday, March 15, 2025 • 5:30 p.m. Central • New York, N.Y. • Madison Square Garden
| LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES | SJU NOTES |

• Coming off a 71-62 win over two-time defending national champion Connecticut last night, second-seeded Creighton (24-9) plays top-seeded and sixth-ranked St. John's (29-4) at 5:30 p.m. Central on Saturday evening at a sold out Madison Square Garden (19,812) in New York, N.Y.
    At stake...an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.

• Gus Johnson, Jim Jackson and Kristina Pink will call the game on FOX and FoxSports.com/live.
    John Bishop and Taylor Stormberg will handle the radio broadcast on 1620 the Zone, 101.9 The Keg and 1620TheZone.com.
    Scott Graham and PJ Carlesimo will call the game on Westwood One affiliates nationwide.
    Live stats can be found at https://bigeastmbb.statbroadcast.com/events/tournament.php?tid=220.

• Creighton is 19-12 all-time against St. John's, and 17-7 in the match-up since joining the BIG EAST. The only previous time the teams shared a floor at the BIG EAST Tournament, the game was halted at halftime due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Hours later, the NCAA cancelled the rest of the season in all sports.
    Though Saturday's game is at Madison Square Garden, where CU is 0-4 against the Red Storm, tonight's game is being considered a neutral-site contest by the NCAA for home/away/road and NET purposes. The only previous neutral site meeting between Creighton and St. John's came on Dec. 22, 1971, where St. John's won 94-73 in Albuquerque, N.M.
    Creighton has scored 77+ points in seven of its last nine victories vs. St. John's and are 14-0 all-time against the Red Storm when scoring 76 points or more.
    Greg McDermott is 17-7 against St. John's and 2-2 against Rick Pitino.

• With a win, Creighton would...
    Improve to 25-9.
    Improve to 13-10 all-time at the BIG EAST Tournament, including a 1-4 mark in the finals.
    Improve to 7-3 all-time at the BIG EAST Tournament as a No. 2 seed.
    Improve to 2-1 all-time at the BIG EAST Tournament against No. 1 seeds.
    Improve to 1-0 all-time at the BIG EAST Tournament in completed games against St. John's.
    Win its first BIG EAST Tournament, becoming the first of the three 2013 additions (Butler/Creighton/Xavier) to cut down the nets at The Garden in mid-March.
    Earn its second Top 10 win of the year, having also beaten No. 1 Kansas on Dec. 4th.

• Upcoming Creighton milestones include...
    Steven Ashworth is 52 points shy of 2,000 in his career.
    Jasen Green is six points shy of 194 in his career.
    Ryan Kalkbrenner is six three-pointers shy of 50, four points shy of 2,400 and eight blocks away from 400 in his career.
    Ryan Kalkbrenner is 17 rebounds shy of 300 this season.
    Ryan Kalkbrenner is 39 points shy of Chris Mullin's BIG EAST Tournament record of 201 in a career.
    Assistant coach Derek Kellogg would win his 10th conference tournament title, including four as a player at UMass, one as an assistant at George Mason, two as an assistant at Memphis and one as a head coach at LIU.
    Greg McDermott owns 349 wins at Creighton and is one short of 350. He owns 498 Division I wins.
    Jamiya Neal is 57 points away from 1,000 in his career.

• While Creighton is searching for its first BIG EAST Tournament title, the Bluejays did win 12 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament titles (1978, 1981, 1989, 1991, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2012 and 2013).
    CU is 0-4 all-time in BIG EAST Tournament finals after winning its final nine MVC Tourney finals and going 12-1 overall in the MVC Tournament title tilts.
    St. John's is playing in its first BIG EAST Tournament final since winning the 2000 title.

• Creighton is playing in its fifth BIG EAST Tournament final in a 12-year span. The Bluejays are the first team to play in the finals five of 12 years since VIllanova did six times from 2015-22 (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022).

• Before tonight, the top two seeds have met in a BIG EAST final just once since 2004 (2023, No. 1 Marquette beat No. 2 Xavier).
    Saturday will be the 11th time that the No. 1 seed has faced the No. 2 seed in the final. Each seed has five victories, but the No. 2 seed hasn't won in such a match-up since No. 2 UConn beat No. 1 Pittsburgh 61-58 in 2004.
    The No. 1 seed owns 17 titles, but has never won it three straight years, as St. John's is trying to do.
    The last time the BIG EAST Tournament featured a different school winning the title in five straight years was 2007-11, while it also happened from 2006-10 and 1993-97.

• When Creighton played St. John's at Madison Square Garden on February 16th, the Bluejays were called for 23 fouls. That was the most fouls in a regulation game since Nov. 12, 2017 vs. Alcorn State.
    Creighton has committed 360 fouls in 33 games this season. That average of 10.91 per game is on pace to set an all-time NCAA single-season record.

• One other category to keep an eye on is turnovers. Creighton had 34 turnovers in its two regular-season meetings with St. John's, which helped lead to 36 points off turnovers for the Red Storm.

• Creighton's four turnovers last night were its fewest ever in a BIG EAST Tournament game, as well as a season-low. It was just the ninth time in 15 seasons under Greg McDermott that Creighton's had four turnovers or less in a game, and tied for the fewest against a Division I foe. CU's last game with four or fewer turnovers was Nov. 29, 2010 vs. North Dakota State.

• Last night's 71-62 win was not a Creighton scorigami. The Bluejays also won 71-62 against Bradley on both March 4, 2000 (in the MVC Tournament quarterfinals) as well as on Dec. 28, 2004.

• Creighton got to the title game after staring elimination in the face in a double-overtime win on Thursday vs. DePaul in which it overcame a 36-21 halftime deficit. CU was just the third team (in 52 tries) in BIG EAST Tournament history to win a game after trailing by 15+ points at half.
    The first team to do so, Syracuse in the 2006 semifinals vs. Georgetown, won the Tourney title that year.
    No team has ever won multiple overtime games in the same BIG EAST Tournament en route to a title.
    Two of Greg McDermott's three conference tournament titles as a Division I head coach have come via overtime victories in the title game.

• Creighton is 3-6 all-time in the BIG EAST Tournament as a "worse" seed, with its most recent win coming on March 11, 2022 with a 83-58 destruction of Providence in the semifinal round.

• Greg McDermott's 12 BIG EAST Tournament wins at Creighton are five more than any other coach at their current school. Dan Hurley has seven to rank second.
    McDermott's 12 wins are tied with Lou Carnesecca, Jamie Dixon and Kevin Willard for ninth place in league history. A win on Saturday would him with Rollie Massimino and PJ Carlesimo (who will be courtside broadcasting for Westwood One) for seventh-most in league history.
    McDermott's coaching counterpart tonight, Rick Pitino, owns three BIG EAST Tournament wins with St. John's and 18 overall in his career to rank fifth-most.

• Creighton owns three Top 25 wins this season in seven tries. Its only teams with four or more are 2019-20 (6), 2022-23 (6), 2021-22 (5), 2016-17(4) and 2017-18 (4).
        This year is the eighth time in the last nine seasons Creighton has picked up three or more Top 25 wins, something that had never happened even once in program history prior to 2016-17.

• Creighton is 61-174 all-time against top 25 teams.
    Creighton is 41-57 under Greg McDermott against nationally-ranked teams, 34 more top 25 wins than any other coach in Creighton history. Prior to McDermott's arrival, Creighton was 20-117 all-time against top 25 foes.
    Creighton has beaten at least one ranked team in each of the last 12 seasons (including 2024-25). On a national basis, the only teams with a top-25 win each of the last 12 seasons (including 2024-25) are Baylor, Creighton, Duke, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Michigan State, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas Tech, Villanova, West Virginia and Wisconsin. Florida State and Virginia are still in search of their first Top 25 win this winter to join that group.
    Creighton has beaten multiple ranked foes in each of the last 10 seasons (including 2024-25), something only Baylor, Creighton, Gonzaga, Kansas, Michigan State, Purdue and Villanova can claim. Texas Tech (1) is still trying to get there to extend their streak.
    Creighton owns at least one Top 10 win each of the last 10 seasons (including 2024-25). The only schools with at least one top-10 win every season from 2015-16 to 2024-25 have been Creighton, Kansas and Texas Tech, while Virginia Tech is still trying to join that group with a Top 10 win this winter.

• Creighton owns 24 wins and can reach the 25 win mark with a win on Saturday. It would be Creighton's eighth time ever with 25 wins or more, with six of those seasons coming under Greg McDermott.
    Creighton would also win 25 games in back-to-back seasons for the first time since doing it in three straight seasons from 2011-12 to 2013-14, also under McDermott.
    Creighton, which owns 26 women's basketball wins, is currently one of seven schools nationally with 24+ wins in both men's and women's basketball. Duke is the only other Power 4 school to do it, and the Bluejays and Blue Devils are joined by Charleston, George Mason, Grand Canyon, Liberty and North Texas.

• Creighton shot 75% in the first half (18-24) last night, its best half in a BIG EAST Tournament game ever. The previous best was 72% (18-25) vs. Xavier in the second half on March 10, 2017. It's the sixth half under Greg McDermott that Creighton has shot 75 percent or better.

• Creighton is one of 12 schools to have won 24 games or more in 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25. That group consists of Alabama, Charleston, Creighton, Drake, Duke, Gonzaga, Grand Canyon, Houston, Saint Mary's, Tennessee, Utah State and VCU.

• Creighton's only Top 25 conference tournament wins been came over No. 11 Providence in the 2022 BIG EAST Tournament semifinals and over No. 11 Southern Illinois in the 2007 MVC Tournament final.

• Creighton owns 145 dunks this season after its two slams yesterday, its most of any season under Greg McDermott (previously 144 in 2016-17). Ryan Kalkbrenner owns 90 dunks this year, 15 more than the previous high Kalkbrenner had last year. Kalkbrenner owns 323 dunks in a Bluejay uniform...next closest under McDermott is Martin Krampelj's 121.

• Steven Ashworth has made 101 three-pointers this season. Only Kyle Korver (129 in 2002-03), Ethan Wragge (110 in 2013-14) and Baylor Scheierman (110 in 2023-24) have more.
    Ashworth also moved up to fourth on CU's single-season three-pointers attempted list with 269, tied with Korver in 2002-03 and trailing only Scheierman (289 in 2023-24).

• Ryan Kalkbrenner blocked a shot for the 18th straight game last night and had his 25th straight game with 10 or more points.
    Ryan Kalkbrenner has 26 career blocks in 11 BIG EAST Tournament games, tied for second-most in league history with Patrick Ewing and Dikembe Mutombo. Only Alonzo Mourning (33) has more.
    Ryan Kalkbrenner owns 1,126 career rebounds, tied with Bob Harstad for second-most in CU history. Paul Silas owns the Bluejay record with 1,751.
    Ryan Kalkbrenner owns 392 career blocked shots and is eight shy of 400. The school-record is 411 by Benoit Benjamin. Kalkbrenner's 392 swats are tied for 32nd-most in NCAA history with D'Or Fischer and Tim Perry and four behind Mickell Gladness for 31st.
    Ryan Kalkbrenner's 12 points last night give him 2,396 in his career, moving him from 127th to 121st in NCAA history. Among those he can pass on Saturday include St. John's legend Malik Sealy (2,401) for 119th. To crack the top 100, Kalkbrenner would need to reach 2,460 career points.
    Among Creighton's BIG EAST Tournament career records held by Ryan Kalkbrenner are points (162), rebounds (63), field goals made (67), field goal attempts (98), free throws made (25), free throws attempted (36), blocks (26), minutes (330), games played (11), games started (8), different years played (5) and wins played in (7).

• Creighton is 17-3 when Fedor Zugic plays this season but 7-6 when he doesn't. Zugic had four points last night and leads all Bluejay reserves with 17 points overall at the 2025 BIG EAST Tournament.

• The only Creighton men to earn All-Tournament Team honors at the BIG EAST Tournament have been Doug McDermott and Austin Chatman, who helped take CU to the finals in 2014, Marcus Foster, who led the Jays to the 2017 title tilt, Marcus Zegarowski when CU reached the final in 2021, both Arthur Kaluma and Ryan Kalkbrenner in CU's 2022 trip to the final, and Kalkbrenner again in 2023.
    The only players in league history to be named to three All-Tournamnt Teams (as Ryan Kalkbrenner and Kam Jones might) have been Connecticut's Ben Gordon (2002-03-04) and Khalid El-Amin (1998-99-2000). Georgetown's Alonzo Mourning (1989-91-92), Patrick Ewing (1982-84-85) and Eric Floyd (1980-81-82), Louisville's Peyton Siva (2011-12-13), Syracuse's Sherman Douglas (1987-88-89) and Leo Rautins (1981-82-83), Villanova's Josh Hart (2015-16-17) and Ed Pinckney (1982-84-85) and Xavier's Trevon Bluiett (2016-17-18).

• Creighton owns 25 previous NCAA Tournament appearances, going 20-26 in those games. A program-record nine of those appearances have come under Greg McDermott, who has led CU to 11 of those 20 wins.
    The 2024-25 campaign figures to tie a program-record with its fifth straight NCAA Tournament bid.
    Creighton, Gonzaga, Houston, UCLA and Alabama are nation's only schools to have appeared in at least three of the previous four Sweet 16s.
    Creighton is one of five teams in the country with at least one NCAA Tournament win each of the previous four seasons, joining Baylor, Gonzaga, Houston and Kansas.

• Sophomore forward Jasen Green had a career-high 19 points in last night's win over UConn, eclipsing his previous best of 14. Green made 7-of-7 shots from the floor in the first half after never having previously made more than five baskets in any game, and having just one point to his name in his first two career BIG EAST Tournament games.

• Saturday will mark Creighton's sixth appearance on FOX this season, which already features road wins at Butler, at UConn and at Villanova in addition to a home win over Marquette and road loss at Xavier.
    After a rough start on FOX, the network has been a good luck charm for the Bluejays in recent sea-
sons, helping CU improve to 22-18 on the channel since joining the BIG EAST.
    Creighton lost its first seven appearances and was 2-10 on FOX in its first six seasons as a BIG EAST member. Since then, Creighton is 20-8 on the network, including a 10-1 mark in its last 11 appearances.

Men's Hoops Seeks First BIG EAST Tournament Title vs. #6 St. John's

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Players Mentioned

Steven Ashworth

Jasen Green

Ryan Kalkbrenner

Jamiya Neal

Baylor Scheierman