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CU in the NBA
Jahenns Manigat fights with Tyler Brown during last year's game in Omaha.
Courtesy: AP
Men's Basketball Hosts Redbirds in Saturday Night ESPN2 Tilt
By: None
Release: 02/08/2013
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2012-13 Creighton Men's Basketball
Game #25 vs. Illinois State • Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013 • 9:05 pm
Illinois State Redbirds at #16 Creighton Bluejays
CenturyLink Center Omaha (17,390) • Omaha, Neb.
Radio: KXSP 590 AM, www.am590espnradio.com
Television: ESPN2
Series History: Illinois State leads, 40-30
Last Meeting: Creighton 79, Illinois State 72 on 1/2/13 in Normal, Ill.
Next Game
No. 16 Creighton (20-4, 9-3 MVC) continues its quest for an MVC regular-season title on Saturday when it hosts Illinois State (14-10, 5-7 MVC).
The rematch of last year's MVC Tournament title game will tip off at 9:05 pm Central at CenturyLink Center Omaha (17,390) in Omaha, Neb.
Radio Broadcast Information
KXSP ("AM 590 - Omaha's ESPN Radio") will broadcast all Creighton men's basketball games during the 2012-13 season, including Saturday. T. Scott Marr and Nick Bahe will call the action. The audio is also webcast live at www.AM590espnradio.com.
Television Information
Saturday's game will air nationwide on ESPN2, with Rich Hollenberg and Mark Adams on the call. Coordinates follow:
Satellite (Digital): AMC 1/01C
U/L: 5945 MHz V
D/L: 3720 MHz H
Mod: DVB-S QPSK
SR: 29.27 Ms
DR: 40.461470554 Mbps
BW: 36 MHz
Webcast Information
Saturday's game airs free on the WatchESPN app, but is not scheduled for ESPN3.com.
Live Stats Information
All of Creighton's games this season will have free live stats. Visit www.gocreighton.com and click on the Live Stats tab on the top of the page for a link the exact URL.
Home games can also be followed by those who have mobile devices with internet capability at www.gocreightonstats.com.
Scouting No. 16 Creighton
Creighton is 20-4 this season, including non-conference wins over Wisconsin, Arizona State, UAB, Saint Joseph's, Nebraska, Akron, Cal and Tulsa. The Jays are coming off its worst loss of the season, a 76-57 loss at Indiana State on Wednesday night.
After being named First Team All-American a year ago, junior forward
Doug McDermott
(23.3 ppg., 7.3 rpg.) has lived up to extensive preseason hype and was named the Midseason National Player of the Year by Dick Vitale, Seth Davis, Mike DeCourcy and Andy Katz (among others). McDermott has been named MVC Player of the Week six times this year and is 48-for-87 from three-point range in the past 18 games.
Second on the team in scoring is senior center
Gregory Echenique
(9.9 ppg., 7.1 rpg., 1.8 bpg.). Echenique has led the MVC in blocked shots each of the past two years.
Creighton also boasts a veteran backcourt consisting of
Grant Gibbs
(8.1 ppg., 5.8 apg., 4.2 rpg.),
Austin Chatman
(8.3 ppg., 4.6 apg.) and
Jahenns Manigat
(5.7 ppg.). Gibbs and Chatman rank 1-2 in the MVC in assists, while Manigat led The Valley in league play in three-point percentage a year ago.
Creighton's bench is led by sharpshooter
Ethan Wragge
(8.7 ppg.), who leads the MVC with 59 three-pointers made and has drilled six three-pointers in a game on three occasions this season.
Creighton leads the nation in field goal percentage (.517), two-point percentage (.566), three-point percentage (.443) and three-pointers per game (9.6) while also outrebounding foes by 5.2 caroms a game. CU scores 78.0 points per game.
Scouting Illinois State
Illinois State is 14-10 on the season and has won five of six league contests since starting Valley play 0-6.
The Redbirds are paced by preseason All-Valley pick Jackie Carmichael (18.1 ppg., 9.3 rpg., 2.0 bpg.), as well as Tyler Brown (16.0 ppg., 48 three-pointers).
Also scoring in bunches are Bryant Allen (9.4 ppg.), Johnny Hill (7.2 ppg, 3.3 apg.) and Jon Ekey (7.2 ppg., 4.5 rpg.).
The Redbirds are 4-5 on the road this season, including a 2-4 mark in Valley play. The 'Birds average 76.0 points per game this season and shoot 46.4 percent from the field, 34.5 percent from downtown and 70.5 percent at the line.
The Coaches
Greg McDermott
(Northern Iowa, 1988) is in his third season as head coach at Creighton. He led CU to a 29-6 mark last year, and is now 72-26 with the Bluejays. 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 owns a career mark of 352-221 in 19 seasons and is 221-157 in 12 Division I campaigns. McDermott is assisted by
Darian DeVries
Steve Lutz
and Steve Merfeld.
Illinois State is coached by Dan Muller (Illinois State, 1998), who is 14-10 in his first year as a head coach at any level. Muller starred at Illinois State as a player, then spent the past 12 years as a Vanderbilt assistant to his former Redbird coach, Kevin Stallings. Muller is assisted by Dana Ford, Rob Judson and Torrey Ward.
The Series With Illinois State
Illinois State leads the all-time series with Creighton by a 40-30 margin but the Bluejays have won 22 of the last 32 meetings.
The Bluejays own a 17-15 lead in Omaha, including a 6-3 mark at CenturyLink Center Omaha.
Creighton coach
Greg McDermott
has won 11 straight meetings to improve to 13-4 all-time against Illinois State (6-0 since coming to Creighton) and is 1-0 against Dan Muller. Muller is 0-1 against Creighton.
Creighton's series history vs. Illinois State can be found on page 11 of these notes.
Last Game Recap
Despite a career-high 13 points from
Will Artino
, Creighton was handed its worst loss of the year, falling 76-57 at Indiana State on Wednesday. The Sycamores led 35-24 at the half, then extended that margin with a 10-2 run to open the second stanza. Jake Odum led three 'Trees in double-figures with 22 points.
What To Watch For
A few facts and figures to keep an eye on during Saturday's game.
-Creighton seeks its seventh straight win over Illinois State.
-Creighton is 16-0 when leading at half this season, while Illinois State is 2-5 when trailing at half.
-Creighton is 13-1 in games decided by 15 or more points, while Illinois State is 6-0 in such contests.
-Creighton seeks its 17th straight season with 10 or more league wins.
-Creighton has 13 straight wins vs. teams from Illinois and 19 straight wins vs. teams that have a shade of red in its official colors.
10 Conference Wins x 16
Last season's Creighton team extended its MVC record by winning 10 or more league games for a 16th consecutive season.
On a national basis, the only other current school with at least 16 straight years of 10 or more league wins is Kansas (18).
Each of the last 16 seasons has seen the team finish fourth place or better in the MVC as well.
Creighton can reach 10 MVC wins with a win on Saturday vs. Illinois State.
Where There's A Will
One bright spot in Wednesday's game at Indiana State was the play of reserve center
Will Artino
. Artino tied a career-high with 13 points, making all five of his field goal attempts and adding three free throws, two rebounds and a steal.
Artino is now shooting 32-for-49 on the year (65.3 percent) from the field, and has made 18 of his last 19 attempts from the floor in his past 10 games.
March 2 To Be Televised, Start at 1:05 PM
Creighton's March 2 game vs. Wichita State will start at 1:05 pm and air on either ESPN or ESPN2. The contest was chosen by the Worldwide Leader in Sports on Thursday as part of the MVC's "Wildcard Weekend" selection process.
Creighton will honor seniors
Gregory Echenique
Grant Gibbs
Josh Jones
Joe Kelling
in a post-game ceremony that day.
Carmichael vs. Creighton
Illinois State big man Jackie Carmichael owns 59 points and 29 total rebounds in seven career games vs. Creighton. Much of the defensive work has been done by the reigning MVC Defensive Player of the Year,
Gregory Echenique
, one of the few Valley players who can match Carmichael's size and strength inside.
Echenique owns 50 points and 36 rebounds in six all-time meetings vs. ISU.
Carmichael and Echenique both rank top-13 in MVC history in blocked shots.
All-Time MVC Blocked Shot Leaders
Rk. Name, School Blocks
1. Benoit Benjamin, Creighton 411
2. Grant Stout, UNI 222
3. Antoine Carr, Wichita State 209
4. Randal Falker, Southern Illinios 195
5. Chad Gallagher, Creighton 183
6. Donald Powell, Bradley 190
7. Jackie Carmichael, Illinois State 180
8. DeCarsta Webster, Indiana State 168
9. Danny Moore, Missouri State 167
10. Greg Dilligard, Illinois State 160
Bradley Strickland, Evansville 160
12. Ashraf Amaya, Southern Illinois 158
13. Adebayo Akinkunle, Bradley 154
Gregory Echenique
, Creighton 154
Redbirds vs. Ranked
Illinois State has lost 27 of its last 28 games vs. ranked opponents since 1988, with only a 2012 MVC Tournment semifinal round victory over No. 15 Wichita State to show for it.
Creighton is ranked No. 16 in the AP poll entering Wednesday's game.
Postseason Contenders
Either Creighton or Illinois State has made the postseason in each of the last 18 years. In six of those 18 seasons, both Creighton and Illinois State have participated in postseason play.
Piling Up The Points
Illinois State yielded just 66.0 points per game last season, but that average would have been 63.7 per contest if you hadn't counted three meetings with Creighton in which it allowed 87, 102 and 83 points.
In the first meeting this season, Creighton scored 79 points against an ISU team that's been allowing 68.6 points per game.
Each of the last 15 meetings that Creighton has scored 70 or more points in regulation vs. Illinois State, the Bluejays have won the game.
Regroup Or Reload?
Creighton lost 76-57 on Wednesday at Indiana State, its largest margin in a defeat since falling 89-68 to Wichita State last February.
That team would regroup and win its next eight contests, including an MVC Tournament title and an NCAA Tournament victory over Alabama.
High Scoring Duo's
Saturday's game features the two highest-scoring duo's in the MVC. Illinois State's Jackie Carmichael (18.1) and Tyler Brown (16.0) combine to average 34.1 per contest, while Creighton's
Doug McDermott
(23.3) and
Gregory Echenique
(9.9) score 33.2 per game.
No other Valley school owns a duo that averages more than 30 per game.
Bright Lights, Big Wins
Creighton is 37-18 in its last 55 games on ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU, and will be making its fifth appearance of the year on a World Wide Leader network on Saturday.
In these 55 ESPN-affiliated appearances, Creighton is 34-10 when scoring 62 points or more, but just 3-8 when scoring 61 points or less.
Below is CU's recent results on the ESPN family of networks:
Network Home Road Neutral Total
Total 20-4 10-11 7-3 37-18
Late Night At The Link
Saturday's scheduled 9:05 pm tip will ensure a ninth straight season that Creighton has played a home game that tips off at 8 pm or later.
The Jays are 12-2 in such games at CenturyLink Center Omaha, including 10 straight victories.
The latest start time in building history came on Feb. 18, 2006, when Creighton defeated Fresno State, 67-62, in a nationally-televised BracketBuster showdown that tipped at 11:02 pm.
Other memorable late nights at CenturyLink Center Omaha include a win over
Greg McDermott
's No. 25 Northern Iowa club (Jan. 31, 2006), and improbable last-second comeback victories over Rhode Island (March 18, 2008), Southern Illinois (Jan. 13, 2010) and Long Beach State (Feb. 18, 2012).
Making Them Ill(inois)
Last year marked the first time Creighton played a season without a loss to a team from Illinois since 1973-74. The Jays went 9-0 last season against teams from the state of Illinois, having gone 3-0 against Illinois State, 2-0 vs. Bradley and Southern Illinois, and 1-0 against Northwestern and Chicago State.
The Jays have won 13 straight games against teams from the "Land of Lincoln", overall, when you include this season's victories over Illinois State, Southern Illinois and Bradley.
I See Red People
Creighton will looks to extend a lengthy trend of success over teams wearing a shade of red when it hosts Illinois State on Feb. 9th.
Creighton went a perfect 14-0 in the 2012 calendar year against teams that wear red/cardinal/crimson/scarlet/garnet/maroon, and has won its last 19 against teams wearing a similar color, as seen below:
Date Opponent Color Score
02/02/13 Bradley Red W 75-57
01/30/13 Missouri State Maroon W 91-77
01/27/13 Southern Illinois Maroon W 81-51
01/11/13 Missouri State Maroon W 74-52
01/02/13 Illinois State Red W 79-72
12/06/12 Nebraska Scarlet W 64-42
12/01/12 Saint Joseph's Crimson W 80-51
11/24/12 Arizona State Maroon W 87-73
11/23/12 Wisconsin Cardinal W 84-74
11/18/12 Presbyterian Garnet W 87-58
03/16/12 Alabama Crimson W 58-57
03/04/12 Illinois State Red W 83-79
02/14/12 Southern Illinois Maroon W 88-69
02/01/12 Illinois State Red W 102-74
01/28/12 Bradley Red W 73-59
01/18/12 Missouri State Maroon W 66-65
01/15/12 Southern Illinois Maroon W 90-71
01/13/12 Illinois State Red W 87-78
01/07/12 Bradley Red W 92-83
Historically After 12 MVC Games
Creighton is 9-3 in the MVC after the 12th game of the league slate. This is the 18th straight season that Creighton has had a league record of .500 or better after 12 games, and each of the previous 17 campaigns the Jays would also go .500 or better in its final six contests as well.
Year W-L After 12 W-L Final 6
2012-13 9-3 ? ? ?
2011-12 11-1 3-3
2010-11 6-6 4-2
2009-10 7-5 3-3
2008-09 8-4 6-0
2007-08 7-5 3-3
2006-07 9-3 4-2
2005-06 9-3 3-3
2004-05 6-6 5-1
2003-04 9-3 3-3
2002-03 11-1 4-2
2001-02 10-2 4-2
2000-01 8-4 6-0
1999-00 7-5 4-2
1998-99 7-5 4-2
1997-98 8-4 4-2
1996-97 7-5 3-3
1995-96 6-6 3-3
Total 136-68 (.667) 66-36 (.647)
20 Wins, Again
Creighton has won 20 or more games for the 14th time in the last 15 seasons, an unprecedented feat in Missouri Valley Conference history that puts the Jays among an exclusive group, nationally.
Entering this season, just five schools nationally have had 20 or more wins each of the last 14 years: Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Kansas and Syracuse.
Creighton was one of six schools to enter this season with 20 or more wins in exactly 13 of the past 14 years. That list consists of Creighton, Kent State, Kentucky, Texas, Utah State and Xavier.
That's better than traditional powers Arizona, Connecticut and Memphis (12 each) and also ahead of Michigan State, Pittsburgh and Wisconsin (11 each).
Creighton secured its 25th all-time 20-win season with a victory last Saturday, the second-fastest its ever been (by calendar) to that milestone.
Most 20+ Win Seasons, Last 14 Years (2/7)
Seasons* School 2012-13 W-L Next Game
14* Gonzaga 22-2 2/9
14 Duke 20-2 2/10
14 Kansas 19-3 2/9
14 Syracuse 19-3 2/10
14 Florida 18-3 2/9
13* Creighton 20-4 2/9
13 Utah State 16-5 2/8
13 Kentucky 16-6 2/9
13 Xavier 12-9 2/9
13 Kent State 12-11 2/9
13 Texas 10-12 2/9
*20-win seasons list above does not include 2012-13
20-Win Seasons
Creighton has earned its 25th 20-win season in program history.
Previous 20-Win Seasons, Sorted By Wins
W-L Season Postseason?
23-5 1921-22 --
20-4 2012-13 ? ? ?
20-12 1984-85 --
Title Game Rematch
Saturday night's contest features a rematch of last year's MVC Tournament title game between Creighton and Illinois State.
The Jays would win that contest, 83-79 in overtime, to claim their seventh Valley Tournament title in the past 14 seasons.
Doug McDermott
tied a title-game record since the tourney moved to St. Louis in 1991 with 33 points, while
Grant Gibbs
added a career-best 20 points to aid CU's cause.
The Race To 2,000
A pair of MVC players could eclipse the 2,000 career points milestone this month. Evansville's Colt Ryan has 1,994 career points (in 116 games) and Creighton's
Doug McDermott
(in 98 games) isn't far behind at 1,941.
Below is a list of the all the players in MVC history to 2,000 career points, the quickest MVC players to reach 2,000 points, and a listing of the nation's players since 1995-96 to reach 2,000 career points in less than 100 career games, and some other notable players nationwide who reached 2,000 career points with how long it took them to reach the milestone.
All-Time MVC Scoring Leaders
Rk. Name, School Points
1. Hersey Hawkins, Bradley 3,008
2. Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati 2,973
3. Larry Bird, Indiana State 2,850
4. John S. Williams, Indiana State 2,374
5. Mitchell Anderson, Bradley 2,341
6. Steve Harris, Tulsa 2,272
7. Cleo Littleton, Wichita State 2,164
8. Xavier McDaniel, Wichita State 2,152
9. Rodney Buford, Creighton 2,116
10. Bob Harstad, Creighton 2,110
11. Roger Phegley, Bradley 2,064
12. Marcus Wilson, Evansville 2,053
13. Kent Williams, Southern Illinois 2,012
MVC's Fastest Players to 2,000 Points
Rk. Name, School Games to 2,000
1. Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati 59
2. Larry Bird, Indiana State 65
3. Hersey Hawkins, Bradley 97
4. John Sherman Williams, Indiana State 98
5. Mitchell Anderson, Bradley 100
6. Roger Phegley, Bradley 100
7. Cleo Littleton, Wichita State 107
8. Rodney Buford, Creighton 111
9. Steve Harris, Tulsa 111
10. Xavier McDaniel, Wichita State 112
11. Marcus Wilson, Evansville 117
12. Bob Harstad, Creighton 121
13. Kent Williams, Southern Illinois 130
Fewest Games to 2,000 Points, Since 1996-97
Rk. Name, School Games to 2,000
1. Keydren Clark, Saint Peter's 77
2. Stephen Curry, Davidson 82
3. Reggie Williams, VMI 93
4. Troy Murphy, Notre Dame 94
Gary Neal, La Salle/Towson State 94
6. Trey Johnson, Jackson St. & Alcorn St. 96
C.J. McCollum, Lehigh 96
8. Michael Watson, UMKC 97
9. Troy Bell, Boston College 98
Taylor Coppenrath, Vermont 98
Ricky Minard, Morehead State 98
12. Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina 99
J.J. Barea, Northeastern 99
14. Henry Domercant, Eastern Illinois 100
James Florence, Mercer 100
Chris Davis, North Texas 100
17. Brion Rush, Grambling 102
More About 2,000 Points
Some additional notes about the 2,000 point club.
-The MVC's last player to score 2,000 points in a career is Southern Illinois' Kent Williams (1999-2003).
-Should both Colt Ryan and
Doug McDermott
reach 2,000 points this season, it'll be just the third time that the MVC has had two men join the 2,000 point club in the same season. It happened in 1984-85 (Steve Harris & Xavier McDaniel), then again in 1998-99 (Rodney Buford & Marcus Wilson).
-Ryan's Evansville team hosts McDermott's Creighton team on Feb. 16th. That day could be the first time since March 1, 1999 that two players in the faced each other as members of the 2,000 point club. That match-up was also between Creighton & Evansville, as Rodney Buford's CU team defeated Marcus Wilson's UE squad in the 1999 MVC Tournament final. Buford had 21 points, while Wilson scored 16.
Doug McDermott
gets to 2,000 points this season, he'd become the first player in MVC history to reach that milestone during his junior season. The only other men to reach 2,000 in three years were Larry Bird and Oscar Robertson, though both men played their sophomore through senior seasons at their respective schools.
Compared To The Greats
Doug McDermott
's at 1,941 points in 98 games. Assuming he scores 59 points in his next 5 games, he'll get there fewer career games than any Oscar Robertson Trophy or John R. Wooden Award winner in the last 20 years except one (Tyler Hansbrough, 99 games).
Wooden Award & Oscar Robertson Trophy Winners To 2,000 Points, Last 20 Years
Name, School Games to 2,000
W O Anthony Davis, Kentucky Didn't reach 2,000
W O Jimmer Fredette, BYU 120
W O Evan Turner, Ohio State Didn't reach 2,000
W O Blake Griffin, Oklahoma Didn't reach 2,000
W O Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina 99
W O Kevin Durant, Texas Didn't reach 2,000
W O J.J. Redick, Duke 112
--O Adam Morrison, Gonzaga Didn't reach 2,000
W O Andrew Bogut, Utah Didn't reach 2,000
W O Jameer Nelson, Saint Joseph's 122
W T.J. Ford, Texas Didn't reach 2,000
-- O David West, Xavier 120
W O Jason Williams, Duke 104
W O Shane Battier, Duke Didn't reach 2,000
W O Kenyon Martin, Cincinnati Didn't reach 2,000
W O Elton Brand, Duke Didn't reach 2,000
W O Antawn Jamison, N. Carolina Didn't reach 2,000
W O Tim Duncan, Wake Forest 124
W O Marcus Camby, UMass Didn't reach 2,000
W O Ed O'Bannon, UCLA Didn't reach 2,000
W O Glenn Robinson, Purdue Didn't reach 2,000
W O Calbert Cheaney, Indiana 105
W = Wooden Award winner
O = Oscar Robertson Trophy winner
Rare Bird
According to research from STATS Inc., only eight men since 1996-97 have compiled at least 1,930 points, 735 rebounds and 150 three-pointers in their career. That list includes Creighton junior
Doug McDermott
Name, School PTS REB 3FG
Reggie Williams, VMI 2,556 820 196
Kyle Singler, Duke 2,392 1,015 267
Da'Sean Butler, West Virginia 2,095 800 205
Romain Sato, Xavier 2,005 892 307
Shane Battier, Duke 1,984 887 246
Luke Jackson, Oregon 1,970 746 174
Ken Horton, C. Connecticut St. 1,966 842 158
Doug McDermott
, Creighton 1,941 743 155
McDermott Earns MVC Awards
Doug McDermott
has been named MVC Player of the Week six times this season, matching the most by any player in one season in league history.
His first honor came Nov. 12th for his performance in a Nov. 9 win vs. North Texas. McDermott had 21 points and 11 rebounds to produce CU's first double-double in a season-opener since Kyle Korver in 2001-02.
He was then honored on Nov. 26th after averaging 25.3 points and 7.3 rebounds while earning MVP honors of the Las Vegas Invitational.
McDermott was honored on Dec. 10th after averaging 28.5 points in wins vs. Nebraska and Akron.
McDermott was honored on Dec. 17th after scoring 34 points and hauling down nine rebounds in a win at Cal on Dec. 15th. He was also named National Player of the Week by Seth Davis (CBS/Sports Illustrated) and the USBWA for that performance.
His fifth honor of the year came on Jan. 14th after he averaged 27.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in wins over Missouri State and Drake.
Most recently, McDermott averaged 27.0 points and 8.5 rebounds per game in wins vs. Missouri State and Bradley to win the award on Feb. 4th.
McDermott now owns 11 career MVC Player of the Week honors, something only Bradley great Hersey Hawkins (14) can top. His six honors this year tie Hawkins 1987-88 campaign for the most ever in a single-season.
Including his seven MVC Newcomer of the Week honors in 2010-11, McDermott has won at least one weekly award from the MVC in 18 of 45 weeks since enrolling at Creighton.
Chasing History
Doug McDermott
has scored 21 or more points in 17 of the season's 24 games, moving up to fourth on Creighton's all-time scoring list with 1,941 career points.
At McDermott's current scoring average of 23.3 points per game this year he'll become Creighton's all-time leading scorer in eight more games. Creighton has a minimum of eight games remaining this season.
By comparison, both of Creighton's top two all-time leading scorers, Rodney Buford (1995-99) and Bob Harstad (1987-91), had exactly 1,540 points at the end of their junior seasons.
McDermott is within range to make huge gains on both the MVC and Creighton scoring charts should he continue his recent productivity.
All-Time MVC Scoring Leaders
Rk. Name, School Points
1. Hersey Hawkins, Bradley 3,008
12. Marcus Wilson, Evansville 2,053
13. Kent Williams, Southern Illinois 2,012
14. Colt Ryan, Evansville* 1,994
15. Chad Gallagher, Creighton 1,983
16. Chet Walker, Bradley 1,975
Doug McDermott
, Creighton* 1,941
18. Dave Stallworth, Wichita State 1,936
All-Time Creighton Scoring Leaders
Rk. Name, Years Points
1. Rodney Buford, 1995-99 2,116
2. Bob Harstad, 1987-91 2,110
3. Chad Gallagher, 1987-91 1,983
Doug McDermott
, 2010-Pres.* 1,941
5. Bob Portman, 1966-69 1,876
More Than The Rest
Doug McDermott
has scored 1,941 points in his career, seventh-most among active players. He is the only active junior with at least 1,500 career points.
Most Points, Active Players (though 2/7)
Source: Stats Inc./MVC
Rk. Pts. Name, School Next Game
1. 2,361 C.J. McCollum, Lehigh 2/9
2. 2,146 Kevin Foster, Santa Clara 2/7
3. 2,138 Nate Wolters, S. Dakota State 2/9
4. 1,994 Colt Ryan, Evansville 2/10
5. 1,960 C.J. Reed, Georgia Southern 2/9
6. 1,943 Markeith Cummings, Kennesaw St. 2/9
7. 1,941
Doug McDermott
, Creighton 2/9
8. 1,919 Stan Okoye, VMI 2/8
9. 1,902 Shane Gibson, Sacred Heart 2/10
10. 1,900 D.J. Cooper, Ohio 2/9
11. 1,867 Kenny Boynton, Florida 2/9
12. 1,847 Mike Muscala, Bucknell 2/9
13. 1,841 Isaiah Canaan, Murray State 2/9
14. 1,840 Seth Curry, Duke 2/10
15. 1,758 Matthew Dellavedova, St. Mary's 2/14
Most Career Points, Active Juniors
Source: Creighton Sports Info/STATS Inc. (2/8)
Rk. Pts. Name, School Next Game
1. 1,941
Doug McDermott
, Creighton 2/9
2. 1,458 Devon Saddler, Delaware 2/9
3. 1,328 DeAndre Kane, Marshall 2/9
Big Time Road Win
Creighton's 81-51 road win at Southern Illinois (Jan. 27) was a most memorable victory.
It was Creighton's largest win away from home since a 99-52 neutral site win (in Kansas City) over IUPUI on Nov. 25, 2002.
It was Creighton's largest road win since Feb. 19, 1974 (83-52 at UC Irvine).
It was Creighton's largest margin of victory in any MVC road game in program history.
It was Creighton's largest margin of victory in any conference road game since Feb. 16, 1925 (46-16 at Morningside in the North Central Conference).
MVC's Best On The Road
In addition to owning one of the MVC's best home-court advantages, Creighton has easily posted the league's best record in MVC road games since 2000-01 as well.
Creighton is 62-52 in MVC road games in that span, a win percentage of .545. A distant second is Southern Illinois (53-61, .465). As a league, the road winning percentage has been .344 in the same span.
MVC Road Records (since 2000-01)
Team W L Pct.
Creighton 62 52 .544
Southern Illinois 53 61 .465
Wichita State 49 65 .430
Northern Iowa 45 68 .398
Missouri State 43 71 .377
Drake 33 81 .289
Illinois State 32 82 .281
Bradley 30 84 .263
Indiana State 25 89 .219
Evansville 20 95 .174
All MVC Teams 392 748 .344
Grand Poobah
Doug McDermott
scored 25 points last Saturday vs. Bradley and has now scored 1,026 points in his first 52 career home games. He is the all-time leading scorer in CenturyLink Center Omaha history.
McDermott also owns CenturyLink Center Omaha career records in points per game (19.7) and rebounds per game (7.7).
McDermott enters Saturday's game with 1,941 career points in all venues, good for fourth in school and 17th in MVC history.
In case you're curious, CU's all-time leading scorer, Rodney Buford, scored 1,056 points in 56 career home games at the Omaha Civic Auditorium.
Scoring Frenzy
No player has scored more points in the last two seasons than
Doug McDermott
, who owns the top spot on that list with 1,360 points in that span. Next up in a distant second on that list is South Dakota State's Nate Wolters (1,231).
Over .500, Again
Creighton has been better than .500 in either the first or second-half of the league season in 34 straight trips through the league, including this year's first half.
Creighton's 34 consecutive halves above .500 in league play is easily the Valley's longest active streak, with Wichita State next closest at eight.
Here's how Creighton's teams have fared in the various halves of the MVC season since 1995-96.
Year 1st Half 2nd Half
2012-13 7-2 2-1 so far
2011-12 8-1 6-3
2010-11 5-4 5-4
2009-10 5-4 5-4
2008-09 5-4 9-0
2007-08 5-4 5-4
2006-07 6-3 7-2
2005-06 7-2 5-4
2004-05 5-4 6-3
2003-04 7-2 5-4
2002-03 8-1 7-2
2001-02 8-1 6-3
2000-01 5-4 9-0
1999-00 5-4 6-3
1998-99 6-3 5-4
1997-98 5-4 7-2
1996-97 5-4 5-4
1995-96 4-5 5-4
Total 106-56 (.654) 105-51 (.673)
Climbing The Charts
Greg McDermott
ranks in 14th in league history in wins as well as MVC wins, as seen below:
Most Coaching Wins, All Games, MVC History
1. 486 Henry P. Iba, Oklahoma State
2. 337 Eddie Hickey, Creighton & Saint Louis
3. 327 Dana Altman, Creighton
4. 225 Rich Herrin, Southern Illinois
5. 220 Ralph Miller, Wichita State
6. 211 Maury John, Drake
7. 197 Joe Stowell, Bradley
8. 194 Chuck Orsborn, Bradley
9. 185 Ken Hayes, Tulsa & New Mexico St.
10. 177 Barry Hinson, Missouri State & SIU
11. 174 Jim Molinari, Bradley
12. 169 Dr. F.C. Allen, Kansas
13. 168 Bob Donewald, Illinois State
14. 164
Greg McDermott
, UNI & Creighton
15. 156 Dick Versace, Bradley
Most Coaching Wins, MVC Games Only
1. 187 Henry P. Iba, Oklahoma State
2. 162 Dana Altman, Creighton
3. 163 Eddie Hickey, Creighton & Saint Louis
4. 126 Dr. F.C. Allen, Kansas
5. 111 Rich Herrin, Southern Illinois
6. 110 Jim Molinari, Bradley
7. 97 Barry Hinson, Missouri State & SIU
8. 95 Maury John, Drake
9. 91 Joe Stowell, Bradley
10. 87 Gene Smithson, Wichita State
11. 86 Ken Hayes, Tulsa & New Mexico St.
86 Chuck Orsborn, Bradley
13. 84 W.O. Hamilton, Kansas
14. 82
Greg McDermott
, UNI & Creighton
15. 81 Dick Versace, Bradley
81 Ralph Miller, Wichita State
Chatman On The Double!
Sophomore point guard
Austin Chatman
had the first double-double of his young career on Jan. 30th when he had 10 assists to go with a career-high 14 points. His 10 assists directly led to 28 points, including eight three-pointers.
Chatman is the first Bluejay with a point/assist double-double since
Grant Gibbs
(12 points, 10 assists) at Illinois State on Jan. 13, 2012.
Chatman then established more highs his next time out when he scored a career-best 16 points in a victory vs. Bradley, including a career-high four three-point baskets.
Give Him The Oscar!
Creighton junior
Doug McDermott
is one of 12 players selected by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association for its 2013 Oscar Robertson Trophy Midseason Watch List. Members of the association's board of directors chose the players to be included on the list as contenders for the Oscar Robertson Trophy presented by Aflac.
In addition to McDermott, other players under consideration are Anthony Bennett, Trey Burke, Michael Carter-Williams, Ben McLemore, Victor Oladipo, Kelly Olynyk, Mason Plumlee, Russ Smith, Deshaun Thomas, Jeff Withey and Cody Zeller.
The award is to be presented to the national player of the year by its namesake at the Devon Energy College Basketball Awards on April 15 at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. The Henry Iba Coach of the Year Award and the Integris Wayman Tisdale Freshman of the Year Award will also be presented at the gala to be held annually the Monday following the NCAA Men's Final Four.
His Own Game of H-O-R-S-E
Doug McDermott
led the nation last year with 307 field goals made, and his 194 buckets this year are once again leading the country.
Of McDermott's 307 hoops last year, he made 56 baskets with his left hand and used the glass for 174 of his scores.
Though he's playing away from the basket even more this season, his numbers remain impressive, as he's used this left hand on 17 field goals and banked in a shot 87 times.
McDermott's 194 field goals this season lead the country, even though he's 13th nationally with 348 field goal attempts.
500 Point Club, Again
Doug McDermott
leads the nation with 559 points this season, his third straight season of 500 or more points.
He is the fourth player in Creighton history with three straight seasons of 500 or more points, joining Paul Silas (1961-64), Bob Harstad (1988-91) and Rodney Buford (1996-99). McDermott, however, is the only player in CU history with three straight seasons of 550 points or more.
Could He Lead The Nation?
Doug McDermott
enters Saturday's game ranked second in the nation in scoring. McDermott's averaging 23.3 points per game, trailing Virginia Tech's Erick Green (25.2 ppg.).
Green has scored between 20 to 36 points in 20 of his 22 games this season, but many tough tests lie ahead in the ACC.
The odds don't favor a player at a "BCS" school to finish as the scoring champ. Since 1971-72, the only guy playing at the "BCS" school to lead the nation in scoring was Purdue's Glenn Robinson (30.3 ppg.) in 1993-94.
Key Stat
Need a stat to watch on Saturday? Keep an eye on the rebound battle.
Creighton is 18-0 this season when it wins the rebound battle, while Illinois State is 9-2 when it wins the rebound battle.
Dating to last season, Creighton has won 25 straight games when the rebounds are tied or in its favor.
In Valley games, Creighton owns the league lead in rebound margin (+7.6), while Illinois State is fifth (-0.7) on the glass.
What A Start!
Now in his third year,
Greg McDermott
is 72-26 in his first 98 games on the Creighton sideline. The 72 wins are second-most in Creighton history after 98 games. Here's a breakdown of how he compares to some other Creighton coaches after 98 games.
W-L After 98 Games, Select CU Coaches
Coach Years W-L After 98
Arthur A. Schabinger 1922-35 73-25
Greg McDermott
2010-Pres. 72-26
Tom Apke 1974-81 71-27
Eddie Sutton 1969-74 58-40
Red McManus 1959-69 54-44
Dana Altman 1994-10 44-54
Tony Barone 1985-91 42-56
Willis Reed 1981-85 41-57
Racing To 70
Greg McDermott
enters Saturday's game with 72 wins in his first three seasons at Creighton. According to research by MVC Associate Commissioner Mike Kern, McDermott's 72 wins are fourth-most by a Valley coach in his first three years at a school.
Ed Jucker and Denny Crum both won national titles and are MVC Hall of Famers, while Crum is also in the Naismith and NABC Hall of Fame.
Most Wins, 1st Three Years at an MVC School
W-L Name, School Years
91-19 Forddy Anderson, Bradley 1948-51
84-7 Ed Jucker, Cincinnati 1959-62
78-26 Chris Lowery, Southern Illinois 2004-07
Greg McDermott
, Creighton 2010-Pres.
71-31 Tim Jankovich, Illinois State 2007-10
70-19 Denny Crum, Louisville 1971-74
Emerging Echenique
Gregory Echenique
scored in double-figures during eight straight games from Dec. 1st - Jan. 5th, then went five straight games in single-figures before reaching double-digits in two of his past four outings.
Creighton is 12-0 this year when Echenique scores in double-figures, and 37-11 all-time when he scores in double-figures.
Point, Counterpoint
No player in the MVC owns more assists in the past two seasons than Creighton senior
Grant Gibbs
' 316 in the first 59 games of his career.
Gibbs became the 12th player (and second-quickest) in Bluejay history to 300 assists.
MVC Assist Leaders, Since 2011-12
Grant Gibbs
, Creighton
259 Jake Odum, Indiana State
212 Troy Taylor, Evansville
Creighton's Quickest Players to 300 Assists
Games Name
53 Ralph Bobik
Grant Gibbs
59 Randy Eccker
69 Ryan Sears
85 Tyler McKinney
89 Duan Cole
94 Josh Dotzler
92 Vernon Moore
Antoine Young
102 Kevin McKenna
110 Latrell Wrightsell
129 Nate Funk
If it Ain't Broke
The Jays have had the fortune of using the same starting five in every game on both the men's (
Austin Chatman
Jahenns Manigat
Grant Gibbs
Doug McDermott
Gregory Echenique
) and women's (
McKenzie Fujan
Ally Jensen
Carli Tritz
Sarah Nelson
Alyssa Kamphaus
) side.
On a national basis, Creighton is the only team that has gone the entire basketball season without changing starting line-ups on both the men's or women's side.
Teach Me How To Stop Him
Doug McDermott
owns 20 or more points in 47 of his first 98 career games in a Bluejay uniform.
He's put up 20 points or more against a Valley opponent 21 times, including a 25 earlier this season vs. Indiana State.
Doug McDermott
Points vs. Opponents
Opponent Points Against 20+ 30+ 40+
Drake 152 4 1 -
Missouri State 143 2 1 -
Bradley 129 3 1 1
Illinois State 117 3 1 -
Evansville 115 3 - -
Indiana State 110 3 - -
Northern Iowa 108 1 1 -
Southern Illinois 91 2 - -
Wichita State 68 1 - -
Nebraska 61 2 - -
Tulsa 51 1 1 -
Saint Joseph's 49 2 - -
Akron 46 1 1 -
Northwestern 41 1 - -
Oregon 40 1 - -
Long Beach State 36 1 1 -
California 34 1 1 -
Davidson 31 1 1 -
Campbell 31 1 1 -
Wisconsin 30 1 1 -
Arizona State 29 1 - -
San Jose State 26 1 - -
Iowa 25 1 - -
San Diego State 25 1 - -
Houston Baptist 25 1 - -
Presbyterian 24 1 - -
Chicago State 21 1 - -
North Texas 21 1 - -
Boise State 21 1 - -
North Carolina 20 1 - -
Kennesaw State 18 - - -
Longwood 17 - - -
Alabama State 16 - - -
Iowa State 16 - - -
Alabama 16 - - -
Samford 14 - - -
North Carolina A&T 13 - - -
Louisiana 12 - - -
Idaho State 12 - - -
Northern Arizona 10 - - -
Western Illinois 9 - - -
Number 3, For 3
Doug McDermott
has made 50 percent or better of his three-point attempts during 12 of his last 18 games, and is shooting 50.5 percent from downtown overall this year.
McDermott's 155 career three-pointers are eighth-most in Bluejay history. Teammate
Ethan Wragge
is fourth with 205 treys.
3FG Name Years
371 Kyle Korver 1999-03
245 Ryan Sears 1997-01
212 Rodney Buford 1995-99
Ethan Wragge
200 Nate Funk 2002-07
185 Matt Roggenburk 1986-90
177 Duan Cole 1987-92
Doug McDermott
147 Booker Woodfox 2007-09
144 Dane Watts 2004-08
Who Will Start?
Creighton has utilized the same starting five in every game this season, and four of their five starters have streaks of 59 or more straight starts:
Consecutive Starts, Creighton (Active)
Doug McDermott
Gregory Echenique
Jahenns Manigat
Grant Gibbs
Austin Chatman
Elite Company
Doug McDermott
is averaging 23.3 points and 7.3 rebounds, while also shooting 50.5 percent from three-point range.
According to a graphic airing on ESPN on January 15th, McDermott could join Duke's Christian Laettner and UCLA's Tracy Murray as the only players in NCAA history to average at least 20 points, 7.0 rebounds while shooting 50 percent or better from downtown (min. 50 attempts).
Both Laettner and Murray did it in 1991-92, with Laettner taking home Wooden Award honors.
Did You See The 30-Pointer?
Doug McDermott
owns five games of 30 or more points this season, and 13 overall games in his career.
McDermott's five outings of 30 points or more this season lead the country through games of Feb. 3rd. Lehigh star C.J. McCollum has done it four times, while Darren White (Campbell), Ian Clark (Belmont), Matthew Dellavedova (Saint Mary's) and Stan Okoye (VMI) have done it three times each.
Poll Position
Creighton has been ranked in a program-record 17 consecutive Associated Press polls, breaking the mark of 15 in a row held by the 2002-03 squad.
Creighton jumped four spots to 13th in this week's USA Today Top 25 Coaches poll and went up five spots to 16th in the Associated Press poll that Creighton uses.
Creighton's best AP ranking this year was 11th on Nov. 26th, and its best caoches poll rank was 10th.
Creighton was ranked 15th in this year's preseason coaches poll, its first preseason recognition since coming in at No. 23 in 2006-07.
Creighton started this year with a No. 16 preseason ranking by the AP, its highest preseason mark in program history and the best by any MVC school since No. 6 Wichita State in 1981-82.
Including the February 4th poll, Creighton has now been ranked 26 times in 51 weeks of polls under
Greg McDermott
, and ranked between 26th-to-28th in five other polls. The 26 weeks in the top-25 under McDermott is more than any coach in Bluejay history.
Coaches Spending Most Weeks in Top 25 at CU
Greg McDermott
, 2010-Pres. 26 (of 51)
Dana Altman, 1994-2010 18
Tom Apke, 1974-81 5
Eddie Sutton, 1969-74 5
On A Roll
Since the start of last season, Creighton is a remarkable 49-10. On a national basis, Creighton's 49 wins since the start of last season ranks tied for fourth, as seen below.
Most Wins, Since 2011-12 (through 2/7)
School '11-12 '12-13 W-L Next
Kentucky 38-2 16-6 54-8 2/9
Syracuse 34-3 19-3 53-6 2/10
Kansas 32-7 19-3 51-10 2/9
Creighton 29-6 20-4 49-10 2/9
Louisville 30-10 19-4 49-14 2/9
Murray State 31-2 17-5 48-7 2/9
North Carolina 32-6 16-6 48-12 2/9
Ohio State 31-8 17-5 48-13 2/10
Duke 27-7 20-2 47-9 2/10
Wichita State 27-6 19-5 46-11 2/9
Active Leaders
Creighton has four players that rank among the top-50 in a career category among the nation's active players.
Doug McDermott
is in the top-10 in four categories, while he is joined by
Gregory Echenique
Jahenns Manigat
Ethan Wragge
in the various categories, through games of Feb. 3rd.
Rank Player Category
Doug McDermott
Doug McDermott
FG Made
Doug McDermott
Doug McDermott
Gregory Echenique
Blocked Shots
Gregory Echenique
Games Played
Gregory Echenique
Gregory Echenique
FG Pct.
Doug McDermott
Jahenns Manigat
Doug McDermott
FG Attempts
Ethan Wragge
Doug McDermott
FG Pct.
Gregory Echenique
Gregory Echenique
FT Attempted
Doug McDermott
Doug McDermott
Ethan Wragge
3FG Made
Gregory Echenique
FT Made
Doug McDermott
FT Made
Full House
Creighton has attracted six of its 15 largest home crowds in program history this season, which includes sellouts in five of the past six games. Here's a look at Creighton's top-15 home crowds all-time.
Rank Att. Opponent Date
1. 18,735 Wichita State 02/11/12
2. 18,458 Evansville 12/29/12
3. 18,436 Bradley 01/28/12
4. 18,111 Bradley 02/02/13
5. 18,073 Drake 01/08/13
6. 17,954 Wichita State 12/28/08
7. 17,694 Indiana State 01/05/13
8. 17,676 Northwestern 12/22/11
9. 17,665 Missouri State 12/28/11
10. 17,607 Drexel 02/17/07
11. 17,459 Southern Illinois 01/20/07
12. 17,411 George Mason 02/21/09
17,411 Indiana State 01/21/12
14. 17,391 Northern Iowa 01/15/13
15. 17,390 Saint Joseph's 12/01/12
Strong On the Road
Off to a 20-4 start overall, Creighton is 7-3 away from home this season. Four of those victories have come against two Big Ten teams (Wisconsin, Nebraska) and two Pacific-12 teams (Arizona State, Cal).
Impressively, all four BCS wins have been by double-digits. Creighton is 8-1 in the past two years against BCS teams, including six victories by double-digits and another triumph by eight.
The Road Less Traveled
Creighton won its final two road games last year (at Southern Illinois, at Indiana State) and won its first four road games this year too (Nebraska, Cal, Illinois State, Missouri State) before losing at Wichita State on January 19th.
Below is a list of Creighton's road win streaks of six or longer:
Longest Road Win Streaks
Streak Dates
14 Feb. 14, 1942 - Dec. 20, 1945
11 Feb. 26, 1917 - Feb. 27, 1919
8 Jan. 10, 1925 - Jan. 16, 1926
7 Jan. 27 - Dec. 1, 1962
7 Jan. 31, 1928 - Jan. 19, 1929
6 Jan. 2 - Feb. 15, 1975
6 Dec. 19, 2011 - Jan. 25, 2012
6 Feb. 14, 2012 - Jan. 11, 2013
Winning Away From Home
Creighton won a school-record 15 games away from home last season. The Jays went 10-3 in true road games and were also 5-1 on neutral floors.
Creighton's lone neutral-site loss came to North Carolina in a not-so "neutral" Greensboro, N.C., in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
This year's team is 7-3 away from home, with four of those victories against a BCS school (Wisconsin, Arizona State, Nebraska, Cal) by double-digits, a 22-point win at Missouri State, a seven-point win at Illinois State and a 30-point win at Southern Illinois.
This season was the first time since 1942-43 that Creighton has won its first six games away from home.
Each of Creighton's last nine NCAA Tournament teams have won 10 or more games away from home, and eight of those teams had a winning record in true road contests.
Nation's Best Offense?
You can make a case that Creighton has boasted the nation's best offensive production so far this year.
Through games of February 3rd, Creighton was leading the nation in field goal percentage (52.0), three-point percentage (44.9), three-pointers per game (9.8) and in two-point field goal percentage (56.9).
According to data from bbstate.com, no team since at least 2005-06 has shot better than 58.7 from two-point range.
Last season Creighton ranked third nationally in three-point percentage, making 42.4 percent from downtown.
The only team to ever lead the nation in both 3-pointers per game and 3-point percentage was Princeton in 1987-88.
The only team to ever lead the nation in both field goal percentage and three-point percentage was Northern Arizona 1998-99.
Defense! Defense!
Creighton ranked 222nd nationally last season in field goal percentage defense at 44.1 percent, one area that the program has tried hard to improve on in the off-season.
The early results have been promising, as CU has limited foes to 41.1 percent marksmanship. That figure ranked 97th-best nationally in 2012-13 through Sunday's games.
Only six teams have shot better than 43.4 percent this season against the Jays.
The 42 points by Nebraska on Dec. 6th were its fewest against Creighton since 1932, a span of 39 meetings.
Efficiency Improves
Because Creighton tends to play at a faster pace and have more possessions than the average school, Bluejay coaches place significant emphasis on stats like average points per possession, with data that can be found on a site such as bbstate.com.
Creighton's offense is still clicking as one of the nation's best, but the team has made huge strides on the defensive end of the floor, jumping from 222nd last year to 79th this season.
Twenty of Creighton's first 24 opponents have been held under 1.03 points per possession this season.
Points Per Possession
2010-11 2011-12 2012-13
Offense 1.065 1.150 1.173
Offense Rank 46th 2nd 3rd
Defense 1.006 1.014 0.933
Defense Rank 192nd 222nd 79th
Doug On The Road
Doug McDermott
has saved some of his best performances for the road this season. He's averaging 22.3 points and 7.0 rebounds per game in 14 home games, but those numbers surge to 24.7 points and 7.7 rebounds per game in 10 contests away from home.
In true road games only, McDermott's 23.5 points per game this season ranks second in the nation.
About The Final Seconds
Creighton has played 24 games this season, but has yet to have a single lead change in the final five minutes in any of them.
Last year's Creighton team went 5-1 in games that went to overtime or had a lead change in the final five minutes of regulation and were 7-1 in games decided by six points or less.
The Barometer
Jahenns Manigat
led the MVC with his 49.2 percent marksmanship from three-point range in league play a year ago. When it came to CU's nine MVC road games last year, he was the barometer.
In Creighton's seven Valley road wins, Manigat shot a robust 19-of-27 (70.4 percent) from downtown. In CU's two Valley road losses, Manigat was just 2-of-9 (22.2 percent) from downtown.
In Creighton's three Valley road wins this year, Manigat is 9-for-11 (81.8 percent), while he is 0-for-8 (0.0 percent) in CU's three MVC road losses.
There He Goes Again
One year after leading the MVC with 49.2 percent accuracy from three-point land in Valley play,
Jahenns Manigat
is off to another hot start. Manigat has made 20-of-41 three-pointers in Valley action this year, ranking fourth in three-point percentage.
Over the past two seasons, Manigat is 51-for-104 from downtown in league action, good for 49.0 percent.
Manigat has made at least half of his attempts and made multiple three-pointers in nine of Creighton's last 14 games, hitting 24-of-49 treys (49.0 percent) in that span.
McDermott Goes For 39
Doug McDermott
had a season-high 39 points on Jan. 11th at Missouri State, scoring in nearly every conceivable way. Consider the following aspects of his performance:
-McDermott started the game 1-for-4 from the field, then sank his next 14 shots from the floor. When he missed his final shot of the game with 4:13 to go, the JQH Arena crowd gave a sarcastic Bronx cheer.
-McDermott scored Creighton's first 18 points of the second half as the Jays extended a 32-27 halftime lead into a 50-32 margin.
-McDermott's 39 points were seven more than the previous JQH Arena record.
-McDermott outscored Missouri State by himself in the second half, 28-25, and outscored MSU 35-34, in the final 26:16 of the contest.
-McDermott became the first player in the country this season with 39 points and 10 or more rebounds in the same game this season.
-His 28 points in the second half were the most by a Creighton player in a half since he scored 31 in the second half of his 44-point performance at Bradley on Jan. 7, 2012.
-McDermott's 39 points are tied for the most in the MVC by any player this season with Wichita State's Cleanthony Early.
More on 39
Doug McDermott
's 39 points at Missouri State rank tied for 13th-most in Creighton history, and he joined Bob Portman and Benoit Benjamin as the only players in Creighton history with multiple games of 39 points or more in a career.
Pts. Name, Opponent Date
51 Bob Portman vs. UW-Milwaukee 12/16/67
47 Eddie Cole at Morningside 11/29/54
46 Bob Portman vs. Weber State 12/23/68
45 Tim Powers at Idaho State 01/29/66
Benoit Benjamin vs. Indiana State 01/19/85
Doug McDermott
at Bradley 01/07/12
43 Bob Portman at Kansas State 02/12/68
Benoit Benjamin vs. Southern Illinois 01/17/85
42 Bob Portman vs. LaSalle 01/30/68
Cavel Witter vs. Bradley 03/01/08
40 Chad Gallagher vs. Wichita State 02/17/90
Rodney Buford vs. Bradley 12/30/98
39 Bob Portman vs. Oklahoma City 01/13/68
Doug McDermott
at Missouri State 01/11/13
Jays Reach 10 Home Wins, Again
With a Jan. 8th win vs. Drake, Creighton won its 10th home game this season. Creighton has now won 10 or more home games in 17 straight seasons.
The streak is easily a school-record, five more than the previous standard of 12 straight seasons from the 1969-70 season to the 1980-81 campaign with 10 or more home wins.
Wragge = Instant Offense
Ethan Wragge
had 22 points in just 17 minutes vs. Drake on Jan. 8th, sinking six three-pointers for the fourth time in his career.
It's the second time in Wragge's career he's had 20 or more points in 17 minutes or less, having gone for 21 points in 17 minutes as a freshman vs. Xavier.
Before Wragge arrived on campus four years ago, no other Creighton player had 20 or more points in 19 minutes or less since Vernon Moore put up 21 points in 19 minutes against Nebraska-Kearney on Nov. 24, 1984.
Wragge, For Three!
Ethan Wragge
started the season red-hot from three-point range, sinking 21-of-36 three-pointers in CU's first six games (58.3 percent). He then made 7-of-33 trifectas in CU's next seven games (21.2 percent).
Wragge went 29-for-56 from three-point range in January, good for 51.8 percent from deep.
Filling It Up
Ethan Wragge
leads the MVC with 59 three-pointers made this season, giving him 205 in his career. That places him fourth in Creighton history.
All three men ahead of him, as well as the man behind him, were named MVC Tournament Most Outstanding Player at some point in their careers.
Most 3FG Made, Career
3FG Name Years
371 Kyle Korver 1999-03
245 Ryan Sears 1997-01
212 Rodney Buford 1995-99
Ethan Wragge
200 Nate Funk 2002-07
Midseason Wooden Award List
Creighton forward
Doug McDermott
is the lone MVC representative on the John R. Wooden Award Midseason Top 25. Selected by the Wooden Award National Advisory Board, the list is made up of 25 student-athletes who, based on their performances in November, December, and the beginning of January, are the frontrunners for college basketball's most prestigious honor.
The Wooden Award All American Team, consisting of the nation's top 10 players, will be announced the week of the "Elite Eight" round of the NCAA Tournament. The John R. Wooden Award Player of the Year presented by Wendy's will be announced on ESPN during the Final Four Weekend in Atlanta. The 2013 Wooden Award Gala presented by Wendy's will take place April 11-13, 2013, at The Los Angeles Athletic Club.
Get Your Tickets!
Creighton fans have already purchased 4,000 lower bowl all-session tickets for the MVC Tournament, which will be March 7-10 at Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo. The mark shatters the previous MVC record for sales by a school set by Bluejay fans last year (2,575).
To join the Creighton contingent at Arch Madness with a purchase in the upper-bowl, call the CU Ticket Office at 402-280-JAYS.
Three-Point Barrage
Creighton started MVC play shooting the daylights out of the ball, making 50 percent or better of its 3-point shots in six straight games for the first time in program history.
The Jays were 12-of-24 from downtown vs. Evansville, went 13-of-25 at Illinois State, were 11-of-22 from deep vs. Indiana State, an absurd 16-of-27 vs. Drake, 9-of-17 from long-range at Missouri State and 6-of-12 vs. UNI.
Creighton's four-game stretch to start league play was the first time since January of 2008 that Creighton's had four straight games with 10 or more three-pointers.
Creighton's 16 three-pointers vs. Drake were tied for second-most in school history, tied for 10th-most in MVC history and the most in the MVC in 2012-13. The league record for three-pointers in a game is 20, done by Creighton (vs. Chattanooga on 2/19/05) and later matched by Bradley vs. Florida A&M on Nov. 21, 2006.
Winning Against Them All
Creighton is 73-40 vs. MVC schools since the start of the 2007-08 season, owning a winning record against every Valley school except Wichita State and Drake.
Creighton vs. MVC Schools, Since 2007-08
Southern Illinois 10-1
Evansville 10-2
Bradley 10-3
Indiana State 8-4
Northern Iowa 7-5
Missouri State 8-6
Illinois State 7-6
Drake 7-7
Wichita State 6-6
Army of Iowans
Every Creighton team since 1988-89 has had at least one Iowa native, and this season is no exception.
Creighton has four players from Iowa on this season's team, continuing a long trend of relying on some of the Hawkeye State's top preps. CU's Iowans this season includes senior
Grant Gibbs
(Marion), junior
Doug McDermott
(Ames), sophomore
Will Artino
(Waukee) and redshirt freshman
Alex Olsen
(Council Bluffs).
Other past notable Iowans include Kyle Korver (Pella), Ryan Sears (Ankeny), Brody Deren (Harlan), Tyler McKinney (Urbandale) and Nate Funk (Sioux City).
Creighton has played at least one Iowa native in 609 straight games. That streak dates to a Feb. 5, 1994 win against Wichita State. In that time, 919 of Creighton's 3,045 starts (30.2 percent) can be attributed to Iowans. Here's a list of the Iowans and how many starts they've made during this run:
Creighton's Starts By Iowans, Since 2/5/1994
Ryan Sears 124
Nate Funk 99
Doug McDermott
Kyle Korver 95
Michael Lindeman 94
Tyler McKinney 89
Brody Deren 89
Grant Gibbs
Joel Templeman 57
Kaleb Korver 46
Pierce Hibma 27
Adam Reid 24
Casey Harriman 16
John Klein 2
Big Man In The Middle
Gregory Echenique
scored in double-figures in eight straight games from Dec. 1st - Jan. 5th.
Echenique has shot better than 50 percent from the field in 15 of the last 18 games, and continues to lead the MVC in field goal percentage at 66.0 percent.
Echenique's 66.0 percent marksmanship from the field is on pace to approach not only the Creighton (67.4%) mark, but also the MVC single-season mark (also 67.4%) as well.
It's also worth noting that Echenique ranks third in Creighton history with 154 career blocked shots. Echenique also ranks 13th in Rutgers history with 94 career swats, where he spent the first three semesters of college.
Most Blocked Shots, Creighton History
(Since 1979-80)
Blk. Name Years
411 Benoit Benjamin 1982-85
183 Chad Gallagher 1987-91
Gregory Echenique
153 Kenny Lawson Jr. 2006-11
138 Brody Deren 2001-04
136 Anthony Tolliver 2003-07
RPI Update
Through games of February 7th, Creighton is ranked 31st in the RPI according to WarrenNolan.com, while Illinois State ranks 131st.
Creighton owns eight wins against RPI teams in the top-102. By comparison, defending national champion Kentucky has three such wins.
As a league, the MVC is the ninth-best conference nationally.
Honors Roll In
Doug McDermott
picked up two big honors in early January, adding to his collection.
ESPN.com named McDermott the National Player of the Month after a December that saw him average a nation-best 26.5 points per game while shooting 57.5 percent from the field, 57.6 percent from three-point range and 88.9 percent in the line in six Creighton victories.
McDermott was also named the Lute Olson Award Midseason National Player of the Year honoree. McDermott was named the Lute Olson Award National Player of the Year at the end of last season.
McDermott has been named Midseason National Player of the Year by such experts as Seth Davis, Dick Vitale and Andy Katz.
Let's Get It Started
Creighton won its first six MVC games this season before falling at Wichita State.
As good as Creighton's been since rejoining the MVC in 1977-78, it was just the second time the program has started 6-0 in league play in that span. Each of the previous two teams to start 5-0 in league play would go on to win the MVC Tournament.
Creighton's Best MVC Starts, Since 1977-78
Start Year Finish/Place
7-0 2002-03 15-3/2nd (won MVC Tourney)
6-0 2012-13 ? ? ?
5-0 1988-89 11-3/1st (won MVC Tourney
Conference Starts Are Big
Since 1993-94, only one team (Northern Iowa, a 2008-09 co-champion) has won at least a share of the regular-season title without winning its league opener. In fact, 16 of the last 18 regular-season champs (or co-champs) have opened 2-0 or better in MVC play, with UNI in 2008-09 and Wichita State in 2011-12 serving as the exceptions.
This season the only MVC teams to start 2-0 were Bradley, Wichita State, Creighton and Indiana State.
Unbeaten December
Creighton went 6-0 in December wrapping up an unbeaten December with a victory over Evansville on Dec. 29.
Since 1946-47, Creighton's only two other teams to go unbeaten in December were in 2003 and 2008.
The 2008-09 team went 9-0 in December and would go on to win a share of the MVC regular-season title.
The 2003-04 squad finished tied for second in the MVC. That team began the season 12-0 before suffering an overtime loss in a game hosted by Northern Iowa and its then-coach,
Greg McDermott
Team of the Millennium?
Below is the records for each MVC school from the start of the 2000-01 season until the start of this season, ranked by overall winning percentage.
Creighton leads the MVC overall with 300 wins in the millennium, as well as 12 postseason appearances:
MVC Standings (start 2000-01 to Feb. 8, 2013)
MVC only All Games
Team W L Pct. W L Pct.
Creighton 158 70 .693 300 124 .708
Wichita State 133 95 .583 257 156 .622
Southern Illinois 136 92 .596 247 165 .600
Northern Iowa 124 104 .544 239 169 .586
Missouri State 122 106 .535 230 180 .561
Illinois State 104 124 .456 215 185 .538
Bradley 99 129 .434 203 207 .495
Drake 97 131 .425 191 203 .485
Indiana State 87 141 .382 177 220 .446
Evansville 80 148 .351 155 227 .406
Postseason Appearances by MVC Teams
(Since 2000-01)
Team NCAA NIT CBI CIT Total
Creighton 6 4 1 1 12
Wichita State 2 5 1 0 8
Southern Illinois 6 1 0 0 7
Northern Iowa 5 1 0 1 7
Bradley 1 2 1 1 5
Missouri State 0 4 0 1 5
Illinois State 0 5 0 0 5
Indiana State 2 0 1 1 4
Drake 1 0 0 2 3
Evansville 0 0 2 1 3
Consistent Challengers
Ten of Creighton's last 15 teams have finished either first or second in The Valley's regular-season race. Two of the five that didn't won the MVC Tournament.
The Bluejays won the MVC in 2000-01 and tied for the title in 2001-02 and 2008-09. CU was second in the MVC in 1997-98 and 2006-07, tied for second in the MVC in 1998-99, 2003-04 and 2005-06, and finished tied for third in 2004-05. The 1999-00 club was fourth in the MVC, but won the MVC Tournament, while the 2010-11 club tied for fourth place.
Creighton's MVC Finishes, Last 15 Years
1st Place 2000-01
Tied for First 2001-02 (won MVC Tourn.), 2008-09
2nd Place 1997-98, 2002-03 (won MVC Tourn.),
2006-07 (won MVC Tourn.), 2011-12 (won MVC Tourn.)
Tied for 2nd 1998-99 (won MVC Tourn.), 2003-04, 2005-06
Tied for 3rd Place 2004-05 (won MVC Tourn.)
4th Place 1999-00 (won MVC Tourn.); 2007-08; 2009-10
Tied for 4th Place 2010-11
Coaches vs. Cancer Summary
As part of the nationwide American Cancer Society Coaches Vs. Cancer event, men's basketball fans were encouraged to wear pink to promote cancer awareness and participate in the "Creighton Vs. Cancer Pink Out" game when the Bluejays hosted Bradley on Saturday, Feb. 2.
Bluejay players wore pink shooting shirts and pink jerseys for the game and fans had the opportunity to honor a friend or family member who has battled cancer or is currently battling cancer by purchasing the apparel via auction (the shooting shirt could be personalized – last name, nickname, etc.).
The first 14,000 fans entering the venue on February 2 received a complimentary pink t-shirt courtesy of Alegent Creighton Health and Methodist Estabrook Cancer Center.
Last year's Creighton vs. Cancer jersey auction raised more than $20,600. This year's auction raised $24,444. An additional $7,239.17 was raised from at-the-door collection, bringing the total to $31,683.17. Seven jerseys sold for more than $1,000. Below is a list showing what each jersey sold for:
Jersey #00 $2,025
Jersey #1 $1,125
Jersey #2 $860
Jersey #3 $5,002
Jersey #4 $406
Jersey #5 $2,550
Jersey #10 $3,050
Jersey #11 $510
Jersey #12 $1,020
Jersey #13 $450
Jersey #22 $910
Jersey #23 $585
Jersey #24 $960
Jersey #30 $556
Jersey #31 $710.01
Jersey #34 $1,025
Jersey #50 $510
Creighton's Exclusive 30/30 Club
Doug McDermott
scored 30 points in a Dec. 9 win vs. Akron, then followed that performance with a season-high 34 seven days later at Cal.
McDermott, who leads the MVC with 23.7 points per game, became the first Creighton player with 30 points in consecutive contests since Bob Harstad in 1990.
McDermott also scored 30 or more in consecutive wins vs. Missouri State and Northern Iowa in January.
Doing It All
Reigning MVC Player of the Year
Doug McDermott
has one of the nation's best set of post moves, and now the junior forward is taking his skills to the perimeter with similar success.
Eight days after tying a career-high with five-three pointers in a 29-point thrashing of Atlantic-10 favorite Saint Joseph's, McDermott shot 6-for-8 from downtown in a 77-61 win over defending MAC champion Akron on Dec. 9th.
McDermott's career 46.5 percent accuracy from three-point range ranks tops in CU history. Since starting his career 15-of-53 (28.3 percent) after 20 games from downtown, McDermott has made 140-of-281 three-pointers (49.8 percent) in his past 78 games.
McDermott averaged 13.6 points in his first 20 games at Creighton, and has averaged 21.40 points in his past 78 games with the Jays.
BCS Busters, Again
Creighton improved to 8-1 in the past two seasons vs. teams from BCS conferences with wins this year over Wisconsin & Nebraska (Big Ten) and Arizona State and Cal (Pacific-12). Last year Creighton defeated Alabama (SEC) as well as Big 10 foes Nebraska, Northwestern and Iowa, losing only to North Carolina (ACC) in the NCAA Tournament.
In those nine games, All-American
Doug McDermott
has averaged 25.3 points and 8.3 rebounds, well above his career averages (19.4 ppg., 7.6 rpg.), as seen below:
McDermott vs. BCS Schools, Last 2 Years
Date Opponent Pts. Reb. Score
11/20/11 vs. Iowa 25 9 W 82-59
12/04/11 Nebraska 24 12 W 76-66
12/22/11 Northwestern 27 5 W 87-79
03/16/12 vs. Alabama 16 10 W 58-57
03/18/12 vs. North Carolina 20 9 L 73-87
11/23/12 vs. Wisconsin 30 8 W 84-74
11/24/12 vs. Arizona State 29 9 W 87-73
12/06/12 at Nebraska 27 4 W 64-42
12/15/12 at California 30 9 W 74-64
Full House
This year's Creighton team ranks sixth nationally in average home attendance, averaging 16,945 fans per game.
Creighton finished sixth nationally in home attendance, averaging 16,665 fans per home game, in 2011-12. It's the sixth straight season that CU has been among the nation's top-25 in average home attendance, and set an MVC average home attendance record.
Creighton has now surpassed 200,000 home fans in a season for the eighth time. No other school in the history of the MVC has ever done so even once.
Creighton also ranked seventh nationally in men's soccer attendance and 10th in baseball attendance, the nation's only school in the top-10 of those three sports in 2011-12.
2012-13 Attendance Leaders (2/8)
Rk. School Average Next Home
1. Kentucky 22,764 2/9
2. Louisville 21,263 2/14
3. Syracuse 20,421 2/10
4. North Carolina 18,688 2/16
5. Indiana 17,396 2/13
6. Creighton 16,945 2/9
7. Wisconsin 16,744 2/9
8. Tennessee 16,686 2/13
10. Kansas 16,491 2/11
2011-12 Attendance Leaders (Final)
Rk. School Average
1. Kentucky 23,721
2. Syracuse 23,618
3. Louisville 21,503
4. North Carolina 20,159
5. Wisconsin 17,181
6. Creighton 16,665
7. Tennessee 16,543
8. Ohio State 16,510
9. Indiana 16,462
10. Kansas 16,300
Highest Season Home Attendance, MVC History
Home Att. School Year
302,676 Creighton 2008-09
297,161 Creighton 2010-11
276,000 Creighton 2007-08
266,632 Creighton 2011-12
246,419 Creighton 2009-10
Highest Average Attendance, MVC History
Avg. Att. School Year
16,945 Creighton 2012-13
16,665 Creighton 2011-12
15,930 Creighton 2008-09
15,909 Creighton 2006-07
15,333 Creighton 2007-08
Inside The Numbers
Doug McDermott
(23.3) continues to be the nation's top scoring junior. As can be seen below, good things have happened to the top-scoring juniors in the past nine years:
NCAA's Top-Scoring Juniors, Last Nine Years
Year Name, School PPG Draft #
2011-12 Damian Lillard, Weber St. 24.5 6th
2010-11 Kemba Walker, UConn. 23.5 9th
2009-10 Adnan Hodzic, Lipscomb 22.7 not picked
2008-09 Stephen Curry, Davidson 28.6 7th
2007-08 Lester Hudson, UT-Martin 25.7 58th
2006-07 Reggie Williams, VMI 28.1 not picked*
2005-06 Adam Morrison, Gonzaga 28.1 3rd
2004-05 Ike Diogu, Arizona State 22.6 9th
2003-04 Kevin Martin, W. Carolina 24.9 26th
*wasn't drafted, but currently in fourth year in NBA
Ball Control Offense
Creighton owns a stellar 430/288 assist/turnover ratio (1.49) as a team to rank fifth nationally.
Last year Creighton ranked sixth nationally by finishing with a 1.48 assist/turnover ratio.
BCS Bracket Buster
Some of Creighton's most thrilling victories in recent seasons have been against teams from the six major college football BCS Conferences (ACC, SEC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac-12, BIg East), as Creighton owns a 32-21 mark in the past 15 seasons.
Among CU's victims in that time have been Nebraska (12 times), Iowa (three times) DePaul (twice), Florida (twice), Baylor (twice), Oklahoma State (once), Notre Dame (once), Providence (once), Missouri (once), Oregon (once), Northwestern (once), Alabama (once), Wisconsin (once), Cal (once), TCU (once) and Ohio State (once).
Jones Hangs Up High Tops
Josh Jones
was hospitalized prior to Creighton's Dec. 6 game at Nebraska after he fainted during pre-game warm-ups on the Bob Devaney Sports Center court prior to Creighton's 64-42 win.
Jones was released from a Lincoln hospital on Dec. 7th. Jones was underwent a nine-hour medical procedure on Dec. 18th, and on Dec. 26th announced his basketball career is done due to an atrial flutter.
The senior guard was averaging 7.0 points per game as the team's top guard off the bench.
Creighton outscored the opposition 249-92 off the bench in eight games with Jones, but has been outscored 326-298 off the bench since he's been out of the line-up.
Top Four From Three
Gregory Echenique
has yet to attempt a three-point shot this season, Creighton's other top three scorers continue to fill it up from deep.
Austin Chatman
Ethan Wragge
(.450) and
Doug McDermott
(.505) have combined to make 140-of-292 three-point attempts this season, good for 47.9 percent.
Chatman is 26-for-48 from three-point range in the past 20 games, while McDermott is 48-of-87 from downtown in the past 18 contests. Wragge started the season 18-for-29 and leads the MVC with 59 three-pointers, including 31 in the past 11 games.
Either Wragge or McDermott has had three or more three-pointers in 21 of Creighton's last 27 games dating back to late last season.
Creighton owns four men on its roster who have made 106 or more career three-pointers.
Comparing Offenses
Last season Creighton had one of the nation's most effective and most efficient offenses. With all but one regular from that squad back, we thought we'd take a second to compare the 2011-12 and 2012-13 teams through 24 games:
Stat 2011-12 2012-13
Record 21-3 20-4
FG Made 682 669
3FG Made 207 231
FT Made 372 304
Rebound Margin +6.1 +5.2
Assists 448 430
Turnovers 305 288
Scoring Average 81.0 78.0
Scoring Defense 67.9 63.3
Scoring Margin +13.1 +14.7
Might As Well Jump
Creighton is 14-2 this season when
Gregory Echenique
wins the opening tip. Creighton's streak of 20 straight wins when winning the jump ball to start the game ended in its Jan. 23 loss at Drake.
Creighton is 44-11 all-time when Echenique wins the opening tip, but 14-8 when he loses the tip.
Pizza Pie, Piled High = Wins
Thanks to a promotion with Omaha-based Godfather's Pizza, Creighton season ticket-holders can get a free mini pizza any time the Jays score 75 points at home.
History has proven that when the team earns the fans pizza, it often leads to a victory as well.
The first three years of CenturyLink Center Omaha (2003-06), Creighton needed 70 points to earn its fans free pizza, and the Jays went 27-3 when reaching that threshold, closing out that run with 12 straight wins.
Since upping the standard to 75 points prior to the 2006-07 campaign, Creighton is a perfect 66-0 when scoring 75 points or more at CenturyLink Center Omaha.
In other words, Creighton is a perfect 78-0 in CenturyLink Center Omaha since Feb. 6, 2005 when scoring enough points to earn its fans some free pizza.
A New Streak
Greg McDermott
took over three years ago, Creighton is averaging 78.40 points per home game (4,077 points in 52 home games).
That's a vital number since Creighton is 89-0 at home (62-0 at CenturyLink Center Omaha) when scoring 78 points or more and 71-0 at home (48-0 at CenturyLink Center Omaha) when scoring 80 points or more at home dating to a 92-83 loss to Southern Illinois on Feb. 19, 2000.
Stat Leaders
Statistically, Creighton ranks among the nation's top-13 in nine different categories through games of Feb. 3rd. The Jays lead the nation in field goal percentage (.520), three-point percentage (.449) and three-pointers per game (9.8). The Jays are second with 18.3 assists per game, fifth in assist/turnover ratio (1.53), sixth in points (1816), seventh in scoring offense (79.0) and ninth in both scoring margin (+16.2) and in winning percentage (.870).
The only team to ever finish a season leading the nation in both 3-pointers per game and 3-point percentage was Princeton in 1987-88, while the only team to ever lead the nation in both field goal percentage and three-point percentage was Northern Arizona 1998-99.
Doug McDermott
is second in points per game (24.0), 23rd in field goal percentage (.565), 38th in free-throw percentage (.867), 102nd in double-doubles (5) and 157th in rebounds per game (7.3).
Grant Gibbs
is fifth in assist/turnover ratio (3.05) and 27th in assists per game (5.83). In addition,
Gregory Echenique
ranks 80th in blocked shots per game (1.78), 102nd in double-doubles (5) and 178th in rebounds per game (7.1). Also in the top-100 are
Ethan Wragge
, who is 10th in three-point percentage (.450) and 53rd with 2.57 three-pointers per game, and
Austin Chatman
who ranks 79th with 4.74 assists per game and 88th with a 2.06 assist/turnover ratio.
Big Road Win
Creighton's 64-42 win at Nebraska matched its largest victory margin in a true road win since an 82-60 win at Southern Illinois on Feb. 14, 2009.
It was also the largest margin in a non-conference road win since winning at Drexel, 72-48, on Dec. 1, 2007.
Before Dec. 6th, last time Creighton won a true road game by 22+ points vs. a BCS-league team was 12/18/76 at Oregon State (90-68).
Scoring On The Badgers
Creighton scored 84 points on Nov. 23rd against Wisconsin's vaunted defense that has ranked among the nation's top-10 in scoring defense in each of the past six seasons.
It was the first time in either of the last two seasons that Wisconsin had allowed 80 points in a game, and the eighth-most allowed in regulation in Bo Ryan's 12 years as a head coach.
Third-Year Coaches Update
Greg McDermott
was one of 53 head coaches hired to coach a school prior to 2010-11. His 72 wins in that span are easily the most of that group, and McDermott, Tad Boyle (Colorado) and Dana Altman (Oregon) are the only men to win a postseason game each of their first two seasons.
Below is a list of the new coaches with 62 or more wins at their school since being hired.
School Coach W-L Next Game
Greg McDermott
72-26 2/9
Iona Tim Cluess 64-30 2/9
Oregon Dana Altman 63-33 2/9
Colorado Tad Boyle 63-33 2/10
Austin Powers
After spending last year as a back-up to
Antoine Young
, sophomore
Austin Chatman
has taken over as Creighton's starting point guard. Creighton's been blessed with a legacy of some of the MVC's best point guards in the last 15 years, a streak that began with four-year starters Ryan Sears (1997-2001), Tyler McKinney (2001-05) and Josh Dotzler (2005-09) at the point before Young ran the offense while starting the last three years.
Here's a look at the stats, by year, of the men that Chatman is trying to replace.
Freshman Sophomore
Name PPG APG CU W-L PPG APG CU W-L
Sears 10.5 4.8 18-10 8.7 4.0 22-9
McKinney 4.3 2.1 23-9 5.0 4.1 29-5
Dotzler 6.4 4.2 20-10 2.2 2.0 22-11
Young 4.9 1.4 27-8 7.1 3.1 18-16
Chatman 2.4 1.9 29-6 8.3 4.6 20-4
Dime Time
Austin Chatman
's 11 assists on Nov. 18 vs. Presbyterian were one shy of the CenturyLink Center Omaha record, set last season by
Grant Gibbs
vs. Northwestern. Chatman entered the game with a career-high of seven assists, then had nine by halftime.
Chatman's 11 dimes led to 30 Bluejay points, and Creighton outscored the Blue Hose 63-26 in his 24 minutes of play.
In addition, Chatman's 11 assists were the most by a Bluejay sophomore since Tyler McKinney had 12 assists in a 81-73 win at Nebraska on Dec. 21, 2002.
Quick Starts Key To Playing in Postseason
Creighton has started off 3-0 (or better) in 12 of the previous 14 seasons. Each of Creighton's previous 13 3-0 starts have been culminated in a postseason tournament appearance at the end of the year.
Not Half Bad
Doug McDermott
outscored Presbyterian 20-17 in the first half in a Nov. 18 win. It was the second-most points McDermott has ever had at halftime, and the fourth-highest half of his career.
McDermott's highest scoring half of his career has been 31 points, done last year in the second half at Bradley when he scored a career-best 44 points.
McDermott has scored 15 points or more in a half 37 times during his career, and Creighton is 33-1 in those contests (three times he's scored 15 or more in both halves).
McDermott owns seven halves in his career with 20 or more points, and just six scoreless halves.
Rare Air
Gregory Echenique
had one of the best all-around games of his career on Nov. 14 in the win vs. UAB, finishing with 13 points, 16 rebounds and four blocked shots. For good measure, he made 5-of-5 shots from the field and was a perfect 3-for-3 at the line.
Echenique was the first Bluejay with at least 13 points, 16 rebounds and four blocked shots in the same game since Benoit Benjamin had 15 points, 17 rebounds and four swats on Feb. 28, 1985 at Dayton.
Echenique was the first Bluejay to have a 13/16/4 game at home since Benjamin had 26 points, 18 rebounds and seven rejections in a win vs. Marquette on Jan. 27, 1985.
Incredibly, Benjamin had nine different games in his junior season with at least 13 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks before Echenique ended the 27-year drought.
Playing With The Lead
In 167 games at CenturyLink Center Omaha all-time, Creighton has not trailed in 40 of those contests, a staggering 24.0 percent of the time, including seven wire-to-wire wins at home last season and four wins (Longwood, Saint Joseph's, Tulsa, Drake) this season.
Creighton has trailed by double-digits in 37 career games at CenturyLink Center Omaha, only to rally to win 22 of those contests.
On The Trail
Creighton won six games last season after trailing by 10 or more points, including wins away from home at San Diego State and at Wichita State, on neutral floors vs. Drake and Alabama, and in home triumphs over Long Beach State and Evansville.
In its Nov. 14 win vs. UAB, Creighton trailed 45-35 in the second stanza, only to rally for a 77-60 win. It was the first time since Feb. 3, 2010 (vs. Evansville) that Creighton trailed by double-digits at any point before rallying to win by double-figures. That UAB game was also the first time in CenturyLink Center Omaha history that Creighton trailed by double-figures in the second half, yet still won by double-digits.
Creighton, which trailed 37-33 at the half to UAB, is 10-9 in the last two seasons when facing an intermission deficit.
Pencil Him In
According to STATS Inc.,
Doug McDermott
is one of 13 juniors or seniors nationwide to start every game of his career (min. 2 years played):
Juniors/Seniors To Start Every Game
Source: STATS Inc., through 2/7
Starts Name, School Next Game 129 Brandon Triche, Syracuse 2/10
118 Dorian Green, Colorado State 2/13
Doug McDermott
, Creighton 2/9
93 Ray McCallum, Detroit 2/9
91 Cody Doolin, San Francisco 2/9
90 Brian Voelkel, Vermont 2/9
90 Frantz Massenat, Drexel 2/10
89 Deonte Burton, Nevada 2/9
85 Holton Hunsaker, Utah Valley 2/9
85 Devon Saddler, Delaware 2/9
85 Travis McKie, Wake Forest 2/9
83 Daniel Miller, Georgia Tech 2/9
83 Marshall Bjorklund, N. Dakota St. 2/9
Milestone Man
Because he's split his college career between Rutgers and Creighton, you might not realize the rather impressive college stats being generated by
Gregory Echenique
Echenique owns 1,253 points, 922 rebounds and 248 blocked shots in 127 games as a collegian. He entered the season as the nation's only active player with at least 1,000 point, 750 rebounds and 200 blocked shots, and is currently the nation's only active player with 1,250 points, 900 rebounds and 240 or more blocked shots.
Had all those stats been generated at Creighton, Echenique would rank 24th in career points, fifth in career rebounds and second in career blocked shots at CU.
Creighton is one of three schools nationally with two active players who own 700 or more career rebounds (Echenique &
Doug McDermott
), joining LIU Brooklyn and Ole Miss.
I Know What You Did Last Summer
Senior center
Gregory Echenique
played for coach Eric Musselman on the Venezuelan National Team last summer, alongside the likes of former Maryland star and current Memphis Grizzlies guard Greivis Vasquez.
Echenique averaged 7.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in two games at the FIBA Olympic Qualifier in Caracas in July against Lithuania and Nigeria, where he went head-to-head against NBA players such as Linas Kleiza, Jonas Valanciunas, and Al-Farouq Aminu.
Double-Double Opener
Doug McDermott
opened his junior season with 21 points and 11 rebounds on Nov. 9 against North Texas in a 71-51 win.
He was the first Creighton player to have a double-double in a season-opener since Kyle Korver opened his junior campaign with 14 points and 10 rebounds in a 72-51 victory over North Carolina A&T.
Korver would go on to earn MVC Player of the Year accolades as both a junior and as a senior. Last year McDermott was the first player in MVC history named MVC Player of the Year as a sophomore.
Creighton has won either the MVC regular-season title or MVC Tournament each of its previous six seasons it had a player with a double-double in the opener (2001-02, 1999-00, 1998-99, 1990-91, 1989-90, 1988-89).
Preseason MVC Poll
Creighton was picked to win the Missouri Valley Conference in the preseason poll of league coaches, SID's and media. The Bluejays earned 38-of-40 first-place votes and 398 points overall.
Illinois State was second with 327 points and the remaining two first-place votes, while Northern Iowa was third with 316 points. Wichita State (298) and Evansville (240) rounded out the upper half of the league.
In sixth was Drake (184), while Indiana State (165), Missouri State (122), Bradley (84) and Southern Illinois (66) round out the rest of the league predictions.
Creighton junior
Doug McDermott
was named preseason MVC Player of the Year. He's joined on the team by repeat selections Jake Odum (Indiana State) and Colt Ryan (Evansville) as well as new picks Ben Simons (Drake) and Jackie Carmichael (Illinois State).
Creighton's women were also picked to win the MVC, just the third time in league history the MVC favorites came from the same schools.
Portman To Enter MVC Hall of Fame
Bob Portman will enter the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame on March 8, 2013, during a banquet at the MVC Tournament in St. Louis, Mo.
Portman played for Creighton from 1966-69 and averaged 24.6 points and 12.9 rebounds per game during his college career.
Portman owns the Creighton records for single-game scoring (51), single-season scoring average (29.5) and career scoring average (24.7). He is also second for points in a season (738) and ranks fourth in career points (1,876), rebounds (979), free throws (382) and field goals made (747).
Postseason x 15
Creighton has made the postseason in 15 consecutive seasons, the longest streak of postseason bids in MVC history.
The only eight schools to make the postseason in each of the last 14 years are Creighton, Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State and Syracuse.
Postseason Win Streak
Thanks to an NCAA Tournament win over Alabama, the Creighton men's basketball team has now won a postseason game in a school-record five straight seasons. The previous mark was three in a row from 1962-64.
The following eight programs are the only ones that have won a postseason game in five straight seasons, including 2011-12: Creighton, Kansas, Kansas State, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Syracuse and Wisconsin.
Long-Distance Streak Alive
Creighton has made at least one three-pointer in a league-best 633 straight games since a 59-53 loss at Illinois State on Feb. 20, 1993. That's the longest active streak in the MVC.
CenturyLink Center Omaha Success
Creighton has played 167 regular and postseason contests at CenturyLink Center Omaha all-time in its 10 seasons at the facility.
The Bluejays own an 143-24 (.856) record all-time at the facility, and have never lost there on a Thursday (7-0) or Friday (6-0).
Creighton has outscored its opponents 12,573-10,589 in games at CenturyLink Center Omaha, an average margin of 11.8 points per game. Creighton has led wire-to-wire 40 different times, including seven times last season and four times this winter (Longwood, Saint Joseph's, Tulsa, Drake).
Piling Up The Points, and Wins
Creighton has won 57 straight games when scoring 90 points or more, dating to Jan. 11, 1988.
Creighton has won 19 straight (at all sites) when scoring 100 points or more, dating to Feb. 26, 1977.
In home games only, Creighton has won 100 straight games when scoring 71 or more points since a Feb. 5, 2005 loss to Missouri State.
Here's To History
With the 2012 MVC Tournament title, Creighton head coach
Greg McDermott
became the first head coach in league history to win a Valley Tournament title at more than one school.
McDermott previously won a title in 2004 at Northern Iowa. The 1988 Northern Iowa grad McDermott also holds the honor of being the first coach in league history to win an MVC Tournament title at his alma mater.
Dance Partners
Only two schools won their league tournament in both men's and women's basketball in 2011-12: Creighton and South Dakota State.
This was the fifth time in MVC history that the same school has won the men's and women's tournament titles in the same season. Creighton, however, was the first program to do it twice (UNI 2010, Creighton 2002 and 2012, Missouri State 1992, Illinois State 1983).
McDermott A Preseason All-American
Junior forward
Doug McDermott
became the first player in MVC history to be named a preseason First Team All-American by the Associated Press. The team was announced on October 28th.
McDermott earned acclaim on 62-of-65 ballots, trailing only Indiana's Cody Zeller. The rest of the team consisted of Isaiah Canaan (Murray State), Deshaun Thomas (Ohio State), Trey Burke (Michigan) and C.J. McCollum (Lehigh).
The preseason All-America team was first announced in 1986-87.
Watch This!
Doug McDermott
is on the preseason watch lists for both the Wooden Award and the Naismith Award, two of the top awards in college basketball.
McDermott is the only man who was a finalist for either award to return to school this season.
The Naismith Award is presented by the Atlanta Tipoff Club and will be presented on April 7, 2013, in Atlanta.
The Wooden Award is presented by the Los Angeles Athletic Club and will handed out the weekend of April 12-13, 2013, in Los Angeles.
Everybody's All-American
Doug McDermott
hauled All-America honors on a regular basis last year.
He was named a First Team All-American by the Associated Press, NABC, USBWA, Basketball Times and ESPN.com, and a second-team selection by The Sporting News and CBSSports.com. He was also named to the 10-man John R. Wooden Award All-America team.
Prior to McDermott, the only other player honored by the USBWA with All-America status had been second-team selection Kyle Korver in 2003, and the only prior NABC selections from Creighton had been second-teamer Paul Silas (1964) and third-team selections Benoit Benjamin (1985) and Kyle Korver (2003).
Last year McDermott was named CollegeInsider.com's Lute Olson National Player of the Year. He was also a finalist for the Naismith and Wooden Award, though Anthony Davis won both awards.
Scoring In Numbers
Doug McDermott
owned 801 points in 35 games last year, an average of 22.9 per contest that ranked him third nationally in scoring.
McDermott's 22.9 points per game ranked fourth-most in CU single-season history and were the most since Bob Portman averaged 26.2 points per game in 1968-69.
Portman, who finished fifth nationally in scoring in 1967-68 (29.5 ppg.), was the only previous Bluejay to ever rank in the top-10 of the year-end scoring leaders.
McDermott's 22.9 points per game made him the first MVC player over 20 points per game since Illinois State's Tarise Bryson (2000-01) and the most by a MVC player since Northern Iowa's Randy Blocker (23.0 ppg.) in 1993-94. Bryson had been the only MVC player since 1989 to rank in the top-five nationally in scoring.
No Bluejay had averaged more than 20 points per game since Bob Harstad's 22.2 average in 1989-90.
Oscar, Bird, Doug
Doug McDermott
set a Creighton (and MVC) record for points by a freshman with 581 in 2010-11. Last season, McDermott had 801 points, the most single-season points in school history by any player.
McDermott's 1,382 points after two seasons were the most in school history by a player in their first two seasons, passing Bob Portman (1,195). According to STATS Inc., the only other players since 1996-97 with at least 1,382 points or more by the end of their sophomore season had been Davidson's Stephen Curry (1,661 points from 2006-08), Eastern Washington's Rodney Stuckey (1,438 points from 2005-07) and VMI's Keydren Clark (1,497 points from 2002-04).
He became just the third sophomore in MVC history to reach 800 points in a season, trailing only Oscar Robertson and Larry Bird on that list. His 801 points from last year rank 10th-most in MVC single-season history and were the most by any Valley player since 1988.
Below is a list of the most prolific sophomore scorers in MVC history, as well as the top single-season scorers in Creighton history (all classes):
Top Scorers, MVC History (All Years)
Pts. Name, School Years
1125 Hersey Hawkins, Bradley 1987-88
1011 Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati 1959-60
984 Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati 1957-58
978 Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati 1958-59
973 Larry Bird, Indiana State 1978-79
959 Larry Bird, Indiana State 1977-78
918 Larry Bird, Indiana State 1976-77
844 Xavier McDaniel, Wichita State 1984-85
815 Lewis Lloyd, Drake 1979-80
Doug McDermott
, Creighton 2011-12
788 Hersey Hawkins, Bradley 1986-87
788 Willie Biles, Tulsa 1972-73
Top Sophomore Scorers, MVC History
Pts. Name, School Years
984 Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati 1957-58
918 Larry Bird, Indiana State 1976-77
Doug McDermott
, Creighton 2011-12
680 Mitchell Anderson, Bradley 1979-80
Top Scorers, Creighton Single-Season History
Pts. Name (Class) Year
Doug McDermott
(So.) 2011-12
738 Bob Portman (Jr.) 1967-68
734 Bob Harstad (Jr.) 1989-90
All-Around Doug
Last season
Doug McDermott
joined Texas' Kevin Durant (in 2006-07) as the nation's only player since 1996-97 to finish a season with at least 800 points, 280 rebounds and 50 three-pointers.
It came on the heels of McDermott's remarkable freshman season with 581 points, 280 rebounds and 47 three-point baskets.
According to research by STATS Inc., the last two freshmen (before McDermott) to attain 525 points, 270 rebounds and 40 three-pointers in a season were Durant and Carmelo Anthony (Syracuse) in 2002-03. The previous two freshmen before them to do so, Quentin Richardson (1998-99 at DePaul) and Eddie Griffin (2000-01 at Seton Hall), like Durant and Anthony, were also named the National Freshman of the Year.
Below is the list, compiled by STATS Inc., of all 19 Division I players since 1996-97 to have McDermott's levels of at least 581 points, 280 rebounds and 47 three-pointers in one season.
McDermott, who repeated the feat in 2011-12, joins Kyle Singler (Duke) as one of two men to do it twice.:
581+ Pts., 280+ Reb., 47+ 3FG Since 1996-97
Source: STATS Inc. & Creighton Sports Info
Name, School Year 3FG Reb. Pts.
Kevin Durant, Texas* 2006-07 82 390 903
Doug McDermott
, Creighton 2011-12 54 288 801
Carmelo Anthony, Syracuse* 2002-03 56 349 778
Shane Battier, Duke 2000-01 124 285 778
Kyle Singler, Duke 2009-10 85 280 707
Keith Van Horn, Utah 1996-97 58 303 705
Ryan Anderson, Cal 2007-08 64 328 697
Matt Harpring, Ga. Tech 1997-98 52 302 691
Rasual Butler, LaSalle 2001-02 57 283 670
Wendell McKinies, New Mex St. 2011-12 51 374 653
Brian Heinle, CS-Northridge 2000-01 52 293 646
Jae Crowder, Marquette 2011-12 61 295 614
Jamine Peterson, Providence 2009-10 51 315 609
James Posey, Xavier 1998-99 48 322 609
Kyle Singler, Duke 2008-09 69 284 609
Matt Howard, Butler 2010-11 53 285 608
Romain Sato, Xavier 2003-04 75 297 603
Draymond Green, Michigan St. 2011-12 52 392 601
Doug McDermott
, Creighton* 2010-11 47 280 581
Familiar Fives
Creighton utilized the same starting line-up all season long in 2011-12, as
Gregory Echenique
Doug McDermott
Grant Gibbs
Jahenns Manigat
Antoine Young
started all 35 games.
According to STATS Inc., the only schools with the same starting five every game were Creighton, Missouri, Nevada, Wisconsin and Youngstown State.
Of those five schools above, the only team to use the same starting five for every game in 2012-13 is Creighton.
Last Season Recap
Creighton went 29-6 and reached the third round of the MVC Tournament last season. Creighton started the year 7-0 to move into the Associated Press top-25, a spot they would hold for 12 of the final 15 weeks.
Doug McDermott
ranked third nationally in scoring (22.9), scoring a school-record 801 points. He became the first sophomore named MVC Player of the Year and was a consensus First Team All-American.
Point guard
Antoine Young
(12.1 ppg., 4.5 apg.) was a second-team all-Valley pick, while center
Gregory Echenique
(9.7 ppg., 7.3 rpg., 1.6 bpg.) was named MVC Defensive Player of the Year. In addition,
Grant Gibbs
was runner-up for MVC Newcomer of the Year accolades after dishing a league-high 176 assists.
The Jays ranked second nationally in field goal percentage (.504), third in three-point percentage (.424), fifth in assists (17.6), sixth in home attendance (16,665) and ninth in scoring offense (79.2).
Creighton finished the regular-season second in the MVC before winning its league-record 11th Valley Tournament title to clinch an NCAA bid. At the NCAA's, Creighton topped Alabama 58-57 before falling to No. 4 North Carolina.
Creighton Will Host in 2015, Again
The NCAA announced on Nov. 12, 2012, that Creighton will serve as the host institution on March 20/22, 2015, when the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament returns to CenturyLink Center Omaha for second/third-round games.
This will be the third time in a seven-year span the arena has hosted, having previously done so in 2008 and 2012 to much acclaim.
CenturyLink Center Omaha has previously hosted NCAA finals for women's volleyball (2006, 2008) and wrestling (2010), as well as the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Swimming (2008, 2012). This January, it will host the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
Ticket Information
Single-game tickets for the 2012-13 season went on sale on October 29th at 10 am.
Fans can purchase single-game tickets at CenturyLink Center Omaha Box Office, Ryan Athletic Center, all Ticketmaster locations (Baker's, Younkers), Ticketmaster online at http://www.ticketmaster.com or by calling Ticketmaster and charging by phone at (800) 745-3000. Only upper bowl seats will be available for any game and cost is $12 for adults and $8 for youth ages 3-18 (children two and under are free). For more information, call the Creighton Ticket Office at (402) 280-JAYS.
Shuttle Service Provided Again
Chief Bus will provide complimentary shuttle service from the Creighton University campus to CenturyLink Center Omaha for all men's basketball home games this season. The service is available to all fans, not just Creighton students.
The shuttle will start 75 minutes before tip-off and shuttles will continue to operate the route during the game. The three designated stops for pick-up around the CU campus are: 24th & California (nearside/southbound); 20th & Cass (nearside/eastbound) and at Billy Blues Alumni Grill (outside the Mike & Josie Harper Center in the turnaround which is on the east side of the building).
The shuttle will then go eastbound on Capitol Avenue and then go north up 10th Street for drop-off at the CenturyLink Center Omaha convention center entrance. The route is designed for each shuttle driver to make a roundtrip every 15 minutes.
Following the game's conclusion, the shuttle will start at the CenturyLink Center Omaha convention center entrance on 10th Street and loop the original route with the first of three stops at 24th & California Streets.
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