Game #31: #10 Creighton Bluejays (22-8, 13-6) at Villanova Wildcats (17-13, 10-9)
Saturday, March 9, 2024 • 1:30 p.m. CT  • Philadelphia, Pa.  • Wells Fargo Center
| LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES |

Next Game
No. 10 Creighton (22-8, 13-6 BIG EAST) heads to Philadelphia, Pa., to meet Villanova (17-13, 10-9 BIG EAST) on Saturday, March 9, in the regular-season finale for both teams.
    Tip-off at Wells Fargo Center (21,000)  is set for 1:30 p.m. Central.

Radio Broadcast Information
KOZN (1620 AM) and KOOO (101.9 FM) will carry all Creighton men's basketball games during the 2023-24 season. John Bishop will call the action.  
    The audio is webcast at 1620thezone.com and can also be heard on SiriusXM channel 161 or 201 as well as https://sxm.app.link/964.
 
Telecast Information
Saturday's game will be called by Kevin Kugler and Donny Marshall and televised on FOX. It will be CU's 97th consecutive televised game (and 259th of its last 265).
    The game will be video webcast at https://FoxSports.com/live. Cable authorization may be required.

Live Stats Information
All of Creighton's games this season will have free live stats. Visit www.gocreighton.com and click on the small bar graph icon on the scoreboard at the top of the page for the event of your choosing.



Scouting No. 10 Creighton
Creighton is 22-8 this season and 13-6 in BIG EAST play, including an 85-66 win over No. 1 Connecticut on Feb. 20 and an 89-75 win vs. No. 5 Marquette on March 2. The Jays rank second nationally among Power 6 teams with seven road wins. The six BIG EAST losses have come by a combined 40 points.
    The nucleus of the team is formed by three returning starters as senior forward Baylor Scheierman (18.5 ppg., 8.9 rpg., 4.0 apg), senior center Ryan Kalkbrenner (17.2 ppg., 7.3 rpg., 3.0 bpg., 65.2 FG%), and junior guard Trey Alexander (17.6 ppg., 5.8 rpg., 5.0 apg.) all put their professional aspirations on hold and came back.
    Add in senior transfer Steven Ashworth (10.6 ppg,. 4.0 apg.), the USBWA District VII Player of the Year last year at Utah State, and it's easy to see why CU was one of three BIG EAST teams picked in the top-10 nationally in the preseason.
    The Bluejays boast an offense that shoots 49.1 percent from the floor, 77.6 percent at the line and 36.5 percent from three-point land while draining 10.7 three-pointers per contest (seventh-best nationally), which contributes to CU's 81.2 points per game.  The Jays also outrebound foes by 4.6 caroms per contest.
    The Bluejay defense has held teams to 69.5 points per game and allowed opponents to make just 170 three-pointers all year. Creighton's 11.43 fouls per game are the fewest in the nation.

Scouting Villanova
Villanova has won five of its last seven games to improve to 17-13 overall and 10-9 in BIG EAST play. The Wildcats are 10-4 at home (6-3 in league action) and 3-1 inside Wells Fargo Center.
    Eric Dixon (16.0 ppg., 6.2 rpg.) leads the Wildcats in scoring average, with T.J. Bamba (10.4 ppg.) and Justin Moore (10.0 ppg.) not far behind.
    Villanova has eight players averaging at least 6.5 points per contest, and all eight of those men have made at least 20 three-pointers.
    The Wildcats shoot 42.6 percent from the field, 34.1 percent from downtown and a nation-leading 81.7 percent at the line. Nova averages 71.2 points per game but yields just 65.5 per contest.

The Series With Villanova
Villanova leads the all-time series with Creighton, 19-8, including an 11-2 mark in Pennsylvania.
    Seven of the last 10 meetings at all sites have been decided by double-figures, with CU winning five of those games, but Nova escaped with an overtime triumph in Omaha in December to start league play for both squads.
    Greg McDermott is 8-15 against Villanova and 2-2 against Kyle Neptune.

The Creighton Coaches
Greg McDermott (Northern Iowa, 1988) owns a 322-158 record in his 14th season with the Bluejays. He ranks 16th among active coaches in victories with a career mark of 602-353 in his 30th season, and is 471-289 in his 23rd Division I campaign.
    McDermott led Creighton to its first BIG EAST regular-season title in 2019-20, taking a Bluejay team that was picked seventh in the league's preseason poll and ending the year ranked seventh nationally. The Cascade, Iowa native has coached Creighton to a share of its first regular-season BIG EAST title in 2019-20 its first Sweet 16 since 1974 in 2020-21 and first Elite Eight since 1941 in 2022-23. His 600th career win was a memorable one, as Creighton knocked off No. 1 UConn on Feb. 20, 2024.
    McDermott has previously been a head coach at Iowa State (2006-10), Northern Iowa (2001-06), North Dakota State (2000-01) and Wayne State (1994-2000).
    He is assisted by Ryan Miller, Jalen Courtney-Williams and Derek Kellogg.


With A Win...
- Creighton would pick up its ninth win vs. Villanova since the start of the 2013-14 season, tied for the most nationally with Marquette.
- Creighton would close the regular-season with 23 wins, its most since it had 24 wins at the end of the 2019-20 regular-season.
- Creighton would pick up its eighth road win of the season, its most since 10 such victories in 2011-12.
- Creighton would earn its sixth BIG EAST road win, which trails only the seven it won by the 2019-20 league champion squad. CU's only five previous teams with six or more conference road wins ever are 2001-02 (7), 2002-03 (6), 2008-09 (7), 2011-12 (7) and 2019-20 (7).
- Creighton would win its 14th conference game of the season, tying its high in 11 years as a member of the BIG EAST and one shy of the program-record for league wins in one season set by the 2002-03 squad as a member of the MVC.
- Creighton would improve to 3-2 in games at Wells Fargo Center against Villanova, and 4-3 in the facility under Greg McDermott.
- Creighton would secure at least one win against every other BIG EAST team in 2023-24.
- Greg McDermott could tie Ed Cooley and possibly Rick Pitino for eighth in BIG EAST history with 123 regular-season league wins.
- Creighton can secure the No. 2 seed for the BIG EAST Tournament with a win at  Villanova, or a Marquette loss at Xavier (or both).

Milestone Watch
- Trey Alexander's next steal will be the 100th of his career. Steven Ashworth owns 96 career steals.
- Trey Alexander owns 1,288 points to rank 25th in CU history and can pass Marcus Foster (1,292), Marcus Zegarowski (1,293), Elton Tuttle (1,303), Mitch Ballock (1,304), Ryan Sears (1,309) and Kenny Lawson Jr. (1,313) with 25 more points.
- Ryan Kalkbrenner is 10 blocks shy of 100 this season and 11 swats shy of 300 in his career.
- Ryan Kalkbrenner is three rebounds shy of 800 in his career.
- Ryan Kalkbrenner is 21 points shy of 1,000 career points in BIG EAST regular-season action, and nine swats shy of 200 career blocks in regular-season BIG EAST play.
- Baylor Scheierman owns 93 three-pointers and is seven trifectas shy of joining Kyle Korver (twice) and Ethan Wragge as the third player in CU history with 100 or more in a season.
- Creighton has made 193 three-pointers in league play this year, just 13 shy of the BIG EAST record set by Villanova in 2017-18.
- Creighton has attempted 548 three-pointers in league play this year, just nine shy of the BIG EAST record set by Villanova in 2018-19.

What's At Stake
The final day of the regular-season is Saturday, which means there's just five games left on the schedule.    There's 32 potential seeding scenarios, but here's a list of what team can be each seed:
1: Connecticut
2: Creighton, Marquette
3: Creighton, Marquette, Seton Hall
4: Marquette, Seton Hall
5: Providence, St. John's, Villanova
6: Providence, St. John's, Villanova
7: Providence, St. John's, Villanova, Xavier
8: Butler, Providence, St. John's, Villanova, Xavier
9: Butler, Xavier
10: Georgetown
11: DePaul
    Creighton will be the No. 2 seed with either a victory at Villanova or a Marquette loss at Xavier (or both).
    CU will be the No. 3 seed if it loses at Villanova and Marquette wins at Xavier.
    The scenarios in the chart below, created by Matt Hackman, are unofficial, but a quick reference.
Saturday's Schedule
Here's a list of the schedule on Saturday, March 9:
11 am CST - Georgetown at St. John's (FOX)
1:30 pm CST - Creighton at Villanova (FOX)
4 pm CST - Marquette at Xavier (FOX)
7 pm CST - UConn at Providence (FOX)
7:30pm CST - DePaul at Seton Hall (FS1)

The Bracket
The BIG EAST Tournament bracket will be announced late on Saturday night at the conclusion of the regular-season. Here's that schedule:
March 13, 3:00 pm CT (G1) - #8 Seed vs. #9 Seed
  5:30 pm (G2) - #7 Seed vs. Georgetown
  8:00 pm (G3) - #6 Seed vs. DePaul
March 14, 11 am CT (G4) - UConn vs. G1 Winner
  1:30 pm (G5) - No. 4 seed vs. No. 5 seed
  6:00 pm (G6) - #2 Seed vs. G2 Winner
  8:30 pm (G7) - No. 3 seed vs. G3 Winner
March 15, 4:30 pm CT (G8) - G4 Winner vs. G5 Winner
  7:00 pm (G9) - G6 Winner vs. G7 Winner
March 16, 5:30 pm CT (G10) - G8 Winner vs. G9 Winner

Best BIG EAST Years
Creighton's 13 league wins are one shy of tying a program record for most conference wins in any of its 11 seasons in the BIG EAST.
    Three of CU's five previous teams to win 12 or more BIG EAST games reached the BIG EAST Tournament final, with the prematurely cancelled 2019-20 campaign being one of the exceptions.
    Creighton's most wins ever in any league was the 15 it picked up in 2002-03 when it was a member of the Missouri Valley Conference.
Creighton's Most BIG EAST Wins, Season
    W-L    Year    BIG EAST Tourney
    14-4    2013-14    Lost in Final
    14-6    2020-21    Lost in Final
    14-6    2022-23    Lost in Semi's
    13-5    2019-20    Tourney Cancelled
    13-6 so far    2023-24    TBA
    12-7    2021-22    Lost in Final

Scheierman's Week Recognized
Senior guard Baylor Scheierman was named BIG EAST Player of the Week and FOX Sports Army National Guard of the Week after helping Creighton to a pair of double-digit home wins last week.
    Scheierman averaged 23.0 points, 13.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game as Creighton posted wins over Seton Hall (85-64) and No. 5 Marquette (89-75). Scheierman made 14-of-28 shots from the floor, including 12-of-22 three-pointers, and was also perfect in six free throw attempts.
    Scheierman had 20 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and three steals in Wednesday's 85-64 win over Seton Hall. During the contest he became the 11th men's player in history to surpass 1,000 career points at multiple Division I schools, and also surpassed Kenneth Faried's mark for most career defensive rebounds by any player in the country since 1999-2000.
    In Saturday's win over Marquette, Scheierman had 26 points and a season-high 16 rebounds to go with four rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot in his final home game. The performance made him the first Power 6 player with a game of 16 rebounds and six three-pointers since Marquette's Steve Novak in January of 2006. Scheierman is the nation's first Power 6 men's player since Texas' Kevin Durant in 2007 with at least 25 rebounds and 10 three-pointers made over any two-game stretch.
    He's also the first Creighton player ever to make six three-pointers in consecutive games. Scheierman is the BIG EAST's third player to make six three-pointers in back-to-back games since 2020, joining Marquette's Kam Jones (Feb. 21-25, 2024) and Georgetown's Jayden Epps (Nov. 19-25, 2023). The last BIG EAST player to do it in three straight games was Notre Dame's Kyle McAlarney in 2008.
    This is the second time this season that Scheierman has been named BIG EAST Player of the Week, having also been recognized on December 4th.

Baylor The Beast
Baylor Scheierman's performance of 26 points and 16 rebounds vs. No. 5 Marquette was just the third Creighton performance in the last 20 years with at least 25 points and 15 rebounds.
    The only other men to do it were Doug McDermott (33 & 15) vs. Tulsa on Nov. 23, 2013 and Kenny Lawson Jr. (30 & 18) vs. Saint Joseph's on Dec. 11, 2010.
    Scheierman's 16 rebounds are the most by a Bluejay since Arthur Kaluma at Connecticut on Jan. 7, 2023.

Chasing A Bid
Even though a certain NCAA bid was wiped away in 2020 by COVID-19, Creighton has still appeared in each of the last three NCAA Tournaments (2021, 2022, 2023), and is in great shape to make it four in a row in a few weeks on Selection Sunday.
    The only previous time that Creighton has appeared in more than three straight NCAA Tournaments was a run of five straight from 1999-2003.

Bonus From The Bench
Creighton's bench went 7-for-7 from the field and 2-for-2 from three-point range in its March 2 win over No. 5 Marquette.
    It was the first time since Jan. 17, 1987 that Creighton's bench has been perfect from the floor on multiple shots, and first time it was perfect from three-point range with multiple attempts since shooting 3-for-3 from deep on March 10, 2017 in a BIG EAST Tournament semifinal win vs. Xavier.
    Creighton's bench is averaging 11.7 points per game this year and shooting 37.6 percent from the floor. That's the most points per game from its reserve corps since 2020-21 (15.4 ppg.) and best three-point shooting percentage off the pine since the 2018-19 subs shot 42.2 percent.

Trey Dishes, Too
Trey Alexander has had back-to-back career-high assist totals, following up his 10 dimes vs. Seton Hall on Feb. 28 with 11 helpers vs. No. 5 Marquette on March 2nd.
    Alexander joins Maurice Watson Jr. (Dec. 9 & Dec. 17, 2016) as Creighton's only players with back-to-back points/assists double-doubles since 1978-79.
    Besides Watson (twice in 2016-17) and Grant Gibbs (once in 2011-12), Creighton had not had another player with two straight games of 10 or more assists since at least 1979-80, and none of them extended the streak to three in a row.
    The only other BIG EAST player since 2020 with back-to-back points/assists double-doubles is Marquette's Tyler Kolek, who's done it twice. Kolek is the BIG EAST's most recent player to do it in three games in a row (Feb. 25-March 4, 2023).

Trouble With The Top 10
Creighton beat No. 1 UConn (Feb. 20) and No. 5 Marquette (March 2), becoming the fifth BIG EAST team ever to earn back-to-back Top 5 wins without losing in between.
    Nationally, Creighton, Kansas and Purdue are the only three schools with multiple Top 5 wins this season.
BIG EAST History, Consecutive Top 5 Wins
Year    Team    Game 1    Game 2
2023-24    Creighton    #1 UConn    #5 Marquette
2017-18    Villanova    #4 Xavier    #4 Kansas
2002-03    Syracuse    #3 Oklahoma    #5 Texas
1984-85    Georgetown    #1 St. John's    #3 St. John's
1981-82    Georgetown    #4 Missouri    #4 Oregon St.

Creighton vs. Everybody
Creighton has beaten all but one other BIG EAST team this season, with the lone exception being Saturday's foe, Villanova.
    With a win, it would mark the fourth time in 11 years in the BIG EAST that Creighton would earn a victory over every other league rival, joining 2013-14, 2019-20 and 2020-21.

Kalkbrenner Chases 100 Rejections
Ryan Kalkbrenner owns 90 blocked shots this season and is 10 away from 100. Kalkbrenner, who has had 72, 89 and now 90 blocks the past three seasons, joins Benoit Benjamin (who had 92, 157 and 162 swats) as the only players in CU history with more than 70 rejections in a season.
    Kalkbrenner's 90 blocks this year are 20 more than the previous CU record by a senior, a mark that had been set by Chad Gallagher in 1990-91.
Most Blocked Shots, Season
    Blk.    Name (Class)    Year
    162    Benoit Benjamin (Jr.)    1984-85
    157    Benoit Benjamin (So.)    1983-84
    92    Benoit Benjamin (Fr.)    1982-83
    90    Ryan Kalkbrenner (Sr.)    2023-24
    89    Ryan Kalkbrenner (So.)    2021-22
    72    Ryan Kalkbrenner (Jr.)    2022-23
    70    Chad Gallagher (Sr.)    1990-91
    62    Chad Gallagher (Jr.)    1989-90
    62    Gregory Echenique (Sr.)    2012-13
    57    Doug Swenson (Jr.)    1997-98
    57    Anthony Tolliver (Sr.)    2006-07
    57    Gregory Echenique (Jr.)    2011-12

Scheierman Eyes Century Club
Already one of three players in Creighton history with multiple seasons of 87 three-pointers (joining Kyle Korver and Mitch Ballock), Baylor Scheierman is just seven three-pointers shy of 100 for the season.
    He'd be the third different player to reach the century mark, joining Kyle Korver (who did it twice) and Ethan Wragge.
Most 3-Pointers Made, Season
    3FG    Name (Class)    Year
    129    Kyle Korver (Sr.)    2002-03
    110    Ethan Wragge (Sr.)    2013-14
    100    Kyle Korver (So.)    2000-01
    97    Ty-Shon Alexander (So.)    2018-19
    96    Doug McDermott (Sr.)    2013-14
    95    Marcus Foster (Sr.)    2017-18
    95    Mitch Ballock (So.)    2018-19
    93    Mitch Ballock (Jr.)    2019-20
    93    Baylor Scheierman (Sr.)    2023-24
    91    Booker Woodfox (Sr.)    2008-09
    87    Baylor Scheierman (Sr.)    2022-23

The Chairman From Aurora
Baylor Scheierman is averaging 8.87 rebounds per game, which puts him on pace for CU's best single-season average since Nate King averaged 8.96 rebounds per game in 1993-94.
    The last Creighton player to average more than King's 8.96 rebounds per game was Bob Harstad's 9.35 in 1988-89.


He's Done It Again
Baylor Scheierman owns 266 rebounds and 93 three-pointers this year.  Since 1992-93, Scheierman is just the sixth player in the country with a season like that, joining Shane Battier, Pat Connaughton, Mike Daum, Brandon Miller and Dylan Windler.
    Scheierman's Senior Day performance on March 2 vs. No. 5 Marquette made him the first Power 6 player with at least 16 rebounds and six three-pointers in a game since Marquette's Steve Novak vs. Connecticut on Jan. 3, 2006.
266 Rebounds & 93 3-Pointers - Since 1992-93
Name    REB    3FG    Year
Shane Battier, Duke    285    124    2000-01
Brandon Miller, Alabama    305    106    2022-23
Dylan Windler, Belmont    357    100    2018-19
Mike Daum, South Dakota State    359    96    2017-18
Pat Connaughton, Notre Dame    282    93    2014-15
Baylor Scheierman, Creighton    266    93    2023-24

Leading The Way?
Creighton has a number of players in contention to lead the league in a statistical category for league play only, which requires participation in at least 75 percent of conference games.
    Ryan Kalkbrenner currently is shooting 64.9 percent from the field in league play, with Jalen Thomas (Butler) listed next at 58.3 percent. It's worth noting that Donovan Clingan will be eligible to join the list should he play on Saturday, as he enters the finale shooting 61.9 percent. Kalkbrenner would be CU's sixth player in 11 years to lead that BIG EAST category, joining Doug McDermott (.541), Geoffrey Groselle (.656), Justin Patton (.663), Christian Bishop (.654) and Kalkbrenner himself (2022-23). No BIG EAST player has led the league in that category in back-to-back years since UConn's Emeka Okafor in 2002-03 and 2003-04.
    Kalkbrenner also leads the league with 3.4 blocked shots per game. Seton Hall's Jaden Bediako is next-closest with 36 swats, meaning he'd need 29 more rejections than Kalkbrenner to match his total. Clingan averages 2.43 blocks and will join the leaderboard should he play on Saturday, but even then "Cling Kong" would need to turn away 15 shots to surpass Kalkbrenner. Kalkbrenner (last year) is the only previous Bluejay to lead the BIG EAST in blocks per game. Kalkbrenner's 65 blocks this year in conference contests are the most by any BIG EAST player since Rutgers' Hamady Ndiaye had 69 in 2009-10, and no player has had 70 or more since UConn's Hasheem Thabeet had 89 in 2008-09.
    Steven Ashworth enters the day second in league play with a 3.19 assist/turnover ratio, just behind UConn's Cam Spencer's 3.33. CU's previous players to lead the conference in assist/turnover ratio in league play were Jahenns Manigat (2013-14), Davion Mintz (2017-18) and Mitch Ballock (2019-20).
    Baylor Scheierman owns the BIG EAST lead with 8.9 defensive rebounds per game in league play, giving him a healthy advantage over Providence's Devin Carter (7.6). Carter would need 25 more defensive boards on Saturday than Scheierman to match his total. Creighton has never had a player lead the league in defensive rebounds per game since joining the BIG EAST.
    It also seems likely that Creighton will produce the BIG EAST leader in minutes per league game. Baylor Scheierman (38.3), Trey Alexander (38.1) and Ryan Kalkbrenner (37.1) currently own the top three spots, which means fourth-place Devin Carter of Providence would need to play 33 more minutes than Scheierman, 29 more minutes than Alexander and 10 more minutes than Kalkbrenner to move into the top spot. CU hasn't had a minutes per game leader since joining the BIG EAST.

Keep An Eye On
Ryan Kalkbrenner owns 979 career points in BIG EAST play as he enters what could be his final game (he can return).
    Kalkbrenner owns the league record for field goal percentage in BIG EAST play at 64.2 percent, well ahead of runner-up Georgetown's Patrick Ewing (.608). The list requires five field goals made per game, so Kalkbrenner will need to make four buckets (he's at 386 FG in 77 games) to remain on the list.
    Kalkbrenner also owns 191 career blocked shots in league play. That ranks seventh-most all-time, trailing only Patrick Ewing (247), Hasheem Thabeet (243), Etan Thomas (232), Alonzo Mourning (224), Jason Lawson (216) and Emeka Okafor (207) and just ahead of Dikembe Mutombo (184).
    
April Forecast?
On Saturday, Wells Fargo Center will see Villanova host Creighton. Each of the last three times that the Wildcats hosted their final game of the regular-season, the winner of that game went on to win the NCAA title.
    Villanova beat Georgetown 84-71 in 2016, then beat the Hoyas 97-73 in 2018. Last year, UConn defeated the Wildcats 71-59.
    All three of those games took place at Wells Fargo Center, as Saturday's game will be.

Endless Range In Philly in 2014
Creighton set a BIG EAST and school-record with 21 three-point baskets in a 28-point win at No. 4 Villanova in 2014 the first time the teams met as BIG EAST rivals at Wells Fargo Center.
    Creighton's previous mark was 20, done vs. Chattanooga in 2005. The previous BIG EAST mark was 20, done by West Virginia vs. Marquette in 2006 and matched by Notre Dame vs. Villanova in 2011.
    Creighton broke the Wells Fargo Center record for three-pointers by a Villanova opponent late in the first half (the old mark was 12), and also set a mark for most points against 'Nova at the Wells Fargo Center with 96, passing the old mark of 90.

What A Start!
Creighton made a three-pointer on each of its first nine possessions in its 2014 win at No. 4 Villanova. Creighton started the game 7-for-7 from deep, missed a two-pointer but turned an offensive rebound into another trey, and then sank a trifecta on its ninth trip, as well.
    That brings to mind all sorts of fun stats.
-According to Ken Pomeroy, Creighton became the first team since Indiana State in 2012 to make its first nine attempts from three-point range in a game. Pomeroy found evidence of six teams in the previous five years to make their first nine attempts from downtown.
-Pomeroy's research also indicated that Creighton was the only team in the previous five years to make nine straight three's without any other scores to start a game.
-Pomeroy also found that Creighton was the second team in the previous five years to score each of its first 30 points via the three-pointer. Miami (Ohio) had its first 33 points vs. Western Michigan on Jan. 28, 2012.
-Subsequent research by the Omaha World-Herald determined that of Creighton's 21 three-pointers, 17 were made from behind the NBA three-point line that was on the Wells Fargo Center floor.

Possession By Possession
Taking another look at the start of the 2014 game at Villanova, contested at Wells Fargo Center. Creighton made three-pointers on nine straight trips, including seven from Ethan Wragge.
Poss. #    Time    Result    Score
1    19:37    Wragge 3FG    CU 3-0
2    18:57    Wragge 3FG    CU 6-0
3    18:20    Manigat 3FG    CU 9-2
4    17:45    McDermott 3FG    CU 12-5
5    17:03    Wragge 3FG    CU 15-5
6    16:13    Wragge 3FG    CU 18-5
7    15:49    Wragge 3FG    CU 21-5
8    15:10    McDermott 2FG miss (off. rebound)
    14:39    Wragge 3FG    CU 24-5
9    13:55    Wragge 3FG    CU 27-8
    
Repeat After Three
Few teams in the country have made as many three-pointers in the last 11 seasons as the teams featured in Saturday's match-up. Since 2013-14, Villanova leads the nation in that category with 3,599 trifectas, while Creighton is fourth with 3,389.
    Creighton is 1-15 all-time when making eight three-pointers or less against Villanova (including three meetings in the 1950's long before the 3-point line existed), but 7-4 when making nine or more trifectas. CU has hit 93-of-199 treys (46.7%) in the eight wins, but 104-of-386 triples (26.7%) in the 19 losses.
    Villanova has made nine or more three-pointers against Creighton in 14-of-24 meetings as BIG EAST rivals.
    Per BartTorvik.com, Villanova ranks 14th nationally with 47.5 percent of its shot attempts coming from three-point range, while Creighton is seventh at 48.6 percent.
    Creighton is 27-2 in its last 29 games (against all teams) when attempting 15 or fewer three-pointers, though its season-low this year is 18 trifecta tries (vs. Alabama).
    Since Greg McDermott was hired in 2010, Creighton has made 4,263 three-pointers in 480 games, good for second-most nationally behind Belmont (4,395). Villanova is third on that list with 4,209 treys.
Most 3FG Made Since 2013-14 (thru 3/6/24)
Rk.    Team    3FG    Games
1.    Villanova    3,599    380
2.    North Florida    3,537    351
3.    Belmont    3,480    356
4.    Creighton    3,389    370
5.    Fort Wayne    3,310    353

Something About Creighton
Since the start of the 2013-14 season, Villanova has suffered only 83 losses, with just 15 of those coming by 15 points or more.
    Five of those lopsided setbacks have come against Creighton, while 10 other teams have done it once each.
Villanova's Largest Margins of Defeat Since 2013-14
    Margin    Score    Date
    28*    Creighton 96, Villanova 68    1/20/14
    27    Michigan 73, Villanova 46    11/14/18
    26    Purdue 87, Villanova 61    3/23/19
    25    Ohio State 76, Villanova 51    11/13/19
    24    Connecticut 78, Villanova 54    2/24/24
    23    Oklahoma 78, Villanova 55    12/7/15
    21    Creighton 101, Villanova 80    2/16/14
    21    Baylor 57, Villanova 36    12/12/21
    20    Georgetown 78, Villanova 58    1/19/15
    20    Creighton 79, Villanova 59    12/17/21
    20    St. John's 70, Villanova 50    1/24/24
    16    Creighton 86, Villanova 70    2/13/21
    16    Syracuse 78, Villanova 62    12/28/13
    16    Kansas 81, Villanova 65    4/2/22
    15*    Creighton 76, Villanova 61    2/1/20
*at Wells Fargo Arena

The Cats Meow
Villanova has the third-best win percentage in the country since the start of the 2013-14 season, which coincides with the realignment of the BIG EAST. Villanova is 297-83 (.782), just behind a Gonzaga program that is 339-48 (.876) and Kansas 306-81 (.791).
    Of the 96 different schools to play Villanova in that time, only 33  have actually beaten the Wildcats.
    Creighton is one of 13 schools to post multiple victories over the Wildcats in that time.  Creighton's eight victories over Villanova are the second-most by any Wildcat opponent in that span, one behind Marquette and one more than Butler.

The Race To 79
Creighton has scored 70 or more points in 20 of its 22 victories this season, and 79 points or more in 18 of those wins.
    Creighton has averaged 85.00 points in eight all-time wins over Villanova, but just 61.42 in 19 losses against the Wildcats.
    Villanova has surrendered 65.5 points per game this season.
    Creighton is 6-0 all-time when scoring 79 points or more against the Wildcats, compared to a 2-19 record when scoring 78 points or fewer.

McDermott Ranks Second On CU Wins List
Greg McDermott has 322 victories at Creighton, good for second place on CU's all-time wins list.
    McDermott's .671 winning percentage is Creighton's best since Arthur A. Schabinger's .714 win rate more than 85 years ago.
    Below is a list of the most victorious Creighton coaches in program history.
Most Coaching Wins, Creighton History
Rk.    W-L    Name    Years
1.    327-176    Dana Altman    1994-2010
2.    322-158    Greg McDermott    2010-Pres.
3.    165-66    Arthur A. Schabinger     1922-1935
4.    138-118    John J. "Red" McManus     1959-1969
5.    130-64    Tom Apke    1974-1981

Top 10 Wins Under McDermott
Creighton owns 14 Top 10 victories under Greg McDermott, which includes the 85-66 win over No. 1 UConn on Feb. 20 and an 89-75 triumph vs. No. 5 Marquette on March 2nd.
    Here's a list of all 19 Top 10 wins in program history, which includes two Top 10 wins in 2013-14 (No. 4 Villanova; No. 6 Villanova) and three Top 10 wins in 2019-20 (No. 8 Villanova, No. 10 Seton Hall and No. 8 Seton Hall).
    This year is the first time Creighton has beaten two Top 5 teams in the same season.
Creighton's Top 10 Wins All-Time
Date    Opponent    Score    Head Coach
12/13/63    #4 Arizona State    W 84-83    McManus
12/01/65    #10 Kansas State    W 83-75    McManus
01/29/70    #5 New Mexico State    W 72-68    Sutton
02/17/73    #7 Houston    W 78-77    Sutton
02/09/74    at #6 Marquette    W 75-69    Sutton
01/20/14    at #4 Villanova    W 96-68    McDermott
02/16/14    #6 Villanova    W 101-80    McDermott
02/09/16    #5 Xavier    W 70-56    McDermott
11/15/16    #9 Wisconsin    W 79-67    McDermott
02/24/18    #3 Villanova    W 89-83 (OT)    McDermott
03/03/19    at #10 Marquette    W 66-60    McDermott
02/01/20    at #8 Villanova    W 76-61    McDermott
02/12/20    at #10 Seton Hall    W 87-82    McDermott
03/07/20    #8 Seton Hall    W 77-60    McDermott
02/13/21    #5 Villanova    W 86-70    McDermott
12/17/21    #9 Villanova    W 79-59    McDermott
11/22/22    vs. #9 Arkansas    W 90-87    McDermott
02/20/24    #1 Connecticut    W 85-66    McDermott
03/02/24    #5 Marquette    W 89-74    McDermott

Top 25 Victims
This is Creighton's ninth straight season with multiple Top 25 wins, and 13th time overall (and 10th time under Greg McDermott).
    This year is also the seventh time in the last eight seasons with three or more Top 25 wins, something that had never happened prior to 2016-17.
Creighton's Most Top-25 Wins, Season
    Wins    Season    Top-25 Victims
    6    2019-20    #8 Villanova, #10 Seton Hall,
            #12 Texas Tech, #19 Marquette,
            #21 Butler, #8 Seton Hall
    6    2022-23    #9 Arkansas, #11 Baylor, #13 Xavier,
            #19 Providence, #21 Texas Tech,                 #21 Connecticut
    5    2021-22    #9 Villanova, #11 Providence,
            #17 UConn, #18 UConn, #24 BYU
    4    2016-17    #9 Wisconsin, #12 Butler,
            #16 Butler, #22 Xavier
    4    2017-18    #3 Villanova, #19 Seton Hall,
            #20 Northwestern, #23 UCLA
    3    2020-21    #5 Villanova, #22 Xavier, #23 UConn
    3    2023-24    #1 UConn, #5 Marquette, #23 Providence
    2    1973-74    #6 Marquette, #16 Louisville
    2    2001-02    #15 Florida, #17 Western Kentucky
    2    2006-07    #11 Southern Illinois, #24 Xavier
    2    2013-14    #4 Villanova, #6 Villanova
    2    2015-16    #5 Xavier, #18 Butler
    2    2018-19    #10 Marquette, #16 Clemson

More Than Just Being Tall
Ryan Kalkbrenner owns 225 dunks in his career, including six on Feb. 28 vs. Seton Hall. He has more  than 100 career dunks more than any other Bluejay player since Greg McDermott's arrival in 2010.
     Here's a look at the Creighton student-athletes with 20 or more dunks in a season, and 25 or more dunks in a career, under McDermott:
Most Creighton Dunks, Season, Since 2010-11
Dunks    Name    Year
74    Martin Krampelj    2018-19
72    Justin Patton    2016-17
69    Ryan Kalkbrenner    2021-22
64    Ryan Kalkbrenner    2023-24
63    Ryan Kalkbrenner    2022-23
50    Christian Bishop    2020-21
38    Christian Bishop    2019-20
36    Gregory Echenique    2012-13
33    Martin Krampelj    2017-18
30    Gregory Echenique    2011-12
29    Marcus Foster    2017-18
29    Ryan Kalkbrenner    2020-21
25    Fredrick King    2022-23
24    Gregory Echenique    2010-11
23    Marcus Foster    2016-17
22    Kenny Lawson Jr.    2010-11
22    Arthur Kaluma    2022-23
21    Alex O'Connell    2021-22
21    Arthur Kaluma    2021-22
20    Khyri Thomas    2017-18

Most Creighton Dunks, Career, Since 2010-11
Dunks    Name    Years
225    Ryan Kalkbrenner    2020-Pres.
121    Martin Krampelj    2015-19
103    Christian Bishop    2018-21
90    Gregory Echenique    2010-13
72    Justin Patton    2016-17
52    Marcus Foster    2016-18
51    Khyri Thomas    2015-18
43    Arthur Kaluma    2021-23
38    Will Artino    2011-15
36    Fredrick King    2022-Pres.
33    Zach Hanson    2013-17
25    Geoffrey Groselle    2012-16
25    Damien Jefferson    2018-21

Most Creighton Dunks, Team, Season, Since 2010-11
Dunks    Year    Team W-L
144    2016-17    25-10 (NCAA)
132    2021-22    23-12 (NCAA)
115    2022-23    24-13 (NCAA)
107    2017-18    21-12 (NCAA)
106    2018-19    20-15 (NIT)
91    2023-24    22-8 so far
90    2020-21    22-9 (NCAA)
60    2019-20    24-7 (Postseason Canceled)
58    2015-16    20-15 (NIT)
56    2010-11    23-16 (CBI)
54    2012-13    28-8 (NCAA)
42    2011-12    29-6 (NCAA)

Dime Time For Alexander
Trey Alexander dished a career-high 10 assists on Wednesday vs. Seton Hall as the junior produced his first career points/assists double-double when you consider his 15 points. He earned his second such contest just three days later when he had 18 points and established a new career-high with 11 assists.
    Alexander has also had two points/rebounds double-doubles this season, finishing with 23 points and 11 rebounds vs. Iowa on Nov. 14 and 16 points and 15 rebounds vs. Villanova on Dec. 20th.

Taking Away The Three
Not only does Creighton have two-time BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year Ryan Kalkbrenner patrolling the paint, but the Jays have been remarkably effective in running opponents off the three-point line as well.
    Creighton has allowed opponents to make just 16-of-62 three-pointers over the past four games, while the Jays have drained 46 three-pointers in that same time.
    For the year, Creighton has made 320 three-pointers while surrendering just 170 triples. That +150 differential is tied for second-best in the country, behind only North Florida (+183) and tied with BYU (+150). Since 2010-11, the only two BIG EAST teams to finish a season at +150 or better were Villanova (+192 in 2018) and Connecticut (+159 in 2023). Both the Wildcats and Huskies went on to win the NCAA title.
     Creighton's 5.67 three-pointers allowed per game is second-fewest in the nation among Power 6 schools, trailing only Maryland (5.10).

Sold Out in Omaha
Creighton sold out six home games this season: Iowa, Alabama, DePaul, Butler, UConn and Marquette.
    Creighton has also played in front of six sell out crowds on the road this year, doing so at Nebraska, Marquette, UConn, Xavier, Butler and Seton Hall this season.
    Creighton ranks sixth nationally this season with 17,269 fans per home game.
2023-24 NCAA Home Attendance Per Game Leaders
Through 3/6/24
    Rank    School    Average
    1.    North Carolina    20,593
    2.    Syracuse    20,288
    3.    Kentucky    19,928
    4.    Tennessee    19,494
    5.    Arkansas    19,106
    6.    Creighton    17,269
    7.    Indiana    16,478
    8.    Marquette    16,307
    9.    Kansas    16,300
    10.    BYU    15,555

Some Loyal Fans
Creighton's average home crowd of 17,269 this year ranks fourth-most in program history.
    Creighton had never attracted more than 141,000 home fans in any season prior to the opening of CHI Health Center Omaha, and now has done it each of the last 20 non-COVID seasons.
    Creighton has led its conference in average home attendance every year (except the 2020-21 COVID season) since moving into CHI Health Center Omaha, which is in its 21st season.
Highest Average Attendance, Creighton History
    Avg. Att.    School    Year
    17,896    Creighton    2013-14
    17,413    Creighton    2016-17
    17,314    Creighton    2019-20
    17,269    Creighton    2023-24
    17,163    Creighton    2022-23
    17,155    Creighton    2012-13
    17,048    Creighton    2014-15
    17,000    Creighton    2017-18

FOX Rocks
Saturday will mark Creighton's sixth appearance on FOX this season.
    After a rough start on FOX, the network has been a good luck charm for the Bluejays in recent seasons, helping CU improve to 17-17 on the channel since joining the BIG EAST.
    Creighton lost its first seven appearances and was 2-10 on FOX in its first six seasons as a BIG EAST member. Since then, Creighton is 16-7 on the network, and 5-0 this season.
Creighton's Record on FOX Since 2013-14
Year    W-L
2013-14    0-0
2014-15    0-0
2015-16    0-1
2016-17    0-4
2017-18    1-3 (lost first 2)
2018-19    1-2 (won last 1)
2019-20    2-0
2020-21    5-2 (won first 4)
2021-22    0-3
2022-23    3-2
2023-24    5-0 (so far)


Terrific Trio
The trio of Baylor Scheierman (18.5 ppg.), Trey Alexander (17.6) and Ryan Kalkbrenner (17.2) have accounted for 65.6 percent of Creighton's points this season.
    They are the first Creighton trio with 500+ points in the same season since 1953-54 (Ray Yost, Eddie Cole, Elton Tuttle).
    Creighton has not had three men finish a season averaging 14 points per game or more in the same year since 1983-84, when Benoit Benjamin (16.2), Vernon Moore (15.0) and Gregory Brandon (14.5) did it.
    Creighton has not had three men finish a season averaging 15 points per game or more in the same year since 1966-67, when Bob Portman (18.3), Tim Powers (17.5) and Wally Anderzunas (15.5) did it.
    Creighton has not had three men finish a season averaging 16 points per game or more in the same year since 1953-54, when Ray Yost (19.9), Eddie Cole (19.6) and Elton Tuttle (18.5) did it.
    Per Elias Sports Bureau, no "Power 6" team has finished a season with three men averaging 16 points per game since LSU in 2020-21 (Ja'Vonte Smart, Cameron Thomas, Trendon Watford).
    Going a step further, no "Power 6" team has finished a season with three men averaging 17 points per game since Duke in 2009-10 (Jon Scheyer, Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith). No BIG EAST team has done it since Syracuse in 1989-90 (Derrick Coleman, Billy Owens and Stephen Thompson).

Give Me 10
Ryan Kalkbrenner, Baylor Scheierman and Trey Alexander own three of the BIG EAST's five longest active streaks for games with 10 or more points, as seen below.
    Kalkbrenner has scored eight points or more in 53 straight games, the nation's fifth-longest active streak.
Consecutive Games With 10+ Points
Active Streaks - BIG EAST Players (through 3/8)
    Streak    Name, School    Next Game
    30    Devin Carter, Providence    3/9
    27    Quincy Olivari, Xavier    3/9
    17    Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton    3/9
    15    Baylor Scheierman, Creighton    3/9
    12    Trey Alexander, Creighton    3/9

Consecutive Games With 8+ Points
Active Streaks - Nationally (through 3/6)
    Streak    Name, School    Next Game
    80    Zach Edey, Purdue    3/10
    58    Dillon Jones, Weber State    3/9
    54    Mervin James, Rider    3/7
    54    Tristan Enaruna, Cleveland State    3/7
    53    Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton    3/9

Scheierman Eyes 1,000 Points at Creighton
With 20 points on Feb. 28th vs. Seton Hall, Baylor Scheierman became the 47th player to score 1,000 points in a Bluejay uniform. He accomplished the feat in his 66th game at CU, becoming the first Bluejay to reach 1,000 points in fewer than 75 games at CU since Marcus Foster needed just 54 in 2018.
    Scheierman is the third Bluejay transfer from a four-year school to reach 1,000 career points at CU, joining Gregory Echenique (Rutgers) and Marcus Foster (Kansas State). Two other junior college transfers (Rod Mason and Johnny Mathies) have also scored 1,000 points after joining the Bluejays but starting elsewhere.
    Here's a list of Creighton's top scorers ever, as well as how long it took CU's last 23 men to reach 1,000 points.
Most Career Points, Creighton History
    Rank    Pts.    Name    Years
    1.    3,150    Doug McDermott    2010-14
    2.    2,116    Rodney Buford    1995-99
    3.    2,110    Bob Harstad     1987-91
    4.    1,983    Chad Gallagher     1987-91
    5.    1,876    Bob Portman     1966-69
    6.    1,801    Kyle Korver    1999-03
    7.    1,754    Nate Funk    2002-07
    8.    1,682    Rick Apke     1974-78
        1,682    Ryan Kalkbrenner    2020-Pres.
    10.    1,661    Paul Silas    1961-64
    11.    1,654    Vernon Moore     1981-85
    12.    1,575    Benoit Benjamin     1982-85
    13.    1,526    John C. Johnson    1975-79
    14.    1,500    Kevin McKenna    1977-81
    15.    1,437    Eddie Cole    1951-55
    16.    1,369    Gene Harmon    1971-74
    17.    1,361    Duan Cole    1987-92
    18.    1,342    Antoine Young    2008-12
    19.    1,313    Kenny Lawson Jr.    2006-11
    20.    1,309    Ryan Sears    1997-01
    21.    1,304    Mitch Ballock    2017-21
    22.    1,303    Elton Tuttle    1951-54
    23.    1,293    Marcus Zegarowski    2018-21
    24.    1,292    Marcus Foster    2016-18
    25.    1,288    Trey Alexander    2021-Pres.
    26.    1,272    Bob Gibson    1954-57
    27.    1,267    Wally Anderzunas    1965-67, 1968-69
    28.    1,254    Gary Swain    1983-87
    29.    1,241    Ty-Shon Alexander    2017-20
    30.    1,238    Ben Walker    1997-01
    31.    1,196    Ray Yost    1951-54
    32.    1,172    Dick Harvey    1956-59
    33.    1,155    Ethan Wragge    2009-14
    34.    1,152    Dane Watts    2004-08
    35.    1,140    Khyri Thomas    2015-18
    36.    1,116    Kenny Evans    1982-87
    37.    1,115    Doug Brookins    1972-75
        1,115    Daryl Stovall    1978-82
    39.    1,093    Tim Powers    1964-67
    40.    1,050    Reggie Morris    1982-86
    41.    1,031    Johnny Mathies    2003-06
    42.    1,027    Baylor Scheierman    2022-Present
    43.    1,024    P'Allen Stinnett    2007-10
    44.    1,023    Rod Mason    1986-88
    45.    1,013    Austin Chatman    2011-15
    46.    1,006    Gregory Echenique    2010-13
    47.    1,004    Anthony Tolliver    2003-07

Games To 1,000 Points, Last 23 Bluejays
Name    CU Games to 1,000 pts.     Date
Baylor Scheierman    66    02/28/24
Trey Alexander    87    01/06/24
Ryan Kalkbrenner    91    02/25/23
Marcus Zegarowski    75    01/20/21
Mitch Ballock    100    11/29/20
Ty-Shon Alexander    85    01/15/20
Khyri Thomas    94    02/10/18
Marcus Foster    54    01/17/18
Austin Chatman    138    03/11/15
Ethan Wragge    132    01/18/14
Gregory Echenique    101    03/24/13
Doug McDermott    57    01/15/12
Antoine Young    115    12/10/11
Kenny Lawson Jr.    108    11/21/10
P'Allen Stinnett    86    01/16/10
Dane Watts    115    01/22/08
Anthony Tolliver    124    03/16/07
Johnny Mathies    91    03/03/06
Nate Funk    92    02/28/05
Kyle Korver    81    01/30/02
Ben Walker    105    01/06/01
Ryan Sears    97    12/01/00
Rodney Buford    59    03/01/97

More History For Scheierman
Baylor Scheierman is also the 11th player in NCAA history to score 1,000 points at multiple Division I schools.
Player    School 1    School 2
Jon Manning    Oklahoma City 1039    N. Texas 1090
Kenny Battle    N. Illinois 1072    Illinois 1112
Jalen Pickett    Siena 1139    Penn State 1068
Gary Neal    La Salle 1041    Towson 1254
Andrew Rowsey    UNC Asheville 1244    Marquette 1087
Juanya Green    Niagara 1131    Hofstra 1186
Matt Bradley    California 1289    San Diego St. 1033
Tyler Thomas*    Sacred Heart 1001    Hofstra 1268
Antonio Reeves*    Illinois St. 1195    Kentucky 1088
Jahmir Young*    Charlotte 1421    Maryland 1160
Baylor Scheierman*    So. Dakota St. 1114    Creighton 1027
*active player

Getting Defensive
Baylor Scheierman owns 1,092 career defensive rebounds. That's more than any other player in the country since 1999-2000, just ahead of Morehead State great Kenneth Faried (1,071) and current North Carolina star Armando Bacot (1,077).

Horseshoes & Hand Grenades
Creighton's first 11 years in the BIG EAST have featured 24 games against Villanova decided by an average of 14.08 points, a surprisingly wide margin considering how good both programs have been.
    Avg. Margin    CU W-L    Opponent
    7.11    7-2    Connecticut
    7.13    12-11    Marquette
    8.31    13-13    Xavier
    9.92    11-14    Providence
    10.78    13-10    Seton Hall
    13.74    14-9    Butler
    13.50    16-6    St. John's
    14.08    8-16    Villanova
    14.63    14-10    Georgetown
    17.29    22-1    DePaul

One Of The Best Q Ratings
Through games of Wednesday, Creighton owns a combined 14-8 record in Quad 1 (7-6) and Quad 2 (7-2) games this season, and Saturday presents a Quad 1 opportunity at Villanova. The Bluejays are the only team in the country with at least seven Quad 1 wins and seven Quad 2 wins.
    Creighton's combined 14 Quad 1 or 2 wins this year trailed only Purdue (17-3), UConn (17-3)  and Houston (15-3) through games of Wednesday, and were fourth-most nationally.
    Creighton is 7-6 in Quad 1 games this season and entered this season 30-28 in Quad 1 contests since 2019-20.
    Creighton, Baylor and Kansas are the only three schools to have posted at least six Quad 1 wins in each of the previous four seasons.
Most Combined Q1 & Q2 Wins (through 3/6)
    Rk.    Total    Q1    Q2    Team
    1.    17    11    6    Purdue
    2.    17    11    6    Connecticut
    3.    15    12    3    Houston
    4.    14    7    7    Creighton
    5.    13    7    6    Arizona
        13    8    5    Tennessee
        13    8    5    Baylor
    8.    12    6    6    North Carolina
        12    7    5    Iowa State
        12    7    5    Kansas
        12    8    4    Marquette
        12    5    7    Wisconsin

NET Gains
Creighton, Houston, Purdue, Tennessee and UConn are the nation's only teams with seven or more true road wins and seven or more Quad 1 wins.
    Creighton, Tennessee, Duke, Pitt, Houston, Purdue, Connecticut, South Carolina and North Carolina are the nation's only "Power 6" teams with seven or more true road wins this season.
    Creighton, Houston, Purdue, UConn, Tennessee, Duke, North Carolina, Gonzaga and Saint Mary's are the nation's only teams in the top 29 of the NET with seven or more true road wins this season.
    Creighton, UConn and South Carolina are the nation's only teams from a "Power 6" conference with seven road wins in both men's and women's basketball this season.  
    Creighton's five true road wins by 14 points or more lead all Power 6 schools. Auburn (5), Duke (4), Arizona (3) and Purdue (3) are the only other "Power 6" schools with more than two against "Power 6" competition.

22 x 2
Creighton is one of 10 teams in the nation with 22 or more wins in both men's basketball and women's basketball this season.
    That list consists of Baylor, Creighton, Drake, Gonzaga, Grand Canyon, Marquette, Princeton, Richmond, South Carolina and UConn.
    Creighton is one of eight schools to have men's and women's basketball programs to both own 22 wins or more each of the previous two seasons, a list that included Creighton, Gonzaga, Liberty, Princeton, Tennessee, Texas, Toledo and UConn.
    Of those clubs, Creighton, Gonzaga, Princeton and UConn have done it yet again, while Liberty,  Tennessee, Texas and Toledo are trying to join them.
22+ Wins, Each of 2 Previous MBB & WBB Years
Team    23-24 MBB Wins    23-24 WBB Wins
Creighton    22+    22+
Gonzaga    22+    22+
Princeton    22+    22+
UConn    22+    22+
Texas    19    22+
Toledo    19    22+
Tennessee    22+    17
Liberty    17    15

McDermott Earns 600th Win
Greg McDermott picked up his 600th career win on Feb. 20 vs. No. 1 Connecticut. McDermott now owns 602 victories, has won 50 or more games at four different schools, and owns a .631 career winning percentage in 30 seasons and 955 games as a head coach. Only 17 active Division I men's coaches, and only 28 active men's coaches across all levels, own 600 or more career victories.
Greg McDermott's Milestone Victories
Date    W-L    Opponent & Site    Score
 11/19/94    1-0    York at Wayne State    137-38
 01/14/00    100-50    Moorhead St. at Wayne St.    92-59
 11/23/05    200-117    UNI at Western Michigan    69-63
 03/15/11    300-209    San Jose State at Creighton    85-74
 02/24/15    400-248    Creighton at DePaul    75-62
 01/11/20    500-308    Creighton at Xavier    77-65
02/20/24    600-352    #1 Connecticut    85-66


Twenty, Again
Creighton is one of six schools with 20 or more wins in each of the previous eight seasons (entering 2023-24), joining Belmont, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas and Oregon.
Longest 20-Win Season Streaks Entering 2023-24
    Streak    Team    2023-24 W-L if <>
    34*    Kansas    -
    26*    Gonzaga    -
    13    Belmont    19-12
    13    Oregon    19-10
    8*    Creighton    -
    8*    Houston    -
*already have 20+ wins

24 of 26 Seasons With 20 Wins
Creighton has won 20 or more games in 24 of the last 26 seasons (1998-99 to 2023-24), a feat that puts the Jays among an exclusive group, nationally.
    Entering this year, just two schools have had 20 or more wins each of the last 25 years: Gonzaga and Kansas. Duke has done it 24 times, Creighton and Kentucky 23 times each.
    Creighton is one of seven teams (including 2023-24) to post 22 or more wins in each of the last five seasons, joining Baylor, Gonzaga, Houston and San Diego State. Liberty and Southern California can still get there.
Most 20-Win Seasons, Previous 25 Seasons
Entering 2023-24
Team    20-Win Seasons    2023-24 W-L if <>
Gonzaga    25*    --    
Kansas    25*    --
Duke    24*    --
Creighton    23*    --
Kentucky    23*    --
Arizona    21*    --
Florida    21*    --
Michigan State    21    18-12
Ohio State    21    18-12
BYU    20*    --
Kent State    20    15-15
Memphis    20*    --    
North Carolina    20*    --
Xavier    20    15-15
Wisconsin    20    18-11    
Syracuse    19*    --
Texas    19    18-10    
Vermont    19*    --    
*already have 20+ wins

Most Consecutive 22-Win Seasons
Entering 2023-24
Team    Consec. 22-Win Years       2023-24 W-L if <>
Gonzaga    26*    --    
Houston    6*    --
Liberty    6    17-13
Creighton    4*    --
San Diego State    4*    --
Baylor    4*    --
Southern California    4    12-17
*already have 22+ wins

20/20 Vision
Creighton has won 20 or more games 35 times in program history, including a program-record 13 times under Greg McDermott.
Creighton's 20 Win Seasons
    Total Wins    How Often    Last Time
    29    2 times    2011-12
    28    1 time    2012-13
    27    2 times    2013-14
    25    1 time    2016-17
    24    4 times    2022-23
    23    6 times    2021-22
    22    6 times    2023-24
    21    6 times    2017-18
    20    7 times    2018-19

Most 20-Win MBB Seasons at Creighton, Coaches
    How Often    Head Coach
    13    Greg McDermott
    11    Dana Altman
    3    Tom Apke
    3    Tony Barone
    2    Red McManus
    1    Charles Kearney
    1    Eddie Sutton
    1    Willis Reed

A Dozen Will Do
Creighton has owned a .500 mark or better in league play 28 times in the last 29 seasons (including 2023-24), a figure it extended with  its Feb. 17 win at Butler. Creighton is one of seven schools with a non-losing conference record in 28 of the last 29 seasons.
    The only BIG EAST teams to finish .500 or better in league play each of the previous eight seasons are Creighton, Villanova and Seton Hall, and all three schools will extend that streak.
    Creighton finished 14-6 in the BIG EAST last season and with 13 years already is assured a fifth straight season with 12 or more league wins. Among the other "Power 6"  Conference schools, only Virginia (7 straight years) also have an active streak of five years or longer.
Most Seasons .500 or Better League Record
Last 29 Seasons (includes 2023-24)
    Seasons    Team    
    29    Duke    
    29    Kansas    
    29    Gonzaga    
    28    Kentucky    
    28    Michigan State    
    28    Creighton    
    28    Murray State    

Consecutive Seasons .500 or Better League Record
Power 6 Schools (includes 2023-24)
    Seasons    Team    2023-24 League W-L
    35    Kansas    
    29    Duke    
    13    Virginia    
    13    Oregon    
    12    Villanova    
    9    Creighton    
    9    Houston    
    9    Seton Hall    
    9    Florida    

Consecutive Seasons 12+ League Wins
Power 6 Schools (includes 2023-24)
    Seasons    Team    
    7    Virginia    
    5    Creighton    

Getting Hot In Here
Creighton went 4-3 in its first seven BIG EAST games this season, when it averaged 68.1 points per contest.
    The Jays have turned it up a notch or two since then, averaging 85.7 points in the past 12 games. That includes 85+ points nine times, and 78 and 79 in two of the exceptions (both wins).
    In those 12 games, Trey Alexander (20.3 ppg.), Baylor Scheierman (19.8) and Ryan Kalkbrenner (19.4) are all on a scoring terror, with Steven Ashworth (13.8) not far behind.
    Scheierman has averaged 19.8 points, 9.9 rebounds and 4.3 assists in the past 12 games. He joins Trayce Jackson-Davis (Indiana), Ethan Happ (Wisconsin) and Ben Simmons (LSU) as the only Power 6 players since with those averages in any single-season 12-game span since 2005-06.
    Creighton's 85.7 points per game is its most prolific 12-game stretch of conference play in program history, far ahead of a 12-game stretch in 2020 when it averaged 82.2 points per game.
Category    First 7 in BE    Last 12 in BE
Creighton W-L    4-3    9-3
Points Per Game    68.1    85.7
Scoring Margin/Game    +4.6    +9.9
Alexander PPG    15.9    20.3
Scheierman PPG    16.4    19.8
Kalkbrenner PPG    15.0    19.4
Ashworth PPG    8.6    13.8
Ashworth 3FG/Game    1.57    2.83
Ashworth 3FG%    .256    .370
Green Points Scored    0    23
Team FG%    .444    .503
Team 3FG%    .296    .382
Team FT%    .761    .801
Team A/TO Ratio    1.12    1.97

The Road Difference
Creighton has outscored teams by 66 points in its 12 true road games this season. That's the 12th-best mark in the nation, with Duke's +85 and Auburn's +70 the only better figures among "Power 6" schools.
Best Point Differential, True Road Games (3/6)
    Rk.    Team    Road W-L    Differential
    1.    McNeese State    11-3    +163
    2.    Saint Mary's    9-0    +153
    3.    Gonzaga    8-2    +143
    4.    James Madison    12-2    +113
    5.    Charleston    10-2    +91
    6.    Princeton    10-3    +89
    7.    UNC Wilmington    10-6    +86
    8.    Duke    7-4    +85
    9.    UMass-Lowell    10-6    +81
    10.    Auburn    5-5    +70
    11.    Louisiana Tech    8-7    +69
    12.    Creighton    7-5    +66

Storm Season
Creighton's Feb. 20 win over No. 1 Connecticut was just the third time in the 21-year history of CHI Health Center Omaha that fans stormed the court following a Bluejay game.
    The first time it happened came on Feb. 18, 2012 in a last-second 81-79 win vs. Long Beach State. Ironically, fans stormed twice on that late-night evening, once when Antoine Young's shot at the buzzer went through the net, and again moments later after the court was cleared and time was put back on the clock and the final 0.3 seconds were played.
    It also happened on March 7, 2020, when Creighton defeated No. 8 Seton Hall to clinch a share of its first BIG EAST regular-season title.
    
Down Goes No. 1
Creighton defeated No. 1 UConn, 85-66, on Feb. 20th. It was the largest win over a top-ranked team since 2018, when UMBC upset Virginia 74-54 in the NCAA Tournament.
    Per Elias, here is a list of the 18 times in history that a No. 1 team has lost by 19 points or more.
Top-Ranked Losses by 19+ Points
Date    Winner    Loser    Score
12/17/51    #2 Kentucky    #1 St. John's    81-40
03/03/62    Wisconsin    #1 Ohio State    86-67
12/11/65    #6 Duke    #1 UCLA    94-75
03/22/68*    #2 UCLA    #1 Houston    101-69
01/26/74    #2 UCLA    #1 Notre Dame    94-75
03/07/81    #5 Arizona State    #1 Oregon State    87-67
01/18/89    #13 N. Carolina    #1 Duke    91-71
01/06/90    Villanova    #1 Syracuse    93-74
02/27/90    #5 Oklahoma    #1 Kansas    100-78
01/12/94    #17 Ga. Tech    #1 N. Carolina    89-69
11/25/94    #3 UMass    #1 Arkansas    104-80
02/18/95    #15 Villanova    #1 UConn    96-73
02/05/98    #2 N. Carolina    #1 Duke    97-73
03/11/04#    Xavier    #1 St. Joseph's    87-67
01/23/13    #25 Miami Fla.    #1 Duke    90-63
01/10/17    #10 West Virginia    #1 Baylor    89-68
03/16/18*    UMBC    #1 Virginia    74-54
02/20/24    #15 Creighton    #1 UConn    85-66
* NCAA Tournament    #Conference Tournament

Jays Beat No. 1 UConn
Creighton had been 0-6 all-time against No. 1 ranked teams before its Feb. 20 win vs. UConn.
Creighton vs. #1 Teams
Date    Opponent    Final Score
1/28/1980    #1 DePaul    L 73-84
12/31/2016    #1 Villanova    L 70-80
2/1/2018    at #1 Villanova    L 78-98
12/1/2018    #1 Gonzaga    L 92-103
3/28/2021    vs. #1 Gonzaga    L 65-83
1/17/2024    at #1 Connecticut    L 48-62
2/20/2024    #1 Connecticut    W 85-66

State Of The Nation
Both Creighton (UConn) and Nebraska (Purdue) have beaten No. 1-ranked teams this season.
    Per Sports Radar, the last time two teams from the same state beat No. 1's in the same season was 2019-20, when Stephen F. Austin beat Duke and Texas Tech topped Louisville.
    According to college basketball stats extraordinaire Jared Berson, it's the first time ever that two different schools from the same state beat the No. 1                                                              team by 15+ points in the same season.
    This year marks just the fourth time that Creighton and Nebraska will both finish with 21 wins in the same season, as it also previously happened in 1990-91 and 2017-18. Both teams also did it in 1976-77 but Nebraska had some wins vacated later.

Working Overtime
Creighton has played in three different overtime games this season, losing to Villanova (Dec. 20), winning at Seton Hall in triple-overtime (Jan. 20) and losing at Providence (Feb. 7).
    It was just the second triple-overtime game in history for Creighton, joining a Feb. 1, 1978 loss (85-82) in Omaha to No. 13 DePaul in a non-conference contest.
    Creighton's last overtime win had been its 72-69 win over San Diego State during the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
    Creighton is 62-53 all-time in all games with at least one overtime, including a 12-9 mark under Greg McDermott. The Jays are 11-10 in the next game after an overtime battle.

You Can't Spell McDermott Without OT
Greg McDermott is 17-14 in single-overtime games (9-8 at Creighton), 6-3 in double-overtime games (2-1 at Creighton) and 1-0 in triple-overtime games (1-0 at Creighton).
    McDermott's first overtime game as a Division I head coach was a 2002 Northern Iowa win over Creighton. His first double-overtime game as a Division I coach was a 2004 victory over Missouri State in the MVC Tournament title game, which clinched his first appearance in the NCAA Tournament as a Division I head coach.


Extra, Extra, Extra!
Creighton has played five overtime sessions this season. That's already third-most in program history, trailing only the 1989-90 team (7 OTs) and the 2001-02 squad (6 OTs).
    This is the sixth time that Creighton's played an overtime game in three consecutive months, something also done in 1988-89, 1989-90, 1995-96, 1999-2000, 2014-15.
     This season also marks the 12th time in Creighton history that the Bluejays have played three or more overtime games in the same season. The program record is four such contests, done in 1989-90, 1993-94, 2001-02 and 2018-19.
    This is the third time that Creighton's played three or more conference games to go overtime in the same campaign, joining 1994-95 (4) and 2018-19 (4).
    Lastly, this is the third time in program history that Creighton has played an overtime road game in back-to-back seasons against the same team. It also happened in 1989 & 1990 at Wichita State (CU won both) as well as in 2010 & 2011 at Southern Illinois (CU won both).
Most Overtime Sessions, Creighton Season
    OT's    Year
    7    1989-90
    6    2001-02
    5    2023-24

Most Overtime Games, Creighton Season
    OT's    Year
    4    1989-90
    4    1993-94
    4    2001-02
    4    2018-19
    3    1983-84
    3    1988-89
    3    1995-96
    3    1999-00
    3    2005-06
    3    2007-08
    3    2014-15
    3    2023-24

On The Triple
The Jan. 20th triple-overtime thriller was the first BIG EAST game to go three overtimes or longer since No. 11 Providence beat Xavier 99-92 on Feb. 23, 2022.
    In fact, that's the only other triple-overtime game since the BIG EAST reconfigured on July 1, 2013.
    This season, there's only been nine games nationally to go three overtimes or longer, as seen below:
Date    Winner    Loser    Score
11/16/23    Nicholls    at South Alabama    102-97
11/29/23    at Temple    La Salle    106-99
01/03/24    Fordham    at George Washington    119-113
01/13/24    at Winthrop    Radford    92-88
01/20/24    Creighton    at Seton Hall    97-94
01/27/24    TCU    at Baylor    105-102
02/08/24    Arizona    at Utah    105-99
02/28/24    Drake    at UIC    108-106
03/06/24    Texas A&M-Commerce    Northwestern St.    83-80

Scheierman Makes Triple-Double History
Before Baylor Scheierman had 15 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists on Feb. 13th against Georgetown, Creighton had never had a player earn a triple-double in points/rebounds/assists.
    Benoit Benjamin attained the only three previous triple-doubles in Creighton history, but each one consisted of 10 or more points, rebounds and blocks.
    Here's a look at games this season when a Creighton player has had at least six points, six rebounds and six assists.
6+ Points, 6+ Rebounds, 6+ Assists This Season
Name    Opponent    Pts.    Reb.    Ast.
Alexander    Iowa    23    11    9
Scheierman    Texas Southern    23    9    6
Alexander    Texas Southern    20    7    8
Scheierman    Central Michigan    13    6    9
Alexander    Central Michigan    15    7    8
Scheierman    at UNLV    16    7    7
Scheierman    Alabama    20    6    9
Alexander    at #10 Marquette    18    6    6
Alexander    at Seton Hall    23    8    7
Scheierman    at Seton Hall    20    10    6
Kalkbrenner    at Seton Hall    28    9    7 blk
Scheierman    at Xavier    16    12    8
Scheierman    Georgetown    15    11    11
Scheierman    #1 Connecticut    12    7    6
Kalkbrenner    at St. John's    12    10    8 blk

Baylor On The Boards
Baylor Scheierman recently became Creighton's first player to snare 10 or more rebounds in six straight games since Benoit Benjamin in 1984-85. The streak was snapped on Feb. 20 when he had a team-leading seven in the win vs. No. 1 UConn.
Consecutive Games, 10+ Rebounds
Creighton Players Since 1984-85
    Streak    Player        Dates
    28    Benoit Benjamin    03/15/84-02/16/85
    6    Baylor Scheierman    01/27/24-02/17/24
    4    Bob Harstad    11/29/89-12/08/89
    4    Bob Harstad    02/23/91-03/03/91
    4    Mike Amos        12/07/92-12/23/92
    4    Nate King        12/29/93-01/08/94
    4    Doug McDermott    11/25/11-12/10/11
    4    Gregory Echenique    01/07/12-01/15/12
    4    Baylor Scheierman    11/23/22-12/10/22


Double Time
Speaking of double-doubles, Baylor Scheierman is up to 14 double-doubles this season, and 27 in his Creighton career (not including his 25 at South Dakota State). Both put him among the Creighton leaders since 1985-86.
Most Double-Doubles, Season Since 1985-86
    D-D    Player        Year
    14    Baylor Scheierman, Sr.    2023-24
    13    Bob Harstad, So.    1988-89
    13    Baylor Scheierman, Sr.    2022-23
    12    Bob Harstad, Jr.    1989-90
    11    Bob Harstad, Sr.    1990-91
    11    Doug McDermott, So.    2011-12
    11    Ryan Hawkins, Sr.    2021-22
    10    Chad Gallagher, Sr.    1990-91
    10    Doug McDermott, Jr.    2012-13

Most Double-Doubles, Career Since 1985-87
    D-D    Player        Year
    42    Bob Harstad    1987-91
    37    Doug McDermott    2010-14
    27    Baylor Scheierman    2022-Present
    24    Chad Gallagher    1987-91
    15    Kenny Evans    1985-87
    14    Ryan Kalkbrenner    2020-Present
    13    Martin Krampelj    2015-19

On The Double
Baylor Scheierman also had a stretch of six straight double-doubles snapped on Feb. 20 vs. UConn, Creighton's longest streak since Benoit Benjamin had 28 in a row 1984-85.
Consecutive Double-Doubles
Creighton Players Since 1984-85
    Streak    Player        Dates
    28    Benoit Benjamin    03/15/84-02/16/85
    6    Baylor Scheierman    01/27/24-02/17/24
    4    Bob Harstad    11/29/89-12/08/89
    4    Nate King        12/29/93-01/08/94
    4    Doug McDermott    11/25/11-12/10/11
    4    Baylor Scheierman    11/23/22-12/10/22

Long Distance Marksmen
Baylor Scheierman and Steven Ashworth own two of the BIG EAST's longest active streaks for games with a three-point field goal, as seen below:
Consecutive Games With A 3FG
Active Streaks - BIG EAST Players
    Streak    Name, School    Next Game
    31    Kam Jones, Marquette    3/9
    22    Alex Karaban, UConn    3/9
    22    Devin Carter, Providence    3/9
    18    Baylor Scheierman, Creighton    3/9
    18    Jalen Terry, DePaul    3/9
    18    Quincy Oivari, Xavier    3/9
    14    Steven Ashworth, Creighton    3/9

Scheierman Makes NCAA History
Baylor Scheierman owns 2,141 points, 1,207 rebounds, 562 assists and 339 career three-pointers. He is the nation's first Division I men's player in history with career totals of at least 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 500 assists and 300 three-pointers.
    Scheierman is one of 30 players since 1992-93 with 500 or more assists and 300 or more three-pointers. Scheierman's 1,207 rebounds are more than 540 ahead of the next-most (658 by ASU/Toledo guard Marreon Jackson).
    Among the nation's active players Scheierman is fifth in rebounds, trailing only Armando Bacot (North Carolina), Fardaws Aimaq (California), Norchad Omier (Miami Fla.) and Enrique Freeman (Akron).


A True Unicorn
Just how good are Baylor Scheierman's career numbers?     Here's where the fifth-year senior would rank in Creighton history if all his stats were attained with the Bluejays:
    Category    CU Career Rank*    Baylor's Totals
    Games Played    1st    157
    3-Point Field Goals Att.    1st    870
    Rebounds    2nd    1,207
    Assists    2nd    562
    3-Point Field Goals    2nd    339
    Points    2nd    2,141
    Field Goals Attempted    5th    1,581
    Field Goals Made    6th    732
    Free Throw Percentage    6th    .814
    Steals    8th    151
*if all of Scheierman's stats had come at Creighton

Doing It All
Creighton's Baylor Scheierman and Providence's Devin Carter are the only men in the BIG EAST to average at least 17.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game this season.
    Prior to this year, only five BIG EAST players have ever accomplished that feat over the course of a full season, and none since Providence's Ryan Gomes in 2004-05.
    Up the average to 3.5 assists per game and prior to Scheierman and Carter, no one's done it since Syracuse's Billy Owens in 1989-90.
BIG EAST Players To Average 17 PPG, 8 RPG, 3 APG
Season    Name, School    PPG    RPG    APG
1989-90    Billy Owens, Syracuse    18.2    8.4    4.6
1990-91    Billy Owens, Syracuse    23.3    11.6    3.46
1995-96    Adrian Griffin, Seton Hall    19.5    8.3    3.1
1999-00    Ricardo Greer, Pitt    18.1    9.8    3.2
2004-05    Ryan Gomes, Providence    21.6    8.2    3.2
2023-24    Baylor Scheierman, CU    18.5    8.9    4.0
2023-24    Devin Carter, PC    19.2    8.4    3.6

Kalk Of The Walk
In a league that features three of the 10 Midseason finalists for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award (Kalkbrenner, Soriano, Clingan), Creighton's Ryan Kalkbrenner has performed at a high level as he's averaging 17.2 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.0 blocked shots per game.
    Prior to this year, only seven BIG EAST players since 1992-93 have averaged 16.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.5 blocks over the course of a full season, and none since Providence's Herbert Hill in 2006-07.
BIG EAST Players To Average 16 PPG, 7 RPG, 2.5 BPG
Season    Name, School    PPG    RPG    BPG
1993-94    Donyell Marshall, UConn    25.1    8.9    3.3
2000-01    Eddie Griffin, Seton Hall    17.8    10.8    4.4
2001-02    Ryan Humphrey, Notre Dame18.9    10.9    2.8
2002-03    Mike Sweetney, Georgetown    22.8    10.4    3.2
2003-04    Emeka Okafor, UConn    17.6    11.5    4.1
2006-07    Herbert Hill, Providence    18.1    8.8    2.9
2023-24    Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton    17.2    7.3    3.0

Alexander Shines on Brightest Stage
Trey Alexander became the third different Creighton player to score 30 or more points at Madison Square Garden in the 22 games the Jays have played there since joining the BIG EAST in 2013.
    The 31 points for Alexander, who was playing his 100th career game, were a season-high and one shy of his career-high done on Dec. 25, 2022 vs. DePaul.
    Alexander was Creighton's first player to score 30 or more since Ryan Nembhard had 30 points in a win over No. 11 Baylor on March 19, 2023.
    Creighton has not had a player score 30 points in consecutive games since Doug McDermott did in three straight games on  March 8-14, 2014, with the latter two games taking place at MSG.
    Alexander has averaged 20.9 points in Creighton's last 10 games. The only other Bluejays to score 209 points or more in a 10-game stretch since 2005-06 has been Doug McDermott and Marcus Foster.
    Here's a look at Creighton's 30-point games at The World's Most Famous Arena since 2013:
CU's Most Points at Madison Square Garden Since 2013
    Points    Name, Opponent    Date
    35    Doug McDermott vs. DePaul    3/13/14
    35    Cole Huff vs. Seton Hall    3/10/16
    32    Doug McDermott vs. Xavier    3/14/14
    31    Trey Alexander at St. John's    2/25/24

Block Party
Ryan Kalkbrenner owned a career-high eight blocked shots on Feb. 25 at St. John's. That made him the first Bluejay with eight rejections since Doug Swenson at UMKC on Nov. 18, 1998, and the first BIG EAST player with eight swats in a game since DePaul's Nick Ongenda vs. St. John's on Feb. 14, 2023.
    Benoit Benjamin dominates Creighton's single-game blocked shot list, as seen below:
    Blk.    Name, Opponent    Date
    12    Benoit Benjamin at Bradley    02/02/85
    11    Benoit Benjamin vs. Tulsa    02/16/84
    10    Benoit Benjamin vs. Omaha    12/22/83
        Benoit Benjamin at Illinois State    03/08/84
        Benoit Benjamin vs. Southern Illinois    01/17/85
    9    Benoit Benjamin vs. West Texas A&M    01/21/84
    8    Benoit Benjamin vs. Iowa State    12/10/83
        Benoit Benjamin at Chaminade    12/19/84
        Benoit Benjamin at Tulsa    01/12/85
        Doug Swenson at UMKC    11/18/98
        Ryan Kalkbrenner at St. John's    02/25/24

Whose Line Is It Anyway?
Ryan Kalkbrenner did a little bit of everything in Sunday's game at St. John's, finishing with 12 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and eight blocked shots while playing the first 39:15 of the contest.
    South Alabama's Trhae Mitchell (13/13/4/8) had been the last player with a 12/10/4/8 line, doing so on March 12, 2019 vs. Arkansas State in a Sun Belt Conference Tournament game.
    No player from a Power 6 league had done it in a conference game since Baylor's Epke Udoh (13/11/4/9) vs. Texas Tech on Feb. 16, 2010, and no player from the BIG EAST had done it since at least 2005-06.

More Fun With Numbers
Ryan Kalkbrenner's just the third player in the last eight years to have eight or more blocks while playing 39 or more minutes of a regulation game.
    The other two also have a Creighton connection.
    One was LIU's Ty Flowers (coached by current Creighton assistant Derek Kellogg) vs. UMass-Lowell on Nov. 8, 2019.
    The other was Memphis' Dedric Lawson (brother of current Creighton guard Johnathan Lawson) vs. UAB on Dec. 10, 2016.

A Look Back To Newark
Ryan Kalkbrenner played 53:34 on Jan. 20th at Seton Hall, including the final 45:57 without a break. Since 2005-06, the only other 7-footer to play 53 minutes or more in any college game was former Connecticut center Hasheem Thabeet.  The 7-foot-3 UConn big man played 53 minutes in a memorable six-overtime loss to Syracuse that started on March 12, 2009 at the BIG EAST Tournament.
    Speaking of Kalkbrenner, his seven blocked shots that day tied the most ever by one of Greg McDermott's players in 23 seasons as a Division I head coach. Gregory Echenique also had seven vs. Missouri State on Jan. 22, 2011.
    Kalkbrenner became the first player from a "Power 6" conference with at least 28 points, nine rebounds and seven blocks in a game since Providence's Herbert Hill (29/15/8) vs. Syracuse on Feb. 24, 2007.
    Baylor Scheierman (20/10/6/0) became the first BIG EAST player since Georgetown's Jessie Govan (20/10/6/0) vs. UNC Greensboro on Dec. 22, 2016) to finish with at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and no turnovers.
    Kadary Richmond attempted 32 field goals were the most against Creighton by a single player in at least 40 seasons, four more than the 28 by Western Michigan's Jim Havrilla on Dec. 8, 1990.
    Creighton had 82 field goal attempts at Seton Hall, its most in a game in at least 35 years. Seton Hall had 86 field goal attempts, the most by a Creighton opponent in at least 35 years. It was the first BIG EAST game since at least 2010 in which both teams attempted 80 or more shots.
    Creighton made 13 three-pointers and blocked 10 shots in that game vs. Seton Hall. It was its first time with 10 or more in both categories since Feb. 17, 2002 vs. Wichita State.

55 Minutes For Number 55
Baylor Scheierman played all 55 minutes on Jan. 20th at Seton Hall, setting a Creighton single-game record.
    He's the first BIG EAST player to play 55 minutes or more in a game since four men 60 by Eric Atkins; 56 each by Pat Connaughton, Chane Behanan and Russ Smith) did in a five-overtime Louisville/Notre Dame game on Feb. 9, 2013.
    He's the first BIG EAST player to play 55 minutes or more without leaving the floor since DePaul's Will Walker played all 55 minutes vs. St. John's on March 5, 2010.
    Scheierman is the second player in the country to play 55 minutes or more this season in a game, joining La Salle's Khalil Brantley at Temple on Nov. 29th.
    Scheierman leads the BIG EAST with 38.3 minutes per game in conference action this winter. Take out two lopsided wins against DePaul and Georgetown when he played only 129 of a possible 160 minutes, and he'd be averaging 40.0 minutes per league game.

Taking Hinkle's Magic
Creighton's 22-point win at Butler on Feb. 17th was tied for the 14th-largest home loss suffered inside HInkle Fieldhouse, which opened in 1928.
    In the past 32 seasons, the only two teams to beat Butler there by 22 points or more both went on to win the NCAA title.
Butler's Home Losses By 22+ Points Since 1992-93
    Score    Opponent    Date
    103-56    North Carolina    12/20/1992
    68-46    Connecticut    12/17/2022
    79-57    Creighton    02/17/2024

Road Work
Creighton's 79-57 win at Butler on Feb. 17th was its third road victory by 20 points or more this season, as the Jays have also dominated Nebraska (89-60) and DePaul (84-58) away from home.
    It's the fifth time in program history that Creighton's had three such wins in a season, but just the second time in the last 30 years.
Most 20+ Point Road Wins, Season, CU History
    Games    Year    Opponents
    3    1917-18    Trinity (IA), South Dakota, Parsons
    3    1963-64    Nevada, South Dakota, Miami (Fla.)
    3    1990-91    Cleveland St., Drake, Notre Dame
    3    2012-13    Nebraska, Missouri St., So. Illinois
    3    2023-24    Nebraska, DePaul, Butler
    
Bench Provides A Boost
Creighton has won 36 straight games when scoring 17 or more bench points. That's the nation's longest streak since Baylor's streak of 48 games in a row from Nov. 5, 2019 - Jan. 8, 2022.

Stability Is Key
One reason for Creighton's extended run of success has been the continuity within its coaching staff. The Bluejays have had just two head coaches in the last 30 years, Dana Altman (1994-2010) and Greg McDermott (2010-Present).
    With help from Elias Sports Bureau, here's a list of current "Power 6" schools to have a coach with 300 wins at that school, and their predecessor also had 300 wins at the school:
School    Former Coach    Current Coach
Creighton    Dana Altman    Greg McDermott
Kansas    Roy Williams    Bill Self
Michigan State    Jud Heathcote    Tom Izzo
Purdue    Gene Keady    Matt Painter

Not Tired Yet
Senior Ryan Kalkbrenner ranks 160th nationally in minutes per game, averaging 33:35 per contest.
    That ranks tops nationally among 7-footers, just ahead of Kansas All-American Hunter Dickinson (32:26).
    Last year while at Michigan, Dickinson (32:42) was narrowly ahead of Kalkbrenner (32:15) among minutes per game among 7-footers.
    No player as tall as 7-foot-1 has averaged more than Kalkbrenner's current 33:35 average since USC's Evan Mobley (33:53) in 2020-21.

Making History
Baylor Scheierman (26), Steven Ashworth (26), Trey Alexander (22) and Ryan Kalkbrenner (20) all scored 20 or more points against Butler on Feb. 2.
    It was the first time since at least 1980 that Creighton has had four men score 20 or more points in the same game.
    The 26 points were Creighton-highs for both Ashworth and Scheierman, though Scheierman scored 27 his next time out at Providence.
    Creighton was the first team nationally with four men to score 20 in the same game since March 5th, 2022 when North Carolina did it vs. Duke (Armando Bacot 23; Caleb Love 22; RJ Davis 21; Brady Manek 20).
    Creighton was the first BIG EAST school with four players with 20+ points since Syracuse vs. UConn in their famous six-OT thriller on March 12, 2009 (Jonny Flynn 34; Paul Harris 29; Eric Devendorf 22; Andy Rautins 20).
    It was just the fifth time in 14 seasons under Greg McDermott that Creighton's had three men score 20+ in the same game, but second time in two weeks (also Jan. 20th at Seton Hall).
    It was the first time that Creighton's had two men score 25 or more in the same game since Booker Woodfox (26) and P'Allen Stinnett (30) vs. New Mexico on Nov. 16, 2008.

Twenty Is Plenty
Trey Alexander owns 14 games this season with 20 points or more, while Baylor Scheierman has done it 14 times and Ryan Kalkbrenner on 10 occasions.
    In 14 seasons under Greg McDermott, only Doug McDermott (3x), Marcus Foster (2x), Ryan Kalkbrenner and Marcus Zegarowski have also done that 10 or more times in an entire season.
Most Games With 20+ Points, Season, Since 2005-06
    20+ Pts.    Name    Season
    30    Doug McDermott, Sr.    2013-14
    26    Doug McDermott, Jr.    2012-13
    24    Doug McDermott, So.    2011-12
    18    Marcus Foster, Sr.    2017-18
    14    Trey Alexander, Jr.    2023-24
    14    Baylor Scheierman, Sr.    2023-24
    12    Marcus Foster, Jr.    2016-17
    11    Nate Funk    2006-07
    10    Ryan Kalkbrenner, Sr.    2023-24

Give Me Twenty
Creighton has had 41 individual scoring performances of 20 or more points this season, including 22 such outings in the past 11 games alone.
    In fact, Creighton has had at least one player score 20 points or more in each of the last 12 games. That's the program's longest streak since a 14-game stretch from Jan. 28-March 21, 2014, when Doug McDermott led CU in scoring each time.
    Creighton is 20-3 all-time when Ryan Kalkbrenner scores 20 points or more.
    Creighton is 13-4 when Baylor Scheierman scores 20 points or more.
    Creighton is also 17-2 all-time when Trey Alexander scores 20 points or more.
    Nationally, when Alexander  scores 20 or more points (min. 15 games of 20+ points) Creighton does almost as well as anyone, as seen below in this list from Elias Sports Bureau:
Best Team Record When Scoring 20+ Points
(Min. 15 games of 20+ points, active players only, thru 3/6)
    Win Pct.    W-L    Player, Team
    .941    16-1    Ja'Monta Black, Austin Peay
    .913    21-2    LJ Cryer, Houston/Baylor
    .903    28-3    Graham Ike, Gonzaga/Wyoming
    .895    17-2    Trey Alexander, Creighton
    .895    17-2    Justin Wright, Loyola Marymount

Best Team Record When Scoring 20+ Points
(Min. 20 games of 20+ points, active players only, thru 3/6)
    Win Pct.    W-L    Player, Team
    .913    21-2    LJ Cryer, Houston/Baylor
    .903    28-3    Graham Ike, Gonzaga/Wyoming
    .872    34-5    Tucker DeVries, Drake
    .870    20-3    Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton
    .846    44-8    Zach Edey, Purdue

Watch This
Three Bluejays have made the Midseason Top 10 Lists at their respective position
    Trey Alexander is one of 10 men up for the Jerry West Award, given to the nation's top shooting guard.
    Baylor Scheierman is one of 10 men up for the Julius Erving Award, given to the nation's top small forward.
    Ryan Kalkbrenner is one of 10 men up for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, given to the nation's top center.
    Creighton, Kansas, North Carolina and UConn are the only teams with three men on the Top 10 lists.

Give Me 10
Creighton went 14-2 inside CHI Health Center Omaha and earned at least 10 home wins for the 27th time in the last 28 seasons in 2023-24. The only exception in that time came in 2014-15, when the Jays won nine times at home.
    Creighton also surpassed 200,000 total home fans for the season. It is the 18th time in the last 19 years that's happened. The only exception was the 2020-21 season that was impacted by COVID-19, which restricted crowds nationwide.

The BIG EAST Is Booming
Through games of March 6th, the BIG EAST....
- Second-strongest conference per KenPom.
- Most Q1 wins per team (4.82).
- Six teams with five or more Q1 wins (tie-1st).
- 8.55 Q1 & Q2 combined wins per team (2nd-best).
- Leads the nation with most Q1 games played per team (13.64).
- Owns the national lead with 20.18  Q1 and Q2 combined games per team.
- All 11 teams in Top 50 Overall SOS (only league).

Yearly Pink Out Totals
Creighton has raised $605,089.18 since the start of the 2011-12 season during its annual men's basketball Pink Out auctions, plus additional money collected on gameday, underwriting or matching donations.
2011-12:    $20,600
2012-13:    $24,444
2013-14:    $48,247.11
2014-15:    $16,384.03
2015-16:    $16,527.90
2016-17:    $26,361.64
2017-18:    $28,796
2018-19:    $19,595
2019-20:    $31,803.18
2020-21:    $40,381
2021-22:    $24,165
2022-23:    $27,432
2023-24:    $36,002.46
Additional Donations:    $244,349.86
13-Year Totals: $605,089.18

Pink Out Auction Raises $36,002.46
When Creighton hosted DePaul on January 27th in its 14th Annual Pink Out game, Bluejay players wore pink shooting shirts and pink-trimmed jerseys for the game.
    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.
    All funds raised went to benefit American Cancer Society Hope Lodge Omaha, which provides a free home away from home for cancer patients and their caregivers who must travel to Omaha to receive their lifesaving treatment. More than just a roof over their heads, it's a nurturing community that helps patients access the care they need. This year Nebraska Cancer Specialists generously agreed to match all donations to Hope Lodge raised at the game, up to $30,000.
    The annual Creighton Men's Basketball Pink Out game has raised over $605,089.18 (including the 2023-24 auction) benefiting the Hope Lodge facility in Omaha and the guests it serves.
    This year's auction ran from Jan. 11-21 and raised $36,002.46, while the matching donation and in-game donations generated an additional  $72,119.54.
    Below is the final numbers for each jersey/item in the auction this year.
#0    $945    #1    $2025    #2    $1050
#4    $887    #5    $1725    #10    $870
#11    $3600    #12    $847.46    #13    $2000
#14    $872    #15    $2250    #23    $3650
#32    $1005    #33    $1675    #41    $1825
#55    $3150    Golf:    $3250    
Greg McDermott's Shoes    $935    Ball 1: $710
Ball 2: $710  Ball 3: $680  Ball 4: $655   Ball 5: $686

McDermott Among The Best
Greg McDermott ranks tied for ninth in league history with 122 regular-season league wins.
    McDermott, along with Ed Cooley and Pitino, are the only three active coaches with 100 regular-season BIG EAST wins. The list contains six different coaches who have won at least one national title.
    McDermott has been at his current job (14 seasons) longer than any active BIG EAST coach, but since his first three years were as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference, Cooley's 13 years in the BIG EAST lead all active league coaches.
Most League Wins, BIG EAST MBB Coaches (thru 3/6)
    Rk.    Wins    Name, School
    1.    366    Jim Boeheim, Syracuse
    2.    274    Jim Calhoun, UConn
    3.    244    Jay Wright, Villanova
    4.    198    John Thompson Sr., Georgetown
    5.    136    Mike Brey, Notre Dame
    6.    131    John Thompson III, Georgetown
    7.    127    Lou Carnesecca, St. John's
    8.    123    Ed Cooley, Providence/G'Town
    9.    122    Greg McDermott, Creighton
        122    Rick Pitino, Prov./Louisville/SJU
    11.    115    Jamie Dixon, Pittsburgh

Pure Charity
Creighton has shot 69 percent or better at the free throw line in each of its last 36 conference games.
    That's the program's longest such streak since at least 1987-88, and the nation's longest such streak since 2005.
    Creighton is shooting 77.6 percent from the line this season, the second-best mark in program history. Last year's team set a program-record by converting 78.3 percent of its charity tries, but was at 75.8 percent through 30 games before shooting an incredible 89.1 percent in the final seven contests.

Overtime Is Trey'sTime
Trey Alexander's three-pointer with 28.4 seconds left in triple-overtime gave Creighton a 93-91 lead it would not surrender at Seton Hall, but it's not the first time he's provided overtime heroics. He had also given CU a 90-89 lead with 55.6 left on a jumper.
    Alexander has been on the court for all 40 overtime minutes of each of Creighton's last five games to go beyond 40 minutes, and he's been excellent almost every time.
    He's shot 10-for-18 from the field (.556), including 1-for-3 from three-point range (.333) while making 7-of-8 free throws (.875). Alexander also has two assists, two blocked shots and two steals in that span.
    Alexander has scored 28 of Creighton's 70 overtime points in those five contests.

Ashworth Doing His Job
Steven Ashworth is second in the BIG EAST with a 3.2 assist/turnover ratio in league play as he's dished 86 assists against just 27 turnovers in league action.
    In the last 15 games he's been even better with 71 helpers and just 21 miscues.
    Creighton is 16-2 this year when Ashworth has one turnover or less.

Scheierman Makes Wooden Award Cut
Creighton's Baylor Scheierman has landed a spot on the Midseason Top 25 for the John R. Wooden® Award presented by  Principal®. Chosen by a poll of national college basketball experts, the list is comprised of 25 student-athletes who are the early front-runners for college basketball's most prestigious individual honor.  
    This year marks the seventh time in the past 13 seasons that Creighton is represented on the Wooden Award Midseason 25 list. Creighton's Doug McDermott won the Wooden Award following the 2013-14 season after also being a finalist in both 2011-12 and 2012-13. Maurice Watson Jr. was on the list of 25 in 2016-17 and Marcus Foster was among those listed a year later, as was Marcus Zegarowski in 2020-21. None of those three most recent men advanced to the final cut.
    The only other BIG EAST players to make the Midseason Top 25 list are Tyler Kolek and Tristen Newton.

Sultan of Swat
Ryan Kalkbrenner ranks second in program history in blocked shots with 289, with 20 of those coming against Villanova.
    Kalkbrenner has joined Benoit Benjamin as the only Bluejays with three different seasons of 60 or more blocks.
    Kalkbrenner is just the seventh BIG EAST player since 1992-93 with three campaigns of 72 or more swats, joining Jason Lawson (4x) and Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje (3x), Chris Obekpa (3x), Emeka Okafor (3x), Hasheem Thabeet (3x) and Etan Thomas (3x).
Most Creighton Blocked Shots, Since 1979-80
    Blk.    Name    Years
    411    Benoit Benjamin    1982-85
    289    Ryan Kalkbrenner    2020-Pres.
    183    Chad Gallagher    1987-91
    174    Gregory Echenique    2010-13

Most Creighton Blocked Shots, Since 1979-80
    Blk.    Name (Class)    Year
    162    Benoit Benjamin (Jr.)    1984-85
    157    Benoit Benjamin (So.)    1983-84
    92    Benoit Benjamin (Fr.)    1982-83
    90    Ryan Kalkbrenner (Sr.)    2023-24
    89    Ryan Kalkbrenner (So.)    2021-22
    72    Ryan Kalkbrenner (Jr.)    2022-23
    70    Chad Gallagher (Sr.)    1990-91

Baylor Ball
Of the 1,207 career rebounds that Baylor Scheierman has snared, only 115 of them (9.5 percent) have come on the offensive glass.
    Scheierman leads all BIG EAST players with 242 defensive rebounds this season, but is tied for 42nd with 25 offensive rebounds.
    Last year Scheierman became the only "Power 6" player in the last 25 seasons with at least 270 defensive rebounds and less than 40 offensive rebounds.
    Scheierman owns 25 career games of 10 or more rebounds without snaring an offensive board. Per Basketball-Reference.com, that makes him one of just two players nationally since 2010-11 with more than 10 such contests, joining Weber State's Dillon Jones (25).
    One other quirky stat about Scheierman? He owned 1,088 career rebounds in his first 145 career games. Those are the exact same numbers that Doug McDermott finished his college career with.

Meet The Alexander's
Though they're not related, the stats of Ty-Shon Alexander (2017-20) and Trey Alexander (2021-Present) are pretty similar. Ty-Shon played 98 games, while Trey has played in 102 contests.
    That's a positive development considering that Ty-Shon was a First Team All-BIG EAST choice who helped Creighton to a share of the 2020 BIG EAST title and later played for the 2021 NBA runner-up Phoenix Suns.
Career Statistics
Name    PTS    REB    AST    BLK    STL    FG%    3FG%    FT%
Ty-Shon    1241    360    222    22    91    .418    .372    .813
Trey    1288    461    333    42    99    .447    .353    .821

Scheierman The Scorer?
Baylor Scheierman is third in the BIG EAST Conference in scoring at 18.5 points per game, and has scored in double-figures every game but one this season.
    Before being held to nine points on Jan. 6 vs. Providence, Scheierman had become just the third Creighton player in the last 25 seasons to score in double-figures each of the first 14 games of a year, joining Doug McDermott (all 35 games in 2011-12) and Marcus Foster (first 15 in 2017-18).
    The fifth-year senior is aiming to become the first Creighton player to lead the BIG EAST in scoring since Doug McDermott in 2013-14. McDermott led the nation with 26.7 points per game en route to National Player of the Year accolades.
    Keep in mind that Scheierman has proven he can do way more than score. Two years ago at South Dakota State, Scheierman led the Summit League in the rare combination of both rebounds and assists.

Biggest in the BIG EAST
Creighton's average height of 78.56 inches puts the Bluejays as the nation's 11th-tallest team, and the biggest in the BIG EAST.
    The second-tallest team in the BIG EAST is Connecticut, which ranks tied for 24th-biggest at 78.29 inches per player.


Fool Me Once...But Nine Times?
Creighton has met or exceeded its preseason BIG EAST prognostication all but one year since joining the league in 2013, as seen below.
    Last year marked the seventh straight year that Creighton has finished in fourth place or better.
Creighton's BIG EAST Preseason Poll History
Year     Preseason     Actual     Preseason All-BIG EAST
2013-14     3rd     2nd     Doug McDermott (1st)
2014-15     9th     T-9th     -
2015-16     9th     6th     -
2016-17     3rd     T-3rd     Maurice Watson Jr. (1st); Marcus Foster (HM)
2017-18     5th     T-3rd     Marcus Foster (1st); Khyri Thomas (HM)
2018-19     9th     T-3rd     Martin Krampelj (HM)
2019-20     7th     T-1st    Ty-Shon Alexander (1st)
2020-21     2nd     2nd    Marcus Zegarowski (1st); Mitch Ballock (2nd)
2021-22    8th    4th    -
2022-23    1st    3rd    Ryan Kalkbrenner (1st); Arthur Kaluma (2nd)
            Ryan Nembhard (2nd); Baylor Scheierman (HM)
2023-24    2nd    ??    Ryan Kalkbrenner (1st); Trey Alexander (1st)
            Baylor Scheierman (2nd)

Among The Best
Creighton owns more BIG EAST wins (66) than any other school in the last five seasons, six more than Villanova's 60.
    Since the league's 2013 realignment, Villanova has 150 league wins to lead the BIG EAST by a wide margin, but Creighton's 122 league victories are second-most.
Most Men's Basketball BIG EAST Wins
(2019-20 to 3/6/24)
Team    W    L    Pct.
Creighton    66    30    .688
Villanova    60    32    .652
Providence    58    35    .624
Marquette    57    38    .600
Seton Hall    56    39    .589
UConn    54    21    .720
Xavier    46    43    .517
St. John's    40    55    .421
Butler    39    59    .398
Georgetown    16    76    .174
DePaul    14    78    .152

Most Men's Basketball BIG EAST Wins
(2013-14 to 3/6/24)
Team    W    L    Pct.
Villanova    150    50    .750
Creighton    122    82    .598
Providence    116    85    .577
Xavier    112    85    .569
Marquette    109    94    .537
Seton Hall    109    94    .537
Butler    93    113    .451
St. John's    80    123    .394
Georgetown    62    138    .310
UConn    54    21    .720
DePaul    39    161    .195


Jays Don't Foul...Do You Follow?
Creighton leads the nation with just 11.4 fouls per game...let's take a minute to appreciate just how few that is.
    Lipscomb is second-best at avoiding fouls, committing 12.9 per game.
    Creighton is the only team nationally that has not had a player foul out this season. Per Elias, Creighton's streak of 49 straight games without a foul out is the nation's longest since Purdue's streak of 50 straight games from March 1, 2022 - Nov. 28, 2023, with a 51-game streak by Colgate (Nov. 16, 2021 - Jan. 11, 2023) being the only other streak of 50+ since 2005-06.
    Only two teams total (Nebraska and Alabama),  and none of Creighton's 19 BIG EAST foes have gotten into the bonus in the first half this season.
    Creighton has committed three fouls or less in 13 different halves this year.
    Creighton has had more than nine fouls in just five halves (including OT) this season, which means its opponents have been in the double-bonus just four times.
     Creighton has allowed just 33 made free throws in a 1-and-1 situation all year, and just 12 made free throws in the double bonus all season (6 of those came in an overtime session). Only two of those free throws in a 1-and-1 situation came in the first half (vs. Alabama).
    Here's a look at how many fouls Creighton has been called for this season by half:
Creighton Fouls By Half
Opponent    First Half    Second Half
Florida A&M    4    5
North Dakota State    1    3
Iowa    6    8
Texas Southern    1    6
Loyola (Chicago)    3    7
Colorado State    2    5
Oklahoma State    6    7
Nebraska    7    7
Central Michigan    3    2
UNLV    5    5
Alabama    9    7
Villanova    5    4 (4 more in OT)
#10 Marquette    5    11
Georgetown    4    6
#23 Providence    5    6
St. John's    3    5
DePaul    6    10
#1 Connecticut    5    9
Seton Hall    3    5 (6 more in 3 OT's)
Xavier    6    8
DePaul    5    4
Butler    3    8
at Providence    5    3 (6 more in OT)
at Xavier    6    7
Georgetown    5    7
at Butler    3    5
#1 Connecticut    4    9
at St. John's    2    10
Seton Hall    6    10
#5 Marquette    2    8
Total    130    197 (16 more in OT)

3 & D
Creighton leads the nation in fewest fouls per game (11.4) and is seventh in three-pointers per game (10.7).
    In its Dec. 9 romp over Central Michigan the Jays became the nation's only team since at least 2005-06 to score 102+ points and commit 5 fouls or less in the same game against a Division I opponent.

Kalkbrenner's A Handful
Ryan Kalkbrenner swatted five shots on Dec. 16 at UNLV, then did it again on Jan. 17 at No. 1 UConn. He notched a career-high eight rejections on Feb. 25 at St. John's.
    That's now 13 times in his Bluejay career that he's had five or more rejections. During his four years at Creighton, all his teammates have combined for one such game, a five-swat effort by Fredrick King last year in Las Vegas. Kalkbrenner is the only Creighton player with multiple games of five or more swats since the Bluejays joined the BIG EAST in 2013 as King, Jacob Epperson and Justin Patton have each done it once.
    Kalkbrenner's 289 career blocked shots rank third among the nation's active players.
    In January, Kalkbrenner had four or more blocks in four straight games, Creighton's longest such streak since Benoit Benjamin did it in an incredible 12 straight games from Jan. 12-, Feb. 20, 1985. The streak featured games of 8, 10, 5, 4, 7, 12, 6, 5, 5, 6, 4 and 4 blocks. Kalkbrenner has currently done it in his last four games as well (4, 8, 4, 5) an six of his past seven contests.

Seeing Three's
Creighton has made 14 or more three-pointers in eight different games this year, tied for third-most nationally behind Alabama and BYU's nine. It's tied for the most games of 14 three-pointers in any year under Greg McDermott, as the 2018-19 squad did it eight times in 35 games.
    Creighton owns seven different games this season in which it has made 10 or more three-pointers than its opponent, which leads the nation.
    The Bluejays have had three different games  this season in which they've made 10 or more triples before halftime.
    Creighton has made three or more three-pointers in all but five halves this season.

Don't Forget The Two's
While attention tends to focus on Creighton's proficiency from three-point range, the Bluejays are also pretty efficient from inside the arc.
    Through games of Feb. 28, CU ranks third in the country in two-point percentage (.610) in 2023-24 and third-best nationally (.550) among Division I schools to have played 100 or more games since Greg McDermott's arrival in 2010-11.
    Creighton shot 26-for-32 (.813) from two-point range on Dec. 9 vs. Central Michigan, just the third time in Greg McDermott's 14 seasons at CU its converted on better than 80 percent of its two-point shots. The only better game was when it shot 22-for-26 (.846) in a March 2, 2013 win over Wichita State in CU's final regular-season game as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference.

Century Mark
Creighton's 109 point effort on Dec. 9 vs. Central Michigan was the 25th time under Greg McDermott that Creighton has scored 100 or more points.
    That ranks third-most among all Power 5/BIG EAST teams nationally in that span, trailing only North Carolina (37) and Iowa (26).
    No  other BIG EAST team has cracked the century mark more than 13 times since 2010-11.
    Greg McDermott's teams at Northern Iowa (153 games) and Iowa State (127 games) never scored more than 100 points in any game.

Road Dubs
Before its Dec. 13 loss at UNLV, Creighton had started 2-0 on the road this season, doing so in impressive fashion in both games.
    On Nov. 30 Creighton beat Oklahoma State 79-65, its second-biggest non-conference home loss since 1978.
    Four days later on Dec. 3, Creighton won 89-60 at Nebraska, handing the Cornhuskers their largest non-conference home loss since 1938.
    It's the first time that Creighton has won its first two true road games since 2016-17, when the Jays won their first five road contests.
    It's also just the 12th time in the last 50 seasons that CU has won each of its first two true road games. Ten of the 11 most recent teams to do so made the NCAA Tournament, and each won 20 or more games.
Started 2-0 Or Better On The Road, Last 50 Years
    Road W's to Start    Season    Final W-L (Postseason)
    2    1976-77    21-7 (NCAA)
    2    1980-81    21-9 (NCAA)
    2    1998-99    22-9 (NCAA)
    3    1999-00    23-10 (NCAA)
    2    2002-03    29-5 (NCAA)
    4    2003-04    20-9 (NIT)
    2    2004-05    23-11 (NCAA)
    2    2011-12    29-6 (NCAA)
    4    2012-13    28-8 (NCAA)
    4    2013-14    27-8 (NCAA)
    5    2016-17    25-10 (NCAA)
    2    2023-24    TBD
    
He Does It All
Baylor Scheierman owns 2,141 points, 1,207 rebounds, 562 assists and has made 339 career three-pointers in 157 total games when you combine his Creighton and South Dakota State stats.
    Creighton's only other players to reach 1,000 career rebounds (only at Creighton) have been Paul Silas (1,751), Bob Harstad (1,126), Doug McDermott (1,088) and Benoit Benjamin (1,005).
    If you're curious, how many games it took to get to 1,000 rebounds for each man, we've got you covered:
Games to 1,000 Rebounds
Name    GP    Opponent, Date
Paul Silas    47    at Utah State, 2/23/63
Benoit Benjamin    89    at Bradley, 3/5/85
Bob Harstad    115    Siena, 2/3/91
Doug McDermott    132    DePaul, 2/7/14
Baylor Scheierman*    135    at Nebraska, 12/3/23
*includes games at South Dakota State

1,000+ Rebounds, 274+ 3FG Nationally, Since 1992-93
**Stats earned at Division I schools only**
Name, School(s)    REB    3FG
Baylor Scheierman, SDSU/Creighton    1,207    339
Doug McDermott, Creighton    1,088    274

1,100+ Rebounds, 500 Assists Nationally, Since 1992-93
**Stats earned at Division I schools only**
Name, School(s)    REB    AST
Baylor Scheierman, SDSU/Creighton    1,207    562
Brian Voelkel, Vermont    1,168    679
John Konchar, IPFW    1,149    553
Max Fiedler, Rice    1,145    558

Can't Stop Scheierman
Baylor Scheierman made a three-point basket in all 37 games he played last season and each of his first 11 contests this season, stretching his streak dating to last year to 58 in a row if you include his final 10 games at South Dakota State in 2021-22. The streak ended on Dec. 20, 2023 vs. Villanova, when Scheierman went 0-for-7 from deep.
    Scheierman's streak of 48 straight as a Bluejay was the longest streak in Creighton history, 15 more than Ty-Shon Alexander's 33.
    Since Scheierman's streak was snapped, he's made a three-ball in 18 straight games, meaning he's drained at least one triple in 76 of his past 77 contests and all but one of his 67 games in a Bluejay uniform.
Consecutive Games With A 3-Pointer, Creighton History
    Streak    Name    Dates of Streak
    48    Baylor Scheierman    Nov. 7, 2022 - Dec. 16, 2023
    33    Ty-Shon Alexander    Feb. 27, 2018-March 6, 2019
    31    Booker Woodfox    Nov. 25, 2008-March 23, 2009
    28    Kyle Korver    Feb. 4, 2001-Feb. 6, 2002
    27    Kyle Korver    Feb. 13, 2002-Jan. 20, 2003

Road Openers
Creighton is 7-7 under Greg McDermott in its first true road game of the season.
    The road opener has been the barometer for Creighton's postseason plans in the previous 13 years. Creighton has made the NCAA Tournament all six times it has won the road opener, and missed the NCAA Tournament four of the other six years where a postseason was contested.
    That's encouraging since CU defeated Oklahoma State 79-65 in its road opener this winter.
    CU would have made the 2020 NCAA Tournament that was canceled even though it lost its road opener that year.
 Creighton in Road Openers, Last 14 Years
Year    Opponent    Score    CU in NCAA's?
2010-11    Northwestern    L 52-65    No (CBI)
2011-12    UAB    W 70-60    Yes
2012-13    Nebraska    W 64-42    Yes
2013-14    Saint Joseph's    W 83-79    Yes
2014-15    Tulsa    L 64-77    No
2015-16    #14 Indiana    L 65-86    No (NIT)
2016-17    Nebraska    W 77-62    Yes
2017-18    #20 Northwestern    W 92-88    Yes
2018-19    Nebraska    L 75-94    No (NIT)
2019-20    Michigan    L 69-79    No (Postseason CCD)
2020-21    #5 Kansas    L 72-73    Yes
2021-22    Nebraska    W 77-69    Yes
2022-23    #2 Texas    L 67-72    Yes
2023-24    Oklahoma State    W 79-65    TBD

Among The Best...EVER!
Ryan Kalkbrenner has made 678 of 1,023 career shots, putting him at 66.3 percent overall. That places the senior center fifth in field goal percentage in NCAA history among players to make 500 or more field goals and at least four field goals per game.
    However, Kalkbrenner is first among all such players who have ever attempted 50 or more three-point field goal attempts.
Best Career FG%, NCAA History (min. 500 FG, 4FG/game)
    Pct. (FG-FGA)    Name, School    Years
    .678 (828-1222)    Steve Johnson, Oregon State    1976-81
    .668 (566-847)    Murray Brown, Florida State    1976-80
    .667 (740-1109)    Evan Bradds, Belmont    2013-17
    .664 (702-1058)    Todd MacCulloch, Washington    1995-99
    .663 (678-1023)    Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton    2020-Pres.
    .658 (601-914)    Max Fiedler, Rice    2020-Pres.
    .656 (552-841)    Kevin Magee UC Irvine    1980-82

Trey's Bien
Trey Alexander has made the leap in his junior season. Here's how this year compares to his first two years combined.
Category    2023-24    2021-23
Games Played    30    72
20-Point Games    14    5
Dunks    5    2
Double-Doubles    4    0
Points Per Game    17.6    10.6
Rebounds Per Game    5.8    4.0
Assists Per Game    5.0    2.5


Nationally Speaking
Through games of March 6th, Creighton is all over the NCAA stat leaders. The Bluejays rank in the top 20 of 11 different team and nine individual categories.
    Rank    Category    Stat
    1    Fouls Per Game    11.4
    2    Blocks (Kalkbrenner)    90
    2    Blocks Per Game (Kalkbrenner)    3.00
    4    Effective FG%    .580
    5    Defensive Rebounds Per Game    29.60
    5    Field Goal Pct. (Kalkbrenner)    .652
    6    Def. Rebounds/Game (Scheierman)    8.03
    6    Average Home Attendance    17,269
    6    Triple-Doubles (Scheierman)    1
    7    Three-Pointers Per Game    10.7
    8    Three-Point Attempts Per Game    29.2
    8    Total Home Attendance    276,300
    12    Minutes Per Game (Alexander)    36:44
    13    Assist/Turnover Ratio    1.64
    15    Field Goal Percentage    .491
    16    Assists Per Game    17.3
    17    Free Throw Percentage    .776
    18    3FG Made (Scheierman)    93
    18    3FG Attempts (Scheierman)    247
    19    3FG Made/Game (Scheierman)    3.10

Among The Nation's Best
Below is where Creighton ranks nationally since the start of the 2010-11 season among teams to have played more than 150 Division I games, per Basketball-Reference.com.
2010-11 to March 6, 2024
Category    CU Stat    CU Rank
3FG Made    4,263    2nd
2-Point FG Percentage    .550    3rd
FG Percentage    .477    4th
Assists    7,680    5th
3-Point FG Percentage    .374    7th
FG Made    13,140    7th
Points    36,715    8th
Wins    322    23rd
Winning Percentage    .671    30th

This Is 20/20
Trey Alexander started his junior season with 20 points vs. Florida A&M, 21 points vs. North Dakota State, 23 points vs. Iowa and 20 points vs. Texas Southern
    That made him just the second Bluejay in the last 25 years to score 20 or more in each of CU's first four games, joining Doug McDermott in 2013-14. McDermott did it the first six games of his senior season in 2013-14 and went on to be named National Player of the Year that season.
    Alexander is the first Bluejay to score 20 points or more in four consecutive games at any time of year since Marcus Foster did it in seven consecutive contests from Jan. 16-Feb. 10, 2018.

Bahamas Bounce
Creighton got a jump start on the season with nine practices in July before heading to the Bahamas to play in three games during the first week of August.
    Creighton won all three games by 14 points or more, averaged 98.3 points, and outrebounded foes by 21.3 caroms per contest.
    Trey Alexander led CU by averaging 20.0 points before missing the final contest, but Ryan Kalkbrenner (11.0 ppg.), Baylor Scheierman (10.0 ppg.) and Fredrick King (10.0 ppg.) also scored at a double-digit clip.
    Steven Ashworth led CU with 15 assists, King and Brock Vice had a team-high 18 rebounds and Kalkbrenner topped the team with 10 swats.
        A 2019 trip to Australia helped the Bluejays open the year 12-2.
    A 2015 trip to Italy helped the Bluejays start the season 5-1.
    A 2011 trip to the Bahamas helped get the Bluejays ready for a 7-0 start.
    A 2007 trip to Canada paid dividends as Creighton started 5-0.
    In 2003, the Bluejays also went to Canada and started the subsequent season 12-0.

Who's Back?
With Creighton returning seven of the 13 men who appeared in a game last season, it's no surprise that a similar ratio of the production from 2022-23 is also gone. Below is a breakdown of what is back:
Stat    Returners    Departures
Blocks    126 (82.9%)    26 (17.1%)
Rebounds    860 (67.9%)    411 (32.1%)
3FG Made    207 (64.9%)    112 (35.1%)
Points    1833 (64.8%)    995 (35.2%)
Steals    119 (64.3%)    66 (35.7%)
Minutes    4693 (63.0%)    2757 (37.0%)
Starts    111 (60.0%)    74 (40.0%)
Charges Taken    16 (59.3%)    11 (40.7%)
Assists    308 (53.0%)    273 (47.0%)

Preseason Top 10
The Creighton men's basketball team was ranked eighth in the Associated Press Preseason Top 25 poll, its highest preseason AP ranking ever. That's one spot better than the previous best, done last year, when the Bluejays started the season ranked ninth. CU is ranked 10th in the March 4th AP poll.
    The announcement marks just the sixth time in program history the writers have voted CU to the top-25 in the preseason, joining 2006-07 (No. 19), 2012-13 (No. 16) and 2016-17 (No. 22), 2020-21 (No. 11) and 2022-23 (No. 9). All five of those teams would end up in the NCAA Tournament, with the last two making the Sweet 16 and last year's club reaching the Elite Eight.
    Creighton has been ranked in the Top 10 on 28 different occasions in program history, with all but one of those occasions happening under head coach Greg McDermott. Creighton's best ranking in program history is seventh, done five times (Jan. 16, 2017, March 10, 2020, March 18, 2020, Jan. 7, 2021 and Nov. 28, 2022).
    Creighton has now been ranked 138 times in program history, with 111 of those under the direction of McDermott. Creighton is 172-71 all-time as a ranked team, including a 138-59 mark under McDermott. Creighton has now been ranked at least one week in 10 of McDermott's 14 seasons on The Hilltop after doing it just five different seasons in program history before his 2010 arrival.
        Creighton is one of four schools to be ranked in the preseason top-10 each of the past two seasons, joining Kansas, Duke and Houston.
    Along with No. 5 Marquette, No. 6 Connecticut and No. 8 Creighton, this year marked the first time since 2011-12 that the BIG EAST had three Preseason Top-10 teams.
    Creighton was also eighth in the preseason USA Today Coaches poll, its best preseason mark ever. CU is 10th in the March 4th Coaches poll.

Downtown Duo
Only two players nationally that are returning in 2023-24 had 120+ assists, 87+ three-pointers and 38+ steals in 2022-23.
    Baylor Scheierman and Steven Ashworth.
    Both are playing for Creighton this season.

CHI Health Center Omaha Success
Creighton has played 354 regular and postseason contests at CHI Health Center Omaha all-time in the 21-year-old facility.
    The Bluejays own a 292-62 (.825) record all-time at the facility, and is 22-1 there on Friday's.
    Creighton's Nov. 25, 2017 win over SIU Edwardsville was the program's 200th at the facility, coming in its 242nd home game. CU's 100th win came on Nov. 17, 2010, a 63-58 win over Louisiana.
    Creighton has outscored its opponents 27,802-23,230 in games at CHI Health Center Omaha, an average margin of 12.92 points per game. Creighton has not trailed 91 different times.
    Incredibly, Creighton hasn't trailed in its home opener in 10 of the past 23 seasons (2000-01, 2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06, 2009-10, 2011-12, 2014-15, 2016-17 and 2019-20).
    Creighton is also 32-36 all-time in the 68 games at the arena in which it's fallen behind by double-figures at any point, 8-11 when down by 10+ points at halftime in the facility, and 41-29 when trailing at halftime at CHI Health Center Omaha.
    Creighton is 195-44 (.816) at CHI Health Center Omaha under Greg McDermott and hasn't trailed in 65 of those games. In that same span, CU owns a 101-9 home record (.918) vs. non-conference teams.
    Factor in a 17-0 home mark at the Omaha Civic Auditorium in 2002-03 and two wins at the Civic in the 2010 CIT, and the Bluejays are 311-62 (.834) at home since the start of the 2002-03 campaign.
 
Home Run
Under Greg McDermott Creighton is averaging 80.79 points per home game (19,308 points in 239 home games), a figure that climbs to 84.37 points in non-conference home games (9,281 points in 110 home games).
    Creighton is 147-7 all-time at CHI Health Center Omaha when scoring 80 or points.

Elite Eight
Greg McDermott guided his team to the NCAA Tournament for the eighth time last season. That put him in the company of some of the greatest coaches in CU Athletics history, and most among basketball coaches.
    McDermott is one of three head coaches in Creighton history to lead eight or more NCAA Tournament teams.
Name    Sport    NCAA's @CU
Kirsten Bernthal Booth    Volleyball    13
Bob Warming    Men's Soccer    11
Greg McDermott    Men's Basketball    8
Dana Altman    Men's Basketball    7
Brent Vigness    Softball    7

Firing On All Cylinders
Creighton finished last season ranked 12th overall by KenPom.com. That included the nation's No. 23 offense, and No. 14 defense. Creighton's No. 14 defense was its best mark in the 21 seasons of the KenPom era.
    Creighton has had a top-25 offense per KenPom seven times in 13 seasons under Greg McDermott and a top-25 defense twice.
Year    Off. Rating    Def. Rating    Overall Rank
2010-11    66    174    98
2011-12    5    166    28
2012-13    5    66    15
2013-14    2    124    17
2014-15    59    138    79
2015-16    43    76    40
2016-17    32    46    28
2017-18    25    58    30
2018-19    47    83    55
2019-20    3    78    12
2020-21    25    32    22
2021-22    112    19    50
2022-23    23    14    12
2023-24    11    24    10

Kalkbrenner A Top Defender
Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner was named 2023 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season.
    Kalkbrenner became just the 11th player in league history to win the recognition more than once, joining the likes of Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning, Dikembe Mutombo, Kris Dunn and Allen Iverson among those to win the award multiple times, and is the first repeat winner since former Bluejay guard Khyri Thomas in 2017 and 2018.
    Between Kalkbrenner and Thomas, Creighton has now had a BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year in four of the previous seven seasons.
Most BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year Honors
    Honors    Name, School    Years (*ties)
    4    Patrick Ewing, Georgetown    1982, 83, 84, 85
    3    Alonzo Mourning, Georgetown    1989, 90*, 92
    2    Dikembe Mutombo, Georgetown    1990, 91
    2    Allen Iverson, Georgetown    1995, 96
    2    Etan Thomas, Syracuse    1999, 00
    2    John Linehan, Providence    2001, 02
    2    Emeka Okafor, Connecticut    2003, 04
    2    Hasheem Thabeet, Connecticut    2008, 09
    2    Kris Dunn, Providence    2015*, 16
    2    Khyri Thomas, Creighton    2017*, 18
    2    Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton    2022, 23

Creighton Retires McDermott's No. 3 Jersey
Creighton Men's Basketball retired Doug McDermott's No. 3 jersey prior to its Dec. 20 game vs. Villanova. McDermott was a three-time All-American (2012, 2013, 2014) and consensus National Player of the Year (2014) during an incredible four-year career spanning from 2010-14.
    McDermott finished his career with an NCAA-record 135 double-figure scoring games and wrapped up his time on The Hilltop with 3,150 points, which was fifth in NCAA history. He was named winner of the Oscar Robertson, John R. Wooden and Naismith trophies as the National Player of the Year in 2013-14, when he led the country in scoring and helped Creighton to a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
    The son of current Bluejay head coach Greg McDermott, Doug McDermott was a three-time Conference Player of the Year and remains the sport's only three-time Associated Press First Team All-American since 1985.
    McDermott received his Marketing degree from Creighton in 2014 and is currently in his 10th year in the NBA, as a member of the San Antonio Spurs.
    McDermott's number hangs in the rafters on the west side of the arena alongside five other Bluejay greats (#25 Kyle Korver, #30 Bob Harstad, #33 Bob Portman, #35 Paul Silas, #45 Bob Gibson).

McDermott In The NBA
Doug McDermott is in his 10th year in an NBA career that saw him selected 11th overall by Denver, with stops in Chicago, Oklahoma City, New York, Dallas, Indiana and San Antonio. He was traded from San Antonio back to Indiana in the final hours of the trade deadline on Feb. 8th.
    Overall, he is averaging 5.7 points per game this season and shooting 41.5 percent from three-point range.
    In his career, McDermott has played in 643 games and averaged 9.0 points per game. He ranks 23rd in NBA history with 41.0 percent marksmanship from three-point range in his career.
    The 10-year NBA vet gives Creighton at least one NBA player in 40 of the last 41 seasons. Other famous Bluejays to play in the NBA in the past include Paul Silas, Kyle Korver and Anthony Tolliver.