Game #9: #19 Iowa State Cyclones at Creighton Bluejays
Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021 • 8 p.m.
CHI Health Center Omaha (17,352) • Omaha, Neb.
Radio: KOZN 1620 AM, 1620thezone.com; KOOO (101.9 FM); XM 383 Broadcast: FS1 (Matt Schumacker, Nick Bahe)
Series History: Iowa State leads, 16-15
Last Meeting: Iowa State 91, Creighton 88 on Nov. 21, 2010 in Des Moines, Iowa
LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES (PDF) | ISU NOTES (PDF)
Next Game
Creighton (7-1) plays its first ranked team of the season when it welcomes No. 19 Iowa State (7-0) to Omaha for the first time since 1995.
The Bluejays and Cyclones will tip off at 8 p.m. on First National Bank Court at CHI Health Center Omaha (17,352) in Omaha, Neb.
COVID-19 Precautions at CU Athletic Events
Creighton University strongly encourages all fans to wear a face mask while attending indoor Creighton athletic events to protect against the spread of COVID-19.
The University particularly encourages fans who are unvaccinated to wear a mask at all times during indoor Creighton athletic events for their own protection.
Fans who have recently tested positive for COVID-19, or are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, should not attend any Creighton athletic events, indoors or outdoors, for the health and safety of other guests for at least 10 days following a positive test or the onset of symptoms. They should also be fever-free for 24 hours without fever-reducing medications, and symptoms should be improving.
In addition, fans who have been in close contact with someone with COVID-19 should follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines regarding being around others.
Creighton will continue to closely monitor global, national and local COVID-19 data and trends, as well as public health guidelines, and adjust its response accordingly.
Radio Broadcast Information
KOZN (1620 AM) will broadcast all Creighton men's basketball games during the 2021-22 season. KOOO (101.9 FM) also broadcasts all home games.
John Bishop and former Bluejay Josh Dotzler will call the action. The audio is also webcast live at www.1620thezone.com and can be heard on channel 973 of the Sirius/XM app or XM channel 383.
Broadcast Information
Saturday's game will be called by Matt Schumacker and Nick Bahe and be televised on FS2.
The game will also be video webcast online at http://foxsports.com/live or the FoxSports app.
Live Stats Information
All of Creighton's games this season will have free live stats. Visit www.gocreighton.com and click on the small bar graph icon on the scoreboard at the top of the page for the event of your choosing.
Home games can also be followed by those who have mobile devices with internet capability at www.gocreightonstats.com.
Scouting Creighton
Creighton is 7-1 this season with wins over Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Kennesaw State, Nebraska, Brown, Southern Illinois, SIU Edwardsville and North Dakota State. CU's lone loss came to Colorado State on a night in which the Rams drained a school-record 20 three-pointers.
The Bluejays return seven lettermen but no starters from last year's team that finished 22-9 overall, runner-up in the BIG EAST, and reached the program's first Sweet 16 since 1974.
Of CU's scholarship returners, only
Ryan Kalkbrenner (13.0 ppg, 5.6 rpg., 2.5 bpg.),
Alex O'Connell (12.0 ppg., 5.9 rpg.) and
Shereef Mitchell (3.8 ppg.) are back after playing last season.
The Bluejays brought in grad transfers
KeyShawn Feazell (5.5 ppg., 4.5 rpg.) and
Ryan Hawkins (11.9 ppg., 6.5 rpg.) to bolster the front line.
Creighton also features the nation's No. 7 recruiting class, with
Arthur Kaluma (9.8 ppg,. 4.1 rpg.) and three-time BIG EAST Freshman of the Week
Ryan Nembhard (13.0 ppg., 5.3 apg.) starting every game to date.
Creighton averages 74.1 points per game on 50.3 percent shooting from the field and has outrebounded foes by 5.5 caroms per contest. The Bluejays have held foes to 39.4 percent shooting and 65.8 points per contest.
Scouting Iowa State
After struggling through a 2-22 season a year ago, Iowa State is off to a 7-0 start that includes wins over No. 25 Xavier (82-70), No. 9 Memphis (78-59) and 2021 Elite Eight qualifier Oregon State (60-50).
The Cyclones are led by Penn State transfer Izaiah Brockington (16.6 ppg., 7.6 rpg.), Minnesota transfer Gabe Kalscheur (13.6 ppg.) and freshman sensation Tyrese Hunter (12.1 ppg., 5.3 apg.) as part of an influx of talent in Ames.
The Cyclones have forced 19.1 turnovers per contest and hold foes to 38.9 percent shooting and 60.4 points per game.
The Series vs. Iowa State
Iowa State has won six straight meetings against Creighton to take a 16-15 lead in the all-time series., which leaves CU in search of its first win against the Cyclones since 1990.
The Bluejays own an 11-7 lead in Omaha, where the teams have not met since 1995. That 1995 meeting, won by ISU 70-52, is the only previous meeting where the Cyclones were ranked.
Greg McDermott is 1-5 all-time against Iowa State, but has never coached against his former assistant, T.J. Otzelberger.
The Creighton Coaches
Greg McDermott (Northern Iowa, 1988) owns a 260-126 record in his 12th season with the Bluejays. He owns a career mark of 540-321 in his 28th season, and is 409-257 in his 21st 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 then coached Creighton to its first Sweet 16 since 1974 in 2020-21 and to a share of its first regular-season BIG EAST title in 2019-20.
McDermott has previously been a head coach at Iowa State (2006-10), Northern Iowa (2001-06), North Dakota State (2000-01) and Wayne State (1994-2000).
He is assisted by
Alan Huss,
Ryan Miller and
Jalen Courtney-Williams.
With A Win...
- Creighton would start 8-1 or better for the fourth time under
Greg McDermott, but the first time since beginning 13-0 in 2016-17.
- Teams with
Ryan Hawkins would improve to 167-9 at the college level.
- Creighton would win its eighth straight home game dating back to last season.
- Creighton would win its 23rd straight non-conference home game.
- Creighton would improve to 25-35 all-time vs. top-25 teams under
Greg McDermott.
- Creighton would beat at least one ranked team for a ninth straight season.
- Creighton would snap a six-game losing streak to Iowa State, beating the Cyclones for the first time since 1990 and evening the all-time series at 16-all.
My Name Is...
Only five men who played for Creighton last season are back this winter, and none of them averaged more than 15 minutes per game.
Per research by TCU, Creighton's 18.0 percent of minutes returning ranks third-lowest among all teams nationally, and is the least among all teams from the BIG EAST or a Power 5 Conference. Iowa State is sixth-least on the list and third among teams from the BIG EAST or a Power 5 league.
Lowest Percentage of Minutes Returning
School Pct. of Minutes Returning
Tennessee-Martin 0.0
Portland 8.5
Creighton 18.0
Missouri 19.7
Duquesne 23.2
Iowa State 25.1
Robert Morris 26.3
Boston College 27.6
South Alabama 28.6
TCU 29.2
Familiar Faces
Creighton and Iowa State features a pair of programs who are quite familiar with each other, even if they haven't played in more than a decade.
Creighton head coach
Greg McDermott was the head coach at Iowa State from 2006-10, where he won 59 games in four seasons.
When McDermott was on the Iowa State staff, his assistant coaches included current ISU head coach T.J. Otzelberger and current ISU assistant Daniyal Robinson.
One of Iowa State's other current assistants, Kyle Green, was on McDermott's staff at Northern Iowa.
Top 25 Success
Saturday's game against No. 19 Iowa State will be the first top-25 opponent that Creighton will face this season. The Bluejays have beaten multiple top-25 foes in each of the previous six seasons, something only 11 teams (Baylor, Creighton, Florida State, Gonzaga, Kansas, Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State, Purdue, Texas Tech, Villanova and West Virginia.) can claim.
Ranking News & Notes
- Creighton is 24-35 under
Greg McDermott against nationally-ranked teams, 17 more top-25 wins than any other coach in Creighton history. Prior to McDermott's arrival, Creighton was 18-115 all-time against top-25 foes.
- Creighton has beaten at least one ranked team in each of the previous eight seasons (entering 2021-22), and multiple ranked foes in each of the previous six years.
On a national basis, the only 23 teams with a top-25 win each of the previous eight seasons (entering 2021-22) are Baylor, Clemson, Creighton, Duke, Florida State, Indiana, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Syracuse, Texas Tech, Villanova, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Xavier.
- Creighton is 19-18 since the start of the 2016-17 season against ranked teams. The 19 wins over ranked teams in that time are 17th-most nationally, and trails only Villanova (25) among BIG EAST clubs.
- Creighton is 2-8 all-time against teams ranked exactly No. 19, but have won the past two match-ups after losing its initial eight tries.
Big Mac On The Attack
Greg McDermott's teams have consistently battled some of the best teams in the country.
The chart below shows how his teams have consistently outpaced those of his predecessors against top-25 foes.
Category Pre-McDermott Under McDermott
vs. Top 25 Teams 18-115 24-35
vs. Top 10 Teams 5-31 10-17
vs. Top 10 on Road 1-28 4-9
vs. Top 25 on Road 2-63 8-16
Youth Is Served
Creighton has just seven non-freshmen on this year's roster, and is likely to play multiple freshmen on a consistent basis this season. Creighton has had at least one freshman on the floor for every second of every game this season, and actually had a late stretch of 1:28 vs. Colorado State when all five of its players on the floor were freshmen.
Creighton has outscored teams by 91 when it two freshmen or less on the court, but have been outscored by 24 when it has three or more freshmen on the floor.
All told, 722:59 of Creighton's 1,600 total minutes (45.19 percent) have been played by freshmen this season.
By comparison, last season Creighton had a freshman on the floor just 32.4 percent of the time and had multiple freshmen on the floor just 17 minutes (of 1,250) all season (1.4 percent).
Freshmen Time Score Margin
0 freshmen: Never -- --
1 freshmen: 33:39 54-46 +8
2 freshmen: 189:28 385-302 +83
3 freshmen: 78:36 125-151 (-26)
4 freshmen: 16:49 24-25 (-1)
5 freshmen: 1:28 5-2 +3
Prized Freshmen
Creighton's
Ryan Nembhard and Iowa State's Tyrese Hunter are both considered two of the best 10 freshmen in the country in the latest "Frosh Watch" evaluation by CBS Sports. Hunter comes in sixth place and Nembhard seventh, just ahead of more notorious rookies such as Jalen Duren, TyTy Washington and Emoni Bates.
Here's how those two star pupils compare.
Name MPG FG% 3FG% FT% A STL RPG PPG
Nembhard 34.4 .506 .476 .696 42 14 3.6 13.0
Hunter 28.7 .358 .250 .760 37 20 3.3 12.1
Elite Freshmen
Ryan Nembhard is averaging 13.0 points, 5.25 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game while shooting 50.6 percent from the field this season.
Since 2010-11, Nembhard is one of just 18 freshmen in the nation to average at least 12.0 points, 5.0 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game, a list that includes Trae Young, R.J. Cole, Markelle Fultz, Sharife Cooper, Dennis Smith, Tremont Waters, Lonzo Ball, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, McKinley Wright IV, Ja Morant, Iowa State's Tyrese Hunter and Nembhard.
Of the 18 freshmen to average 12 points, 5 assists and 3 rebounds per game since 2010-11, Nembhard, Ball and Cal Baptist's Taran Armstrong are the only men to do so while shooting better than 50 percent from the field.
Great Eight
Creighton has started 6-2 or better after eight games for the sixth season in a row. It's the 10th time in the past 11 seasons that CU has won at least six of its first eight games.
This year's team hasn't scored at the torrid pace that last year's team did, but the steals are in line with how last year's Sweet 16 team and the 2019-20 BIG EAST champion performed.
Creighton After 8 Games -Last 12 Seasons
Year W-L PPG FG% 3FG's FT% AST STL
2010-11 4-4 67.8 .412 57 .790 109 40
2011-12* 7-1 85.0 .516 80 .671 164 51
2012-13* 7-1 82.6 .531 72 .787 143 47
2013-14* 6-2 83.4 .491 92 .702 147 45
2014-15 6-2 72.8 .434 64 .767 110 43
2015-16 5-3 85.2 .495 75 .661 138 49
2016-17* 8-0 90.8 .542 82 .680 149 53
2017-18* 6-2 92.5 .517 85 .739 152 45
2018-19 6-2 84.6 .525 92 .669 126 43
2019-20 6-2 79.1 .473 85 .656 121 59
2020-21* 6-2 85.0 .504 83 .664 150 58
2021-22 7-1 74.1 .503 48 .652 123 58
* made NCAA Tournament
BIG EAST - Big 12 Battle
The Creighton men's basketball team will host Iowa State on Saturday as part of the BIG EAST-Big 12 Battle. The dates and matchups were jointly determined by the two conference.
The four-year agreement between the two conferences will continue through the 2022-23 season with an equal number of games played in each conference's home market each year.
Creighton is 1-1 all-time in the BIG EAST-Big 12 Battle. The Bluejays defeated Oklahoma (83-73) in Omaha on Dec. 17, 2019 before falling to No. 5 Kansas (73-72) on Dec. 8, 2020 in Lawrence, Kan.
The BIG EAST has won 11-of-16 games in the conference challenge series over the previous two campaigns, though the leagues split six contests a year ago. This season the BIG EAST is 1-0, as Providence won at Texas Tech with Kansas visiting St. John's prior to Saturday's contest.
Nembhard Three-Peats
For the third week in a row to start the season, Creighton point guard
Ryan Nembhard has been named the BIG EAST Freshman of the Week.
A native of Aurora, Ontario, Canada, Nembhard averaged 10.5 points, 5.0 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game to help Creighton to a 2-0 week.
Nembhard started his week with 12 points, five assists and a season-high four steals vs. Southern Illinois. He delivered Creighton's first buzzer-beater since 2009 when he drove the length of the court in the final 5.2 seconds of a 66-64 win.
He followed that with nine points, five assists and four rebounds in a win vs. SIU Edwardsville, helping Creighton overcome a 16-point deficit in the final 15 minutes of a 70-65 victory.
Elite Company For Hawkins
In 1991 when Creighton was in the Missouri Valley Conference, former Bluejay Bob Harstad (along with Oscar Robertson, Larry Bird and Xavier McDaniel) was one the answers to the trivia question of "Who are the only four players in MVC history with 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds"?
Years later, Doug McDermott finished his career with 3,150 points and 1,088 rebounds, though not all those rebounds came while playing within The Valley.
So what's the point, you're asking? Creighton senior
Ryan Hawkins owns 2,193 career points and 1,000 career rebounds, though the majority of his totals were accumulated at the Division II level at Northwest Missouri State.
Entering this season, only 117 players in NCAA history have achieved 2,000 points and 1,000 points at the Division I level.
Hawkins will be honored prior to Saturday's game in recognition of his 1,000th career rebound.
Nembhard A Consistent Threat
Ryan Nembhard scored in double-figures each of Creighton's first six games before a season-low nine points last Saturday vs. SIUE.
In the last 27 years, the only other newcomers to score in double-figures during CU's first six games had been true freshman Doug McDermott (8 straight in 2010-11), redshirt freshman Justin Patton (8 in 2016-17) and Kansas State transfer Marcus Foster (8 in 2016-17), who was a junior.
Nembhard's 104 points through eight games are the most by any Bluejay freshman since Doug McDermott had 116 points at that point in 2010-11 CU's three freshmen since 1994-95 to score 90 or more points through eight games (Ryan Sears, Patton and McDermott) all went on to be named Conference Freshman of the Year.
Most Points, Newcomers First 8 Games Since 1994-95
Pts. Name, Class Year After 9
155 Marcus Foster, Jr. 2016-17 162
116 Doug McDermott, Fr. 2010-11 116
104
Ryan Nembhard, Fr. 2021-22 ? ? ?
102 Justin Patton, Fr. 2016-17 111
99 Cole Huff, Jr. 2015-16 103
95 Maurice Watson Jr., Jr. 2015-16 109
95
Ryan Hawkins, Sr. 2021-22 ? ? ?
90 Ryan Sears, Fr. 1997-98 93
90 Gregory Echenique, So. 2010-11 102
88 Khyri Thomas, Fr. 2015-16 95
87 Rodney Buford, Fr. 1995-96 91
86 P'Allen Stinnett, Fr. 2007-08 92
85 Terrell Taylor, Fr. 1999-00 93
81 Doug Swenson, Jr. 1997-98 88
81 Brody Deren, So. 2001-02 90
November To Remember
Before this season, Creighton had not won seven times in the month of November since going 7-0 in 2016-17.
You've Been Blocked!
Ryan Kalkbrenner had five blocked shots on both Nov. 22 vs. Southern Illinois and Nov. 27 vs. SIUE. Just how rare is that? In
Greg McDermott's 12 years on the Creighton sideline, the only Bluejay with multiple games of 5+ blocks in the same season had been Gregory Echenique, who did it in 2010-11 (2x) as well as 2012-13 (4x).
He's the first Bluejay with five swats in consecutive games since Benoit Benjamin did it in six straight games from Jan. 27-Feb. 14, 1985. Benjamin had a streak of 7, 12, 6, 5, 5 and 6 rejections during that stretch.
Benjamin set MVC records that still stand with 411 career blocks and 162 rejections in 1984-85.
Big Deficits, No Big Deal
Creighton owns 25 victories since the start of the 2010-11 season after trailing by double-figures at some point, including two this season. Twelve of those 25 comebacks have come away from home.
Creighton's comeback from 16 points down vs. SIUE on Nov. 27 was its biggest since rallying from 16 points down at Seton Hall on Jan. 27th.
If you're curious, CU's largest comeback win since 2000 came on Jan. 28, 2006, when the Jays trailed 25-6 early before rallying to beat Wichita State on a buzzer-beater by Anthony Tolliver.
CU's Double-Digit Comebacks Since 2010-11
Deficit Opponent Date
18 #18 Oklahoma 11/19/14
17 at San Diego State 11/30/11
16 at Evansville 02/16/13
16 at Seton Hall 01/27/21
16 SIU Edwardsville 11/27/21
15 Arkansas-Pine Bluff 11/09/21
14 Evansville 02/21/12
13 at Saint Joseph's 11/16/13
13 Xavier 01/12/14
13 #22 Xavier 12/23/20
12 Saint Joseph's 12/11/10
12 at DePaul 01/17/16
12 East Tennessee State 11/11/18
11 at Wichita State 12/31/11
11 Northern Iowa 01/10/12
11 vs. Alabama 03/16/12
11 vs. Ole Miss 11/21/16
11 vs. Connecticut 03/12/21
10 UAB 11/14/12
10 vs. Drake 03/02/12
10 at Nebraska 12/07/14
10 South Dakota 12/09/14
10 St. John's 01/03/18
10 at DePaul 02/07/18
10 Bemidji State 02/13/18
Seeking 8-1
Creighton has started 7-1 for the fourth time in 12 seasons under
Greg McDermott.
With a win on Saturday, the Bluejays will start 8-1 or better for the fourth time under McDermott, and first time since the 2016-17 club opened 13-0.
Defense Cranks Up A Notch at Home
Creighton has trailed at halftime of three of its four home games this season, only to rally to win each time.
After being outscored an average of 3.8 points in the first half at home, CU outscores foes by an average of 16.3 points per game in the second half this season at home.
CU is shooting 59.3 percent (64-108) in the second half at home this season while holding foes to 26.0 percent (34-131) marksmanship after the break.
The difference is even more significant behind the arc, where CU shoots 36.7 percent (11-30) from downtown after halftime compared to its opponents' 14.6 percent (7-48).
Speaking of Defense
Creighton had nine blocked shots last Saturday vs. SIUE, tying its most in any game in
Greg McDermott's 12 seasons. CU also had nine rejections on Feb. 13, 2018 vs. Division II Bemidji State. The nine swats were CU's most against a Division I foe since also posting nine at Evansville on Jan. 3, 2010.
Of Creighton's nine blocks, eight came in the second half. Seven of those came in the final 15 minutes, when SIUE went just 2-of-16 from the floor.
Also noteworthy on Saturday was CU's defense beyond the arc. SIUE made just 1-of-15 three-point tries, tying the fewest trifectas made by a Bluejay opponent under McDermott. It was the fifth time it had happened, and first occasion since No. 5 Xavier shot 1-of-21 on Feb. 9, 2016.
At The Buzzer!
Ryan Nembhard drove the length of the court in the final 5.2 seconds to sink a floater as time expired to give Creighton a 66-64 win vs. Southern Illinois on Nov. 22 in the third-place game of the Paradise Jam.
Ironically enough, the game-ending play was installed several years ago by former Bluejay assistant Paul Lusk, himself a Southern Illinois grad.
The basket was Creighton's first go-ahead shot as time expired since Booker Woodfox beat Wichita State in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament quarterfinals on March 6, 2009.
Prior to Woodfox, Creighton's last previous buzzer-beater had also come against Wichita State, as Anthony Tolliver's shot from the right baseline beat Wichita State on Jan. 28, 2006.
Nate Funk also hit a buzzer-beater to beat
Greg McDermott's Northern Iowa team on Jan. 15, 2005 in Cedar Falls.
Shots by those four men remain the only game-winning buzzer-beaters by Creighton since the start of the 1999-2000 season.
Kalkbrenner Playing Big
In his last six games, sophomore center
Ryan Kalkbrenner has set career-highs in rebounds (9 vs. Nebraska), points (19 vs. Brown) and blocked (5 vs. Southern Illinois and then SIU Edwardsville).
Kalkbrenner has had 10 or more points in each of the past seven contests, compared to seven total double-figure outings in his 2020-21 freshman campaign that spanned 31 contests.
Putting The Jam In Paradise Jam
Creighton had 17 dunks in three games at the Paradise Jam, including eight against Colorado State on Nov. 21. Add the five throwdowns it had on Saturday vs. SIUE and six more vs. North Dakota state and the Bluejays now own 39 dunks through eight games this season.
CU's 39 dunks are its most through eight games during any of
Greg McDermott's 12 seasons as Creighton head coach, surpassing the 33 through eight games by the 2016-17 team.
Ryan Kalkbrenner leads CU with 20 of those slams after he threw down 29 dunks all of last season in 31 games played. The sophomore's 20 slams to date trail only Justin Patton's 21 dunks through eight games in the McDermott era.
CU's 2016-17 team finished with 144 dunks in 35 games, with Patton owning 72 of those slams.
Glass Cleaners
Creighton is outrebounding teams by 5.5 caroms per contest this season. How good is that rebounding margin? Creighton's only team to finish +6 or better on the boards since 1980 was the 1983-84 club that finished +6.7.
The commitment to rebounding has been a team effort. All seven Bluejays to appear in all seven games this winter are averaging at least 3.4 rebounds per game, led by
Ryan Hawkins (6.5 rpg.). Hawkins enters Saturday's contest with exactly 1,000 career rebounds when you include his Division II stats.
Five Threats To Score
All five Creighton starters are averaging at least 9.8 points per game this season, a fact made all the more impressive when you consider that these men owned a total of ZERO career starts as a Bluejay entering this winter.
Creighton has won 22 straight games when five or more players have 10 points or more.
Wins On Wins on Wins
Creighton's Nov. 21 loss vs. Colorado State was the first time in the six-year college career of
Ryan Hawkins that one of his teams lost on a neutral floor. The Northwest Missouri State transfer is now 39-1 on neutral sites when you include his 2-1 mark this year.
He enters Saturday's game vs. Iowa State with a team record of 166-9 (.949) at all sites, and he's never lost consecutive games at the college level.
Nembhard's Big Day
Playing his first collegiate road game, freshman point guard
Ryan Nembhard thrived in a hostile environment in Lincoln. The Canadian native had 22 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Since
Greg McDermott was hired in 2010, the only other Bluejays with a 20/5/5 game were
Mitch Ballock (1), Marcus Foster (3), Grant Gibbs (1), Doug McDermott (2), Khyri Thomas (2), Maurice Watson Jr. (2) and
Marcus Zegarowski (3).
Nembhard is CU's first freshman with a 20/5/5 line since at least 1981-82.
Nembhard's 22 points were the most by a Bluejay of any year in their first game vs. Nebraska since at least 1980.
Nembhard Earns All-Tourney Honors
Ryan Nembhard earned All-Tournament Team honors at the Paradise Jam after averaging 12.3 points, 4.7 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 2.3 steals in three games.
Nembhard shot 55.6 percent from the field, 50 percent from three-point range and 60 percent from the line and made a shot at the buzzer vs. Southern Illinois in the third-place game.
He is CU's first true freshman to pick up All-Tournament Team honors at any event since Doug McDermott was named to the Global Sports Hy-Vee Challenge All-Tournament Team in 2010.
Hawk Talk
Ryan Hawkins finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds and five assists on Nov. 16 at Nebraska. It was just the fourth 15/10/5 game in
Greg McDermott's 12 seasons at Creighton, and first since Khyri Thomas had 24 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a Nov. 15, 2017 Gavitt Tipoff Games win at Northwestern.
The only others with a 15/10/5 game under McDermott were Austin Chatman (17 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists vs. Oklahoma on Nov. 19, 2014) and Doug McDermott (30 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists at Seton Hall on Jan. 4, 2014).
Hawkins's performance was CU's first 15/10/5 line without a turnover since at least 1980-81.
Like A Hawk
Ryan Hawkins had 10 or more rebounds in each of CU's first three games. He's the first Bluejay to do that to start a season since Benoit Benjamin's streak of 27 consecutive double-figure rebounding games to open his junior campaign in 1984-85.
Hawkins owns 38 games with 10 or more rebounds in his college career.
Winning With Defense
Creighton's made its reputation on the offensive side with its "Let It Fly" philosophy, but the Bluejays have won thanks in large part to their defense so far this season.
Creighton held each of its first four opponents under 40 percent from the field for the first time since at least 1980-81.
Creighton is holding teams to 39.4 percent shooting this season, which would also be the program's best mark in more than 40 years.
The Ryan Express
Creighton has started three players with the first name of Ryan in each game this winter, as
Ryan Nembhard,
Ryan Hawkins and
Ryan Kalkbrenner are all entrenched as starters. Those three men are also three of CU's top four scorers.
In the Nov. 16 win at Nebraska, Nembhard, Hawkins and Kalkbrenner combined for 49 points, 24 rebounds, 11 assists and five blocked shots.
For the season, the "Ryan Express" has contributed 56.8 percent of Creighton's blocked shots, 51.1 percent of its points, 48.0 percent of its assists and 43.4 percent of its rebounds grabbed.
Creighton had not started multiple players with the same first name in the same regular-season game since Nov. 18, 2006, when both Nick Porter and Nick Bahe started against Nebraska.
Creighton has not had a season in which three players with the same first name all started at least once in the regular-season since at least 1980.
With so many men named Ryan (not to mention assistant coach
Ryan Miller), the Bluejay staff has gone to referring to Hawkins as "Hawk", the 7-foot-1 Kalkbrenner as "Big Ryan" and Nembhard as "R2", in honor of his uniform number, as well as "Coach Miller".
Playing With The Lead
In 312 games at CHI Health Center Omaha all-time, Creighton has not trailed in 85 of those contests, a staggering 27.2 percent of the time.
Under Greg McDermott at home, Creighton is
161-36 and hasn't trailed in 60 of those games. He owns an 91-6 record vs. non-conference teams at CHI Health Center Omaha, including 22 straight wins.
Assists 'R' Us
Ryan Nembhard's 10 assists in CU's season-opener were the most by a Bluejay freshman in any game since
Marcus Zegarowski had 10 on March 9, 2018 vs. DePaul. He was the nation's ONLY freshman with 10+ assists on the opening night of the college basketball season.
Prior to Nembhard, no Bluejay (of any year) had dished 10 or more assists in a season-opener since Edward St. Fleur on Nov. 22, 1996 at Wyoming.
Making An Entrance
Arthur Kaluma (15) and
Ryan Nembhard (15) became CU's first true freshmen to debut with 10 points or more since Khyri Thomas had 18 points vs. Texas Southern in 2015.
Nembhard (15 pts., 10 ast.) and
Ryan Hawkins (16 pts., 11 reb.) were the first Bluejays since at least 1980 with double-doubles in the season-opener of their debut campaign. No CU player (of any year) had started the season with a double-double since Will Artino (14 pts., 10 reb.) in 2014-15 vs. Central Arkansas.
Kaluma's eight rebounds were the most by a true freshman in the regular-season opener since Martin Krampelj in 2015 and the most by any Bluejay freshman since redshirt freshman Justin Patton snared eight rebounds in his 2016 debut.
Kaluma had four blocked shots on Nov. 9 vs. UAPB. The last previous Bluejay newcomer with multiple blocked shots in a season-opener? That'd be Artino on Nov. 11, 2011 vs. North Carolina A&T. Kaluma's four swats were the most by any Bluejay (of any year) on Opening Day since Jeffrey Day had five swats vs. Alcorn State to open the 2004-05 campaign..
Kaluma (15 & 8) became Creighton's second freshman since at least 1973 to debut with 15+ points and 5+ rebounds, joining Doug McDermott (16 & 7) in 2010.
Ryan Hawkins grabbed 11 rebounds vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff, the most by a Bluejay since
Damien Jefferson had 12 in 2018. Other than Jefferson, no one's had more than 11 rebounds in their CU debut since Cyril Baptiste snared 17 caroms in 1969. When Hawkins followed with 10 rebounds vs. Kennesaw State, he became CU's first player (of any year) with 10+ rebounds in CU's first two games since Doug Swenson in 1998-99.
Freshman Starts Almost Unheard Of
Between 1992-93 and 2020-21, only four true freshmen started Creighton's regular-season opener. Then on Nov. 9 vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff, both
Ryan Nembhard and
Arthur Kaluma got the nod on opening night. Nembhard had 15 points and 10 assists while Kaluma owned 15 points, eight rebounds and four blocks.
This season marked the first time Creighton started two true freshmen in a regular-season opener since 1991-92 (Eric Dantzler and Mike Amos).
About the other true freshmen to start...
Ryan Sears did so in 1997-98. The point guard would go on to start all 124 games of his CU career and remains the program's all-time career assist (570) and steals (283) leader.
Doug McDermott did so in 2010-11, and he went on to start all 145 games of his career. He would graduate as the fifth-leading scorer in NCAA history with 3,150 career points and is the only three-time First Team All-American since 1986. He now plays for the San Antonio Spurs.
Khyri Thomas got a start in 2015-16 and remained in CU's starting five each of his first 24 games, and 96-of-102 career contests with the Jays. He has spent parts of the past three seasons in the NBA.
Shereef Mitchell joined this elite group in 2019-20 when he got the starting nod against Kennesaw State. Mitchell finished with eight points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals in 28 minutes of work.
Top-10 Class
Creighton signed four top-100 players en route to inking the No. 7 recruiting class in the country, per 247Sports. That also ranks as the best class in the BIG EAST Conference.
Here's how the nation's top-10 classes shake out:
1. Memphis
2. Michigan
3. Gonzaga
4. Tennessee
5. Duke
6. LSU
7. Creighton
8. Florida State
9. Connecticut
10. Kentucky
Working Away From Home
Creighton has already won three games away from CHI Health Center Omaha, having won at Nebraska as well as neutral-site games in the U.S. Virgin Islands both vs. Brown and Southern Illinois.
In
Greg McDermott's 12 seasons as Creighton head coach, it marks just the fourth time that CU has won three or more road/neutral games in the month of November, joining the 2011-12, 2016-17 and 2018-19 clubs.
Triple Trouble
During Creighton's current streak of 921 straight games with a three-pointer, the Jays have drained 7,269 trifectas, an average of 7.89 treys per game.
That's not surprising since during the streak, Creighton has made exactly 7 three-pointers 139 times, more than any figure.
Only five times in the streak has Creighton made just one three-pointer, but on 261 occasions the Bluejays have made 10 or more trifectas, including three games of 20 or more.
Creighton has also made a trifecta in the first half of 292 straight games (since going 0-7 vs. Drake on Jan. 23, 2013). That streak was in serious jeopardy on Opening Day this season as CU missed its first 14 three-point tries before a man named Trey (Alexander) extended the streak.
Since the start of the 2019-20 season, the Bluejays are 37-6 when making eight or more three-pointers, compared to a 14-10 mark when making seven treys or fewer.
Team 3FG Made During Creighton's 3-Point Streak
1: 5 times 2: 15 times 3: 31 times
4: 71 times 5: 98 times 6: 98 times
7: 139 times 8: 115 times 9: 88 times
10: 77 times 11: 52 times 12: 49 times
13: 44 times 14: 18 times 15: 7 times
16: 7 times 17: 3 times 19: 1 time
20: 1 time 21: 1 time 22: 1 time
Release, Rotation, Splash, Repeat
Creighton has made at least one three-pointer in 921 straight games. The streak is the nation's 14th-longest active streak.
Creighton's last game without a three-pointer came at Illinois State on Feb. 20, 1993, when the Jays were 0-for-5. Creighton's last win without making a three-point basket came on March 3, 1991 when the Jays went 0-for-2 from three-point range in a 71-66 win over Southern Illinois in the championship game of the MVC Tournament.
Below is a list of the nation's longest active three-point streaks.
Longest Active 3-Point Streaks (12/1)
Rk. Streak School Next
1. 1,137 UNLV 12/4
2. 1,121 Duke 12/14
3. 1,082 Arkansas 12/4
4. 1,069 Western Kentucky 12/4
5. 1,059 East Tennessee State 12/4
6. 1,038 Oakland 12/2
1,038 Pacific 12/4
8. 1,029 Texas 12/3
9. 976 Marshall 12/4
10. 969 Baylor 12/4
11. 965 Princeton 12/4
12. 958 Gonzaga 12/4
13. 932 Long Island 12/2
14. 921 Creighton 12/4
15. 919 Mount St. Mary's 124
16. 904 Tennessee State 12/4
Who's Back?
With Creighton returning only five of the 15 men who appeared in a game last season, it's no surprise that much of the production from 2020-21 is also gone. Below is a breakdown of what is back:
Stat Returners Departures
Starts 2 (1.3%) 153 (98.7%)
3FG Made 25 (8.5%) 268 (91.5%)
Assists 68 (14.0%) 417 (86.0%)
Points 371 (15.8%) 1,984 (84.2%)
Minutes 1,124 (18.0%) 5,126 (82.0%)
Steals 39 (18.1%) 177 (81.9%)
Rebounds 207 (20.7%) 794 (79.3%)
Charges Taken 5 (29.4%) 12 (70.6%)
Blocks 39 (37.9%) 64 (62.1%)
Preseason BIG EAST Poll
Creighton was picked eighth in the preseason BIG EAST Conference poll that was selected via a vote of league coaches.
Villanova was a unanimous selection to win the league, with Connecticut and Xavier finishing second and third, respectively. St. John's is fourth, followed by Seton Hall, Butler, Providence and Creighton. Rounding out the poll are Marquette, Georgetown and DePaul.
Villanova standout Collin Gillespie was named Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year, and was joined on the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team by Nate Watson (Providence), Julian Champagnie (St. John's), Jared Rhoden (Seton Hall), Paul Scruggs (Xavier) and Zach Freemantle (Xavier).
Creighton is the only school in the league that has met or exceeded its preseason BIG EAST prognostication every year since joining the league, as seen below:
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)
Among The Nation's Best
Below is where Creighton ranks nationally since the start of the 2010-11 season, per Basketball-Reference.com.
2010-11 through Dec. 1, 2021
Category CU Stat CU Rank
3FG Made 3,437 2nd
3FG Percentage .382 3rd
FG Percentage .480 3rd
Assists 6,237 5th
FG Made 10,579 8th
Points 29,623 8th
Wins 260 27th
Winning Percentage .674 31st
#ProJays
Former Creighton All-American Doug McDermott is a starter for the San Antonio Spurs, giving Creighton at least one NBA player in 38 of the last 39 seasons.
Last year five Bluejays appeared in an NBA game, as McDermott was joined by Ty-Shon Alexander, Justin Patton, Khyri Thomas and Anthony Tolliver.
McDermott is in his eighth season in the NBA. Last year he with Indiana he averaged a career-high 13.6 points per game.
Other famous Bluejays to play in the NBA in the past include Paul Silas, Kyle Korver, Benoit Benjamin and Anthony Tolliver.
Who Are These Guys?
For the first time since at least 1980-81, Creighton will not return any of its five starters as
Mitch Ballock,
Christian Bishop,
Damien Jefferson,
Denzel Mahoney and
Marcus Zegarowski are all gone after combining to make 152-of-155 possible starts last season.
In fact, there's only been four previous times in the last 40 years that just one starter has returned. Those four occurrences came in 1985-86 (went 12-16), 2007-08 (22-11), 2014-15 (14-19) and
2015-16 (20-15).
Shereef Mitchell started two games last season when Zegarowski was injured, and no other active Bluejay had ever started a game for CU prior to CU's Nov. 9 season-opener. In the previous 40 seasons, Creighton's always returned players who combined for at least 40 starts in the previous season.
Returning Returning Starts Final
Year Starters From Previous Year W-L
2021-22 0 2 ? ? ?
2020-21 5 124 22-9
2019-20 4 136 24-7
2018-19 2 57 20-15
2017-18 2 72 21-12
2016-17 4 130 25-10
2015-16 1 64 20-15
2014-15 1 49 14-19
2013-14 4 144 27-8
2012-13 4 140 28-8
2011-12 3 101 29-6
2010-11 4 123 23-16
2009-10 3 106 18-16
2008-09 3 83 27-8
2007-08 1 44 22-11
2006-07 4 120 22-11
2005-06 4 134 20-10
2004-05 2 58 23-11
2003-04 3 101 20-9
2002-03 5 159 29-5
2001-02 2 65 23-9
2000-01 3 90 24-8
1999-00 3 84 23-10
1998-99 3 84 22-9
1997-98 4 72 18-10
1996-97 4 126 15-15
1995-96 4 100 14-15
1994-95 2 52 7-19
1993-94 3 73 7-22
1992-93 2 64 8-18
1991-92 2 51 9-19
1990-91 4 132 24-8
1989-90 4 127 21-12
1988-89 4 123 20-11
1987-88 3 83 16-16
1986-87 2 65 9-19
1985-86 1 48 12-16
1984-85 4 124 20-12
1983-84 3 72 17-14
1982-83 3 77 8-19
1981-82 2 78 7-20
1980-81 4 112 21-9
21 of 23 Seasons With 20 Wins
Creighton has won 20 or more games in 21 of the last 23 seasons (entering 2021-22), a feat that puts the Jays among an exclusive group, nationally.
Just two schools have had 20 or more wins each of the last 23 years: Gonzaga and Kansas. Duke has done it 22 times, Creighton and Kentucky 21 times.
Most 20-Win Seasons, Previous 23 Seasons
Team 20-Win Seasons 2020-21 W-L
Gonzaga 23 31-1
Kansas 23 21-9
Duke 22 13-11
Creighton 21 22-9
Kentucky 21 9-16
In Search Of 20 Wins, Again
Creighton had 22 wins last season, its sixth consecutive campaign with 20 or more victories.
Only six teams have won 20 games or more in each of the previous six seasons: Belmont, Creighton, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas and Oregon.
McDermott Ranks Second On CU Wins List
Greg McDermott has 260 victories at Creighton, good for second place on CU's all-time wins list.
McDermott's .674 winning percentage is Creighton's best since Arthur A. Schabinger's .714 win rate more 80 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. 260-126
Greg McDermott 2010-Pres.
3. 165-66 Arthur A. Schabinger 1922-1935
4. 138-118 John J. "Red" McManus 1959-1969
5. 130-64
Tom Apke 1974-1981
CHI Health Center Omaha Dramatics
Creighton is 8-8 in games with a game-winning go-ahead score in the final 10 seconds at CHI Health Center Omaha, which opened in the fall of 2003.
Creighton's Go-Ahead Scores in Wins at
CHI Health Center Omaha, Last 10 Seconds
Date Opponent Score Player/Score Time
11/26/05 Dayton W 91-90* Funk FG :5.7
01/28/06 Wichita St. W 57-55 Tolliver FG :0.0
11/25/06 George Mason W 58-56 Watts FT :7.5
03/18/08 Rhode Island W 74-73 Witter 3FG :3.2
01/13/10 Southern Illinois W 71-69 Young FG :1.3
02/18/12 Long Beach St. W 81-79 Young FG :0.3
01/28/14 St. John's W 63-60 McDermott 3FG :2.8
01/18/20 Providence W 78-74 Zegarowski 3FG :3.2
*double-overtime
Opponent Go-Ahead Scores in CU Losses at
CHI Health Center Omaha, Last 10 Seconds
Date Opponent Score Player/Score Time
03/20/06 Miami (Fla.) L 53-52 G. Diaz FT :2.6
01/20/07 Southern Illinois L 58-57 B. Mullins FG :4.1
01/10/15 #19 Seton Hall L 68-67 S. Gibbs 3FG :2.2
02/16/15 #19 Butler L 58-56 R. Jones FG :1.9
03/07/15 Xavier L 74-73 D. Davis FT's :6.3
01/12/16 #12 Providence L 50-48 K. Dunn FG :0.0
02/22/17 Providence L 68-66 K. Cartwright 3FG :2.4
02/10/18 #5 Xavier L 71-72 Q. Goodin FT's :0.3
Top-20 Crowds
Here's a look at Creighton's top-20 home crowds all-time.
Rank Att. Opponent Date
1. 18,868 Providence 03/08/14
2. 18,859 Georgetown 01/25/14
3. 18,831 #1 Villanova 12/31/16
4. 18,797 #6 Villanova 02/16/14
5. 18,759 #1 Gonzaga 12/01/18
6. 18,742 Seton Hall 02/23/14
7. 18,735 Wichita State 02/11/12
8. 18,613 Wichita State 03/02/13
9. 18,525 Marquette 12/31/13
10. 18,519 Seton Hall 03/07/20
11. 18,518 Georgetown 01/27/18
12. 18,495 Marquette 02/17/18
13. 18,494 Illinois State 02/09/13
14. 18,458 Evansville 12/29/12
15. 18,436 Bradley 01/28/12
16. 18,323 DePaul 02/07/14
17. 18,321 #3 Villanova 02/24/18
18. 18,257 #5 Xavier 02/10/18
19. 18,191 DePaul 02/27/18
20. 18,160 Central Arkansas 11/14/14
Firing On All Cylinders
Creighton continued to be highly regarded by KenPom.com, and finished last season 22nd. That includes the nation's No. 25 offense, and No. 32 defense.
Creighton had not finished with a top-35 defense since 2006-07, and has not finished better than 30th since 2001-02.
Last season was the sixth different time in the last 10 seasons that Creighton has had a top-25 offense per KenPom.
Year Off. Rating Def. Rating Team W-L
2010-11 66 174 23-16
2011-12 5 166 29-6
2012-13 5 66 28-8
2013-14 2 124 27-8
2014-15 59 138 14-19
2015-16 43 76 20-15
2016-17 32 46 25-10
2017-18 25 58 21-12
2018-19 47 83 20-15
2019-20 3 78 24-7
2020-21 25 32 22-9
2021-22 63 77 7-1 so far
CHI Health Center Omaha Success
Creighton has played 312 regular and postseason contests at CHI Health Center Omaha all-time in the 19-year-old facility.
The Bluejays own a 258-54 (.827) record all-time at the facility, and have never lost there on a Friday (21-0).
Creighton's Nov. 25, 2017 win over SIU Edwardsville was the program's 200th at the facility, coming in its 242nd home game. CU's 100th win came on Nov. 17, 2010, a 63-58 win over Louisiana.
Creighton has outscored its opponents 24,475-20,485 in games at CHI Health Center Omaha, an average margin of 12.79 points per game. Creighton has not trailed 85 different times.
Creighton is also 31-33 all-time in the 63 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 38-27 when trailing at halftime at CHI Health Center Omaha.
Creighton is 161-36 (.817) at CHI Health Center Omaha under
Greg McDermott and hasn't trailed in 60 of those games. In that same span, CU owns an 91-6 home record vs. non-conference teams, with 22 straight wins.
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 277-54 (.837) at home since the start of the 2002-03 campaign.
Home Run
Since the start of the 2010-11 season, Creighton is averaging 81.12 points per home game (15,981 points in 197 home games), a figure that climbs to 84.63 points in non-conference home games (8,209 points in 97 home games).
Creighton is 124-6 all-time at CHI Health Center Omaha when scoring 80 or points.
Ticket Information
Single-game tickets for the 2021-22 season went on sale on October 18th.
Fans can purchase single-game tickets at CHI Health Center Omaha Box Office, Ryan Athletic Center, by calling Ticketmaster or visiting Ticketmaster.com, and charging by phone at (800) 745-3000.
For more information, call the Creighton Ticket Office at (402) 280-JAYS.