Cornhusker State News

Red-hot Creighton (14-8, 8-3 BIG EAST) hosts Villanova (10-12, 4-7 BIG EAST) on Saturday, Feb. 4 in a rematch of the 2022 BIG EAST Tournament title game that was played at Madison Square Garden.
    A sold out CHI Health Center Omaha (17,352) in Omaha, Neb., will host the action, which tips at 6:30 p.m. Central.
    A stripe-out is planned on Saturday. Visit GoCreighton.com/2023stripeout to see what color the fans in each section should be wearing.

Of Note
Creighton will recognize its BIG EAST champion volleyball team during a timeout in the game. Kirsten Bernthal Booth's squad won a share of its ninth consecutive BIG EAST regular-season title, its eighth BIG EAST Tournament in the past nine years, and appeared in its 11th consecutive NCAA Tournament last fall.
    At halftime, fans will be entertained by the world-famous Ready Go Dog Show.

Radio Broadcast Information
KOZN (1620 AM) and KOOO (101.9 FM) will carry all Creighton men's basketball games during the 2022-23 season. John Bishop and Taylor Stormberg will call the action.  
    The audio is webcast at 1620thezone.com and can be heard on SiriusXM channel 384 and on SXM app channel 974.

Telecast Information
Saturday's game will be called by Gus Johnson and Jim Jackson and be televised on FOX.
    The game will also be video webcast at https://www.foxsports.com/live.

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 on mobile devices at www.gocreightonstats.com.

Scouting Creighton
Creighton started 6-0, including wins at the Maui Jim Maui Invitational over No. 21 Texas Tech and No. 9 Arkansas, then dropped its next six games. Since losing its BIG EAST opener at Marquette in mid-December, the Jays are 8-2 in league play with seven double-digit wins.
    All-BIG EAST center Ryan Kalkbrenner (15.2 ppg., 7.0 rpg., 2.4 bpg.), who was named 2022 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year, leads in the nation in field goal percentage (.739) this season. CU is 14-5 with him in the line-up this year, but 0-3 without him.
    CU had three men named to the BIG EAST's All-Freshman Team last winter who are now sophomores. That trio includes Ryan Nembhard (11.5 ppg., 5.3 apg.) as well as Arthur Kaluma (12.7 ppg., 6.4 rpg.) and Trey Alexander (12.9 ppg., 4.0 rpg.).
    Creighton's highest-impact newcomer to date has been South Dakota State transfer Baylor Scheierman (13.4 ppg., 8.5 rpg.), who also owns the team lead with 10 double-doubles and 56 three-pointers made.
    Creighton was picked to win the BIG EAST Conference and earned its best preseason AP poll ranking ever (No. 9), thanks to the return of 10 lettermen and three starters from last year's team that finished 23-12.
    CU averages 77.3 points while allowing just 67.5 points per contest. CU shoots 47.2 percent from the floor, 34.8 percent from deep and 73.9 percent at the line.

Scouting Villanova
Villanova is 10-12 this season and 4-7 in BIG EAST play after dropping five of its past seven contests. Nova's four league wins have been compiled in season sweeps over Georgetown and St. John's.
    Four men are averaging in double-figures, a quartet led by Caleb Daniels (16.2 ppg.) and Eric Dixon (15.6 ppg.).
    Preseason BIG EAST Freshman of the Year Cam Whitmore averages 12.5 points per game, while Justin Moore recently returned from an Achilles injury and has contributed 14 total points, eight rebounds and eight assists in two games.
    The Wildcats average 70.1 points per game on 43.9 percent shooting from the floor and 33.5 percent marksmanship from deep. One year after setting an NCAA single-season record for free throw percentage (83.0 percent), the Wildcats are leading the country and on pace to break that mark with 83.1 percent shooting at the line.

The Series With Villanova
Villanova leads the all-time series with Creighton, 17-6, including a 5-4 record in Omaha.
    Five of the last six meetings have been decided by double-figures, with CU winning three of those games. The teams traded lopsided blowouts last season, with CU winning 79-59 in Omaha on Dec. 17 and the Wildcats gaining revenge 75-41 in Pennsylvania 20 days later. The Wildcats won the rubber match in the BIG EAST Tournament final, 54-48.
    Greg McDermott is 6-13 against Villanova but has never faced off against Kyle Neptune.

The Creighton Coaches
Greg McDermott (Northern Iowa, 1988) owns a 290-145 record in his 13th season with the Bluejays. He owns a career mark of 570-340 in his 29th season, and is 439-276 in his 22nd 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 win its sixth straight BIG EAST game, extending the league's longest active win streak.
- Creighton would earn its seventh win vs. Villanova since 2013-14, tied with Marquette for most of any other Wildcat opponent in that time.
- Creighton would improve to 11-1 at home this season, including a 7-0 BIG EAST record.

FOX Rocks
Saturday will mark Creighton's third of five appearances 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 10-16 on the channel.
    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 8-6 on the network, and 1-1 this season after a Christmas Day win vs. DePaul.
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    1-1 (so far)

Among The Best
Since the league's 2013 realignment, Villanova has 134 league wins to lead the BIG EAST by a wide margin, but Creighton's 103 league victories are  second-most.
Most Men's Basketball  BIG EAST Wins
(2013-14 to 2/1/23)
Team    W    L    Pct.
Villanova    134    38    .779
Creighton    103    73    .585
Providence    101    72    .584
Xavier    98    72    .576
Seton Hall    94    82    .534
Marquette    89    87    .506
Butler    81    97    .455
St. John's    67    109    .381
Georgetown    59    114    .341
DePaul    39    135    .224
Connecticut    30    18    .625

Rematch!
Creighton and Villanova will square off for the first time since Nova won a 54-48 decision in the title game of the 2022 BIG EAST Tournament.
    Three of the seven Bluejays to appear in that game are back, as Arthur Kaluma, Ryan Kalkbrenner and Trey Alexander combined for 36 points and 25 rebounds.
    Of the eight Wildcats to play in that contest, six return. That group scored 32 points and 24 rebounds.

Repeat After Three
Few teams in the country have made as many three-pointers in the last 10 seasons as the team's featured in Saturday's match-up. Since 2013-14, Villanova leads the nation in that category with 3,215 trifectas, while Creighton is sixth with 2,939.
    Creighton is 0-13 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 6-4 when making nine or more trifectas. CU has hit 74-of-150 treys (49.3%) in the six wins, but 94-of-336 triples (28.0%) in the 17 losses.
    Villanova has made nine or more three-pointers against Creighton in 12-of-20 meetings as BIG EAST rivals.
    Creighton is 27-2 in its last 29 games (against all teams) when attempting 15 or fewer three-pointers.
    Since Greg McDermott was hired in 2010, Creighton has made 3,813 three-pointers in 435 games, good for fourth-most nationally behind Belmont (4,044) and VMI (3,883). Villanova is third on that list with 3,825 treys.
Most 3FG Made Since 2013-14 (thru 2/1/23)
Rk.    Team    3FG    Games
1.    Villanova    3,215    338
2.    Belmont    3,129    317
3.    North Florida    3,043    310
4.    The Citadel    2,970    299
5.    VMI    2,967    300
6.    Creighton    2,939    325

The Cats Meow
Villanova has the second-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 273-65 (.808), just behind a Gonzaga program that is 302-40 (.883). No one else has won more than 80 percent of its games.
    Of the 90 different schools to play Villanova in that time, only 29 have actually beaten the Wildcats.
    Creighton is one of 12 schools to post multiple victories over the Wildcats in that time.  Creighton's six victories over Villanova are tied for the second-most by any Wildcat opponent in that span with Butler, and one behind Marquette's seven.

Something About Creighton
Since the start of the 2013-14 season, Villanova has suffered only 65 losses, with just 13 of those coming by 15 points or more.
    Five of those lopsided setbacks have come against Creighton, while eight 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
    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
    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

Let's Go Streaking!
Creighton has outscored the opposition by an average of 16.4 points (79.4 - 63.0) during its five-game winning streak, which includes victories over No. 19 Providence and No. 13 Xavier.
    The Jays have shot 49.5 percent from the field and 79.5 percent at the line during this stretch while also dishing 77 assists against just 45 turnovers.
    Defensively, Creighton is holding foes to 40.7 percent shooting from the field in those five games and CU has outscored the opposition 206-145 before halftime.
    Eight different Bluejays have averaged at least 4.5 points per game in the run, led by Ryan Kalkbrenner (16.2 ppg., 7.4 rpg., 3.2 bpg., 73.9 FG)%. At the line, Arthur Kaluma is 17-for-18 (94.4 percent) in the last five games after starting the season 43-for-65 (66.2 percent).
    Not to be overlooked is the play of Trey Alexander in the past five games. The sophomore guard has averaged 13.4 points per game and has not committed a turnover in 158 minutes of action.

Pure Charity
Creighton has made 58-of-73 free throw attempts (79.5 percent) during its five game winning streak, including a season-best 88.9 percent (8-9) last Saturday vs. Xavier.
    For the season, Creighton is shooting 73.9 percent as a team from the charity stripe. That's the team's best mark since shooting 74.8 percent in 2017-18, and would be the fourth-best figure in Greg McDermott's 13-year tenure at CU. 

Original source can be found here.