Creighton savors its first Top 25 spot in 27 years

OMAHA, Neb. -- Not too long ago, students in the library outnumbered the fans in the stands when the Creighton basketball team played.

But attending basketball games is fashionable again at the tiny Jesuit college as the No. 23 Bluejays opened the season with six straight wins, including a victory over Notre Dame, and moved into the national rankings for the first time since 1975.

"You'd hear people say, 'Why go? It's just Creighton basketball. I have studying to do,' " said Sam Herrera, a senior at Creighton and ardent fan.

Creighton -- which hosts Southeast Dec. 29 -- has given its fans plenty to cheer this season.

With five returning starters and a deep bench, the Bluejays have built on the momentum created from their double-overtime upset of Florida in the first round of the last season's NCAA tournament.

Creighton has had its lean years.

In the three seasons before coach Dana Altman arrived in 1994, the Bluejays won a total of 24 games and had finishes of 10th, ninth and sixth in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Altman and Creighton have been to the NCAA tournament for four straight years.

The Bluejays' season-opening six-game winning streak, which included a 80-75 victory over No. 10 Notre Dame -- the only blemish on Irish's 8-1 record.

Altman downplayed the Bluejays' ranking.

"It's nice for our players and our fans to know that other people think we've improved," Altman said. "I'm not sure it means much in the grand scheme of things. It's not like it's going to help us win any games."

In a state where the Nebraska football team is far and away the No. 1 passion of the sporting public, Creighton is enjoying a surge in popularity.

Not only is the basketball team excelling, Creighton's soccer team will play in the NCAA Final Four this weekend for the second time in three years.

But basketball always has been Creighton's flagship sport, and that's the buzz around the compact campus near downtown Omaha.

Creighton is where Paul Silas and baseball Hall-of-Famer Bob Gibson played and where Eddie Sutton and Willis Reed coached. There were periods of national prominence in the 1940s, '60s, '70s and '80s.

"You can't help but be happy," senior DeAnthony Bowden said. "But do we want to be happy with just making it, or do we want to move up?"

Bowden said simply earning a ranking is a notable accomplishment for a small school such as Creighton.

"A lot of people don't give mid-majors the recognition they deserve," Bowden said. "Hopefully we'll be changing a lot of people's minds."

Altman said it's possible the Bluejays will enjoy some benefits in recruiting because of the national exposure that goes along with a ranking -- "if we can stay in there for the long haul," he said.