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1977–78 Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team

American college basketball season From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 1977–78 Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team represented Creighton University during the 1977–78 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bluejays, led by head coach Tom Apke, played their home games at the Omaha Civic Auditorium. The Jays finished with a 19–9 record (12–4 MVC), and won the Missouri Valley Conference tournament[1] to earn an automatic bid to the 1978 NCAA tournament. As No. 3 qualifying seed in the Midwest region, the Jays fell to No. 1 at-large seed DePaul in the opening round.[2]

ConferenceMissouri Valley Conference
Record19–9 (12–4 MVC)
Headcoach
Assistant coaches
  • Tom Brosnihan
  • Mike Caruso
Quick facts Creighton Bluejays men's basketball, MVC Regular season and tournament champion ...
1977–78 Creighton Bluejays men's basketball
MVC Regular season and tournament champion
ConferenceMissouri Valley Conference
Record19–9 (12–4 MVC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Tom Brosnihan
  • Mike Caruso
Home arenaOmaha Civic Auditorium
Seasons
← 1976–77
1978–79 →
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More information Conf., Overall ...
1977–78 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
Creighton †12–4 .75019–9  .679
Southern Illinois11–5 .68817–10  .630
Indiana State11–5 .68823–9  .719
New Mexico State9–7 .56315–14  .517
Bradley8–8 .50014–14  .500
Wichita State8–8 .50013–14  .481
Tulsa7–9 .4389–18  .333
West Texas State4–12 .2508–19  .296
Drake2–14 .1256–22  .214
† 1978 MVC tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll
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Roster

More information Players, Coaches ...
1977–78 Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G 10 Randy Eccker 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)182 lb (83 kg) SrBear Creek Denver, Colorado
G 25 John C. Johnson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)179 lb (81 kg) JrOmaha Central Omaha, Nebraska
G 30 Kevin McKenna 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)190 lb (86 kg) FrPalatine Palatine, Illinois
G 31 Paul Dinkins 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)185 lb (84 kg) SrBenton Consolidated Benton, Illinois
F 32 Dennis Rasmussen 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)215 lb (98 kg) FrBear Creek Denver, Colorado
G 34 Paul Trieschman 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)170 lb (77 kg) FrGrand Island Senior Grand Island, Nebraska
G 40 Kevin Kuehl 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)185 lb (84 kg) SrCreighton Prep Omaha, Nebraska
C 42 Jim Honz 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)215 lb (98 kg) FrBishop Ryan Omaha, Nebraska
F/C 43 David Wesely 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)199 lb (90 kg) JrCreighton Prep Omaha, Nebraska
F 44 Rick Apke 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)205 lb (93 kg) SrElder Cincinnati, Ohio
F 51 Tim McConnell 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)215 lb (98 kg) SrNorth Eugene Eugene, Oregon
C 52 Bill Butrym 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)215 lb (98 kg) SoMarquette University Milwaukee, Wisconsin
F 53 Dan Clausen 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)225 lb (102 kg) FrOmaha Benson Magnet Omaha, Nebraska
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • Tom Brosnihan
  • Mike Caruso
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

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[3]

Schedule and results

More information Date time, TV, Rank# ...
Date
time, TV		 Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
Nov 25, 1977*
 Carroll (MT) W 95–66  1–0
 Omaha Civic Auditorium 
Omaha, Nebraska
Nov 29, 1977*
 Nebraska–Omaha W 70–58  2–0
 Omaha Civic Auditorium 
Omaha, Nebraska
Dec 9, 1977*
 at Nebraska
Rivalry		 L 58–65  3–1
 Bob Devaney Sports Center 
Lincoln, Nebraska
Dec 17, 1977*
 at Montana W 71–67  4–1
 Adams Field House 
Missoula, Montana
Dec 20, 1977*
 at Southwestern Louisiana L 87–94  4–2
 Blackham Coliseum 
Lafayette, Louisiana
Dec 27, 1977
 at Wichita State W 71–70  5–2
(1–0)		 Levitt Arena 
Wichita, Kansas
Jan 7, 1978
 Tulsa W 78–58  6–2
(2–0)		 Omaha Civic Auditorium 
Omaha, Nebraska
Jan 12, 1978
 at New Mexico State L 56–78  6–3
(2–1)		 Pan American Center 
Las Cruces, New Mexico
Jan 14, 1978*
 at West Texas A&M W 64–60 OT 7–3
 First United Bank Center 
Canyon, Texas
Jan 17, 1978*
 Cleveland State W 94–63  8–3
 Omaha Civic Auditorium 
Omaha, Nebraska
Jan 19, 1978
 Drake W 87–77  9–3
(3–1)		 Omaha Civic Auditorium 
Omaha, Nebraska
Jan 21, 1978
 Southern Illinois L 69–76  9–4
(3–2)		 Omaha Civic Auditorium 
Omaha, Nebraska
Jan 26, 1978
 at Bradley L 99–103  9–5
(3–3)		 Robertson Memorial Field House 
Peoria, Illinois
Jan 28, 1978
 at No. 13 Indiana State W 72–64  10–5
(4–3)		 Hulman Center 
Terre Haute, Indiana
Jan 30, 1978
 New Mexico State W 84–70  11–5
(5–3)		 Omaha Civic Auditorium 
Omaha, Nebraska
Feb 1, 1978*
 No. 13 DePaul L 82–85 3OT 11–6
(5–3)		 Omaha Civic Auditorium 
Omaha, Nebraska
Feb 4, 1978
 Bradley W 86–74  12–6
(6–3)		 Omaha Civic Auditorium 
Omaha, Nebraska
Feb 7, 1978*
 at No. 3 Marquette L 57–82  12–7
 MECCA Arena (10,938)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Feb 9, 1978
 Wichita State W 80–76  13–7
(7–3)		 Omaha Civic Auditorium 
Omaha, Nebraska
Feb 11, 1978
 at Drake W 71–63  14–7
(8–3)		 Veterans Memorial Auditorium 
Des Moines, Iowa
Feb 13, 1978*
 West Texas A&M W 72–52  15–7
 Omaha Civic Auditorium 
Omaha, Nebraska
Feb 16, 1978
 Indiana State W 89–57  16–7
(9–3)		 Omaha Civic Auditorium 
Omaha, Nebraska
Feb 18, 1978*
 at Air Force W 73–64  17–7
 Clune Arena 
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Feb 20, 1978
 at Tulsa L 77–85  17–8
(9–4)		 Cox Business Convention Center 
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Feb 25, 1978
 at Southern Illinois W 62–56  18–8
(12–4)		 SIU Arena 
Carbondale, Illinois
Missouri Valley Conference tournament
Mar 5, 1978*
 (1) (3) Indiana State
Championship game		 W 54–52  19–8
 Omaha Civic Auditorium 
Omaha, Nebraska
NCAA tournament
Mar 12, 1978*
 (MW 3Q) vs. (MW 1L) No. 4 DePaul
First round		 L 78–80  19–9
 Levitt Arena 
Wichita, Kansas
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
MW=Midwest.
All times are in Central.
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[4][5]

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