1977–78 Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team

1977–78 Creighton Bluejays men's basketball
MVC Regular season and tournament champion
NCAA tournament
Conference	Missouri Valley Conference
Record	19–9 (12–4 MVC)
Head coach	Tom Apke (4th season)
Home arena	Omaha Civic Auditorium

1977–78 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Creighton †	12	–	4		.750			19	–	9		.679
Southern Illinois	11	–	5		.688			17	–	10		.630
Indiana State	11	–	5		.688			23	–	9		.719
New Mexico State	9	–	7		.563			15	–	14		.517
Bradley	8	–	8		.500			14	–	14		.500
Wichita State	8	–	8		.500			13	–	14		.481
Tulsa	7	–	9		.438			9	–	18		.333
West Texas State	4	–	12		.250			8	–	19		.296
Drake	2	–	14		.125			6	–	22		.214
† 1978 MVC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

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]

Roster

1977–78 Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown F Rick Apke 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr   Cincinnati, Ohio G 30 Kevin McKenna 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr   Palatine, Illinois F 41 George Morrow 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) — Fr   Memphis, Tennessee	Head coach Tom Apke (Creighton) Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

^[3]

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Feb 25, 1978		at Southern Illinois	W 62–56	18–8 (12–4)	SIU Arena  Carbondale, Illinois
Missouri Valley Conference tournament
Mar 5, 1978*		Indiana State Championship game	W 54–52	19–8	Omaha Civic Auditorium  Omaha, Nebraska
NCAA tournament
Mar 12, 1978*		vs. 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.

^[4]

References

1. "Creighton 68, Southwest Missouri State 52". UPI Archives. March 6, 1991. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
2. "Bluejays Flatten Feeble Aggies as N.M. Makes Another 1st-Round Exit". Deseret News. March 15, 1991. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
3. "1977-78 Men's Basketball Roster". Creighton University Athletics. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
4. "2019-20 Creighton Men's Basketball Media Guide". Creighton Bluejays. September 29, 2019. Retrieved October 1, 2023.