1961–62 Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team

1961–62 Creighton Bluejays men's basketball
1961–62 Creighton Bluejays men's basketball
1962 NCAA Tournament, Sweet Sixteen
Conference	Independent
Record	21–5
Head coach	Red McManus;
Home arena	Omaha Civic Auditorium
	Seasons ← 1960–61 1962–63 →

The 1961–62 Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team represented Creighton University during the 1961–62 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bluejays, led by third year head coach John J. 'Red' McManus, played their home games at the Omaha Civic Auditorium. They finished the season 21-5. The Creighton Bluejays earned a bid into the 1962 NCAA Tournament where they defeated Memphis State in the Midwest Region Quarterfinals round before falling in the Midwest Region Semifinals to the #2 ranked, and eventual 1962 National Champion, Cincinnati Bearcats. The Bluejays defeated Texas Tech in the Midwest Region Third Place game.^[1]

Before the season started, Red appeared before the Quarterback Club in Omaha and with his first words stated that Creighton was going to a post season tournament. A majority of the people felt that McManus had a fatal case of over-optimism. The previous year's 8-17 record was far from good. McManus worked tirelessly to turn Creighton into a basketball power. He utilized sharp recruiting and tough coaching to put the Bluejays back on the road to fame. The hard work paid off. Sophomore Paul Silas would blossom into a force in the middle, leading the nation in rebounding for the 1961–62 and 1962-63 seasons.^[2]

Roster

Number	Name	Position	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown
21	Herb Millard				Senior
22	Santos Jimenez
23	Pete McManamon
24	Chuck Officer	Guard	6-2	175	Junior	Moline, Illinois
25	Harry Forehand
31	John Callaghan
32	Tom Dowling
33	Larry Wagner
35	Paul Silas	Center	6-7	220	Sophomore	Oakland, California
41	Carl Silvestrini
42	Jim Swassing
43	Bob Eickholt
45	Jim Bakos				Sophomore	East Chicago, Indiana
52	Mike Lynch

^[3]

Schedule

Date time, TV	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular Season
12/01/1961	Colorado College	W 85-51	1–0	Omaha Civic Auditorium (-) Omaha, Nebraska
12/09/1961	Notre Dame	W 73-71	2–0	Omaha Civic Auditorium (-) Omaha, Nebraska
12/12/1961	at Illinois	L 61-70	2-1	Huff Hall (-) Champaign, Illinois
12/14/1961	Denver	W 60-59	3–1	Omaha Civic Auditorium (-) Omaha, Nebraska
12/16/1961	at Northwestern	L 56-59	3-2	McGaw Memorial Hall (-) Evanston, Illinois
12/18/1961	Gonzaga	W 82-77	4–2	Omaha Civic Auditorium (-) Omaha, Nebraska
12/19/1961	at South Dakota	W 85-59	5–2	(-) Vermillion, South Dakota
12/20/1961	UCLA	W 74-72	6–2	Omaha Civic Auditorium (-) Omaha, Nebraska
12/21/1961	Rice	W 91-57	7–2	Omaha Civic Auditorium (-) Omaha, Nebraska
12/29/1961	Princeton	W 63-54	8-2	Omaha Civic Auditorium (-) Omaha, Nebraska
1/02/1962	South Dakota	W 84-58	9-2	Omaha Civic Auditorium (-) Omaha, Nebraska
1/06/1962	Wabash	W 96-62	10-2	Omaha Civic Auditorium (-) Omaha, Nebraska
1/13/1962	at St. John's	L 52-72	10–3	Alumni Hall (-) Jamaica, New York
1/15/1962	at Seton Hall	L 80-86	10–4	Walsh Gymnasium (-) South Orange, New Jersey
1/27/1962	at Nevada	W 76-69	11–4	(-) Reno, Nevada
2/03/1962	at Iowa	W 68-67	12-4	Iowa Fieldhouse (-) Iowa City, Iowa
2/05/1962	at Marquette	W 79-72 ^OT	13–4	(-) Milwaukee, Wisconsin
2/10/1962	at Notre Dame	W 74-71	14–4	Notre Dame Fieldhouse (-) South Bend, Indiana
2/12/1962	at St. Ambrose	W 93-63	15-4	(-) Davenport, Iowa
2/16/1962	at Air Force	W 61-60	16-4	(-) Colorado Springs, Colorado
2/19/1962	Centenary	W 77-70	17–4	Omaha Civic Auditorium (-) Omaha, Nebraska
2/26/1962	North Dakota State	W 84-54	18–4	Omaha Civic Auditorium (-) Omaha, Nebraska
3/03/1962	North Dakota	W 90-54	19-4	Omaha Civic Auditorium (-) Omaha, Nebraska
1962 NCAA Tournament
03/12/1962	vs. Memphis State Midwest Region Quarterfinals	W 87-83	20-4	Moody Coliseum (-) Dallas, Texas
03/16/1962	vs. No. 2 Cincinnati Midwest Region Semifinals	L 46-66	20-5	Ahearn Field House (-) Manhattan, Kansas
03/17/1962	vs. Texas Tech Midwest Region Third-place game	W 63-61	21-5	Ahearn Field House (-) Manhattan, Kansas

References

^ "Go Creighton". Creighton Athletic Department. Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
^ The Bluejay. Creighton University. 1962.
^ "Number 24: Chuck Officer". White & Blue Review. Retrieved March 9, 2013.

[Go_Creighton-1] "Go Creighton". Creighton Athletic Department. Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved March 9, 2013.

[1962_Yearbook-2] The Bluejay. Creighton University. 1962.

[White_&_Blue_Review-3] "Number 24: Chuck Officer". White & Blue Review. Retrieved March 9, 2013.

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[2]

[3]

v t e Creighton Bluejays men's basketball
Venues	University Gym (1916–1960) Omaha Civic Auditorium (1960–2003) CHI Health Center Omaha (2003–present)
Rivalries	Nebraska
People	Head coaches NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25