# 1961–62 Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team

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.
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.

## 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 | | | | | |

## 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 |