No. 17 Creighton men’s basketball will continue its home stand on Saturday, but CHI Health Center Omaha will look a little different when the Bluejays take the court.
The arena will be filled with fans decked out in pink instead of their traditional blue for the program’s annual Creighton versus Cancer Pink Out Game.
Coach Greg McDermott, whose wife Theresa is a breast cancer survivor, launched the Pink Out during his first season at Creighton.
“It continues to amaze me,” McDermott said. “We brought the idea to the leadership of Creighton and the athletic department when we got here and everybody kind of dropped what they were doing and jumped on board with this. We had a small committee of people from the community that got involved at that time and put on a good event to start with, and then it’s really grown. I’m really proud of the way the community has embraced this and supported it …
“If it reminds one person to get their screening when they’re supposed to get their screening, and they catch the cancer early and it’s treatable and they can make a full recovery, then that’s why we’re doing this.”
In addition to raising awareness, the Pink Out is also about raising money to support those battling cancer. Each year, Creighton holds an auction with player jerseys up for sale. Players will wear pink-trimmed jerseys and pink shooting shirts, and the winning bidders can honor loved ones by putting their names on the shooting shirts. The players also meet with the winners of their jersey after the game to learn about their stories. All funds go to benefit the American Cancer Society Hope Lodge Omaha. Nebraska Cancer Specialists will also match all donations to the Hope Lodge collected at the game, up to $30,000.
This year’s auction raised $36,002.46, the third-highest total since the auction’s inception. In 14 years of Pink Outs, Creighton has raised a total of $532,969.64. This year’s top-selling jersey was Trey Alexander’s No. 23, narrowly edging out Ryan Kalkbrenner’s No. 11, $3,650 to $3,600.
“It’s still a game that a lot of our former players’ moms will try to come back to this game and I think there’s people that make sure if they want to get to one game a year, this is it … I think everybody in that building has been impacted by cancer in some way, whether they had a brother or sister, mom or dad or, God forbid a child that’s had to deal with cancer,” McDermott said. “So I think it’s relatable to everybody … It doesn’t go away. We’ve made strides and the treatment options are better than they’ve ever been, and they’ll continue to get better as long as we can continue to stay in the fight against it, but I’m very appreciative of what this community has done to make this event what it is.”
Senior Francisco Farabello is gearing up for his second Pink Out as a Bluejay after transferring from TCU. He said the Horned Frogs didn’t have anything like what Creighton does.
“It was one of my favorite games last year, very emotional,” Farabello said. “I’ve got two family members, one that fought and one that is currently fighting cancer. So a very special moment, very emotional and we’re going to have a great crowd like every year. So I’m really, really excited for it … It’s unbelievable. For the people that have never experienced it and it’s going to be the first time for them, I’ll say just enjoy it because it doesn’t happen anywhere else in the country.”
Steven Ashworth, a transfer from Utah State, is one of those who will be experiencing his first Pink Out, but his teammates have prepared him for what Saturday will look like.
“I’ve heard so much about it, just the entire place decked out in pink and not a dry eye in the building,” Ashworth said. “I think it’s cool to be able to use a game like that to be able to raise awareness for such a great cause and such a great fight. I think it’s also cool to be able to be playing in a game like that where you can remember that it is a game and there are bigger things in life. There are people that are going through real serious challenges and trials and to be able to honor them and remember them is going to be something that’s super special, and I’m looking forward to it.”
In addition to the special jerseys for the players and the pink T-shirts handed out to fans, Creighton will also hold a special “stand up to cancer” promotion during the under-8 timeout when fans will be encouraged to stand and hold up a sign for the cameras with the names of loved ones who have battled or are battling cancer.
“I still get goosebumps when I come through that tunnel and see all that pink,” McDermott said. “But like everybody else there, each one of our guys has been impacted by cancer in some way, whether it’s a family member or friend. Everybody’s dealt with it and, and the message is always there’s a lot of people that are watching us today, either in the stands or at home, that are embarking on this cancer treatment journey right now or they’ve lost a loved one to this awful disease. So I think it gives our guys a little bit extra motivation on game day.”
Creighton also has a game to play on Saturday as DePaul will be making its return trip to Omaha after the Bluejays dispatched the Blue Demons 84-58 in Chicago on Jan. 9. However, the team will look a bit different in round two as DePaul fired head coach Tony Stubblefield and named Matt Brady interim coach on Monday. The Blue Demons are 3-16 including 0-8 in Big East play but put up a good fight in Brady’s first game at the helm on Wednesday, falling to Marquette 86-73.
“I was impressed with the way they played last night against Marquette,” McDermott said. “I think sometimes when there is a change like that, obviously it has huge impact on everybody in the program, but especially with the players. And I thought they really rallied last night. Obviously, Coach Brady’s been a head coach in several different places, so he understands what he’s doing. But they didn’t quit last night, they competed till the very end and I’m glad we have that on film as we prepare for Saturday.”
Senior guard Chico Carter is leading the team with 11.8 points and 3.7 assists per game while shooting 37.5% from 3. Senior forward Da’Sean Nelson isn’t far behind at 11.2 points per game.
Tipoff on Saturday is set for 6 p.m. and the game will be televised on FS1 with Lane Grindle and Jess Settles on the call.
