OMAHA, Neb. — Dana Altman was one of the top candidates for Xavier's basketball opening this spring, and Xavier officials called to ask permission to speak to the Creighton coach. He thought about interviewing but then pulled his name from consideration.

        “I'm happy at Creighton,” he said. “It's home.”

        The Musketeers (6-3) today get to visit the place that so captivates Altman when they play Creighton (5-3) in a nonconference matchup.

        Home is a school surprisingly similar to Xavier. It's a small Jesuit school in the Midwest — there are just 28 Jesuit colleges in the country — that is building name recognition through basketball.

        “I grew up outside of Omaha, and so did my wife, and our families are all here,” Altman said. “And probably more importantly, the administration and the people have been outstanding.”

        Altman has drawn attention for taking the mid-major Bluejays to four consecutive postseason tournaments, including NCAA Tournament trips the past three seasons.

        He'll have a hard time improving on the school-record 24-8 mark of last season. Ryan Sears and Ben Walker, his starting backcourt the past four seasons, have graduated. Top player Kyle Korver is out after knee surgery.

        That doesn't mean XU can expect an easy assignment. The Bluejays have won 20 consecutive home games.

        XU coach Thad Matta said XU's offense appeared flat Thursday against Kent State. He said he is concerned about his team's .318 3-point shooting.

        “Guys sometimes think, "Hey, let me come down and make this (3-point) shot and everything will be OK.”' Matta said. “But a lot of times, a bad shot is like a turnover, because it can lead to points on the other end.”
       Matta said he would talk to his former boss at Butler, Nebraska coach Barry Collier, on Friday night. Nebraska lost to Creighton last week.

        Said Matta: “He wrote me a Christmas card and said they're really good — "Merry Christmas, good luck.'”

Xavier Stories

Creighton coach was XU candidate

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