Creighton's Bus Driver Suffers Heart Attack

All day long, the North Carolina-Creighton game was set for 5:10pm ET. Then, all of the sudden, it was pushed back twenty minutes later. Usually tip times fluctuate due to when other games are ending but this wasn't one of those times. There were only two games scheduled in the Greensboro Coliseum today and the Xavier-Lehigh game was scheduled after the Heels-Jays game.

The reason for the delay was that the Creighton bus driver suffered a heart attack en route to the arena.

About 10 minutes into the trip from the hotel to the arena, Creighton head coach Greg McDermott noticed the driver getting sick. The driver, Bill Burrus, pulled the bus over and then slumped onto the steering wheel.

Creighton's team doctor, Doug Ramos, and his wife, Tammy, also a physician, were traveling in a SUV behind the bus. They, along with Mary Jo Merfeld, a cardiac nurse and the wife of Creighton assistant coach Steve Merfeld, managed to get Burrus out of the bus.

They provided care until emergency service personnel arrived about 20 minutes after Burrus had stopped the bus. A new driver was dispatched, and the trip continued, with the Bluejays arriving at the Coliseum shortly before 4 p.m., about a half hour later than planned.

Mr. Burrus' condition is unknown. The Tar Heels won the game 87-73.