Creighton men’s basketball finds itself in an unfamiliar position heading into the final week of the regular season: fighting to stay out of the first day of the Big East Tournament.
The Bluejays have finished outside the top four just three times in 12 years since joining the league and not at all since 2019.
“We’ve had a great run of success,” Coach Greg McDermott said after Wednesday’s loss dropped the Bluejays to 14-15 on the season. “We’re all disappointed that this year hasn’t gone the way that we had hoped it would go, and we’ve had our share of adversity this year, and the guys keep stepping up and keep fighting. Obviously, they’re hurting right now … They’ve invested a lot, they’ve leaned on each other a lot through some adverse times this year, and I wish some better things had happened.”
The Bluejays sit in fifth place at 8-10 in conference play, half a game in the win column ahead of DePaul after Wednesday’s loss to the Blue Demons, who now own the head-to-head tiebreaker.
On the flip side, Creighton is still within striking distance of Seton Hall in fourth place. The Pirates are two games up in the loss column with games remaining against UConn, Xavier and St. John’s remaining. If the Huskies and Red Storm both beat the Pirates, and with the split between Seton Hall and the Jays, Creighton’s win over UConn would give the Bluejays the tiebreaker.
There’s still a lot of basketball to play, and all Creighton can do is focus on trying to win these last two, starting with Saturday’s game against Providence (13-15, 6-11).
This season has been full of peaks and valleys (perhaps more of the latter), and factors outside the team’s control have played a big part in that. Creighton — a team with nine newcomers heading into the season — has navigated injuries, illness and issues bigger than basketball all season long, and the Jays haven’t found a way to make things click consistently on the court, as their sub-.500 record indicates. Even so, they say they haven’t allowed the struggles to fracture the team from a connection standpoint.
“I feel like every variable has been thrown at us this season, and it’s really just been a testament to who we are, and especially the teammates and the community that I’m around, I would say, since I’ve been coming to Creighton,” Blake Harper said before Monday’s practice. “Since I’ve been here, I just feel like I’ve grown so much as a person and learned so much about myself with the guys that we do have in the locker room. So just being able to handle any situation that’s thrown at us, I feel like that’s the joy of the season.”
Two of the newcomers are seniors, the only two on the team. Creighton will honor Josh Dix and Nik Graves after Saturday’s game, and McDermott is hoping for a great sendoff as the Bluejays lace their sneakers up one final time inside CHI Health Center Omaha.
“It’s senior night for Nik and Josh,” McDermott said Wednesday night. “As I’ve said before, we’ve had point guards come in here before, but Nik had to lead a brand new team, which is difficult, and obviously it’s been well documented everything Josh has been through this year. I want that to be a special night for them, special afternoon … I want to give our fans a win to end this home season.”
Nik Graves (5) drives to the hoop against DePaul on Feb 25, 2026, in Omaha, Nebraska. Photo by Brandon Tiedemann
Graves has been in and out of the lineup, and his playing time and productivity have fluctuated as he’s attempted to adjust to a completely different style of play than what he became accustomed to during his three years at Charlotte. Even so, his peaks have helped produce some of the best moments of the season.
His 17-point flurry against Marquette, game-winner against Seton Hall and season-high 18 points at UConn are a big part of why Creighton still has a chance to steal the fourth seed.
As for Dix, his lone season as a Bluejay after three years with the Iowa Hawkeyes hasn’t gone the way he had hoped when he first arrived. Even so, the Council Bluffs native is grateful to end his college career close to home, in the building he grew up watching the game he loves.
“It’s been great,” Dix said. “I grew up coming to games here, so it’s a dream come true for me to play here, play for Mac. I’ve loved every second of it. The coaches and the guys are people that you want to be around every day.”
More than any wins and losses, Dix will remember his final season for the opportunity it provided his family to spend time together during Kelly Dix’s final year of life. Josh’s mother passed away on Feb. 4, after a three-year fight with colon cancer.
“I’m super grateful,” Dix said. “I got to spend a lot of time with my mom that I probably wouldn’t have if I was still in Iowa City or somewhere else, so I’m definitely grateful for that. That’s time that you can’t get back. I’m grateful that Mac gave me the opportunity to come home.”
Dix has only played for McDermott for a handful of months, but the two have forged a strong bond as Creighton’s long-time head coach provided support — and time away as needed — for one of the team’s most important players.
“He’s been great,” Dix said. “He’s the first person I told when my dad called me, someone that you can trust in and believe in. It goes so much deeper than just basketball on the court. He’s a person that you can trust. He’s a person that’s going to be a mentor towards you, and he’s going to help you through tough times.”
That’s exactly what McDermott has done for Dix, and in observing his star player go through something no young person should ever experience, the veteran coach of 30-plus years said he’s learned as much as he has at any point in his career.
“I’ve learned a lot from guys that have played for me over the course of my career,” McDermott said. “I’m not sure I’ve learned as much as I have from Josh. Just the way he’s handled this, he’s been so strong, and he’s strong for us, and obviously he’s been a rock for his family as well. I think we’ll always have a special relationship because of what all transpired this year.
“But to see him play through it, when on the outside, nobody knew what he was going through exactly leading up to her passing, but to see him play through that, come to practice every day with the right attitude and not have any bad days in practice, it’s, number one, it’s amazing. It’s almost unbelievable. Number two, he’s taught us all a lot.”
Josh Dix (4) and head coach Greg McDermott pose together after Creighton recognized Dix for surpassing 1,000 career points. Photo by Brandon Tiedemann
Perhaps the only person in the program who truly understands what Dix has gone through these last couple of months is Harper, who lost his mother to breast cancer in 2023. The on-court success this year hasn’t been there to the degree either one was hoping for when committing to Creighton, but Harper is glad the two crossed paths this season.
“We’ve got a special bond; it’s a little bit different with us,” Harper said. “Whenever we have a one-on-one conversation, it kind of hits heart to heart. That boy’s a soldier for real. It’s really hard to play without that one person in your life, let alone a mother/son relationship, and I’m just really proud of him the way he’s been handling it all … I’m just grateful to be there for him, be a shoulder he can lean on. There’ve been nights we’ve cried together and just been vulnerable with each other.
“I think I said it last time, but it’s been a minute since I found somebody going through the same stuff, and when we can connect through trauma, it’s a little bit different. It kind of hits a little bit more than friendship and I think of Josh as family, and that’s my brother for life.”
It’s been a hectic few weeks for Dix since Kelly’s passing, but he’s hardly missed a day on the court, and he’s the lone Bluejay to start every game this season. The people around him, like Harper, and the game itself have made that possible.
“I’ve got a lot of good people around me,” Dix said. “My teammates, coaches, they’ve given me time to be away, step away and take time that I need to kind of be other places that are also important for me to be at. They’ve helped me tremendously, and when I’m here, you can laugh and joke. Basketball kind of takes your mind off a lot.”
Saturday will provide one final opportunity to the fans in Omaha to show their admiration of Dix and their thanks for what the two seniors have given to the program, and McDermott is hoping the Creighton faithful will take advantage of it.
Before the postgame senior day ceremonies, however, Creighton has a game to play, and the Bluejays owe the Friars one after Providence won the first meeting 93-88 back on Jan. 16.
Providence is still one of the best offensive teams in the country, ranking 22nd in adjusted efficiency with the 20th-fastest tempo. The Friars shoot it well from inside the arc (56.1%, 49th), from 3 (35.9%, 72nd) and from the charity stripe (76.4%, 46th), with live-ball turnovers (10.2% steal rate for opponents, 260th) their biggest weakness. They struggle quite a bit on the other end of the floor, ranking 199th in adjusted defensively efficiency with one of the lowest forced turnover rates in the country (12.9%, 359th).
The Friars head into Saturday winners of their last two despite playing short-handed. Forward Duncan Powell and guard Corey Floyd Jr. missed both games, while freshman Stefan Vaaks, the team’s leader in assists and 3-pointers who is averaging 15.7 points, didn’t play against Xavier on Wednesday. Powell will serve the final of a three-game suspension against Creighton for his actions in the loss to St. John’s on Feb. 14.
Jaylin Sellers, the second-leading scorer in the Big East at 17.7 per game, scored four points on 0-for-7 from the field in 18 minutes in the first meeting with Creighton but has topped 20 points in five of his last six games. Jason Edwards, right behind him at 17.6 points per game, missed the first game but poured in 24 points against Xavier Wednesday with Vaaks out of the lineup.
Creighton will also have to deal with 6-foot-6 freshman Jamier Jones, averaging 12.3 points on a 60.5 true shooting percentage. Sophomore Oswin Erhunmwunse is one of the best rim protectors in the Big East, averaging 2.3 blocks to go with his 8.4 rebounds and 7.5 points per game on 69.2% shooting. Those two combined for 32 points and 24 rebounds in the first game against Creighton.
TNT and TruTV will televise Saturday’s game with Brian Anderson, Grant Hill and Andy Katz on the call. Creighton is promoting Saturday’s game as a White Out. Tipoff is set for 4:30 p.m. CT.
