Heading into Wednesday, only one team in the country had ventured into Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Conn., and emerged victorious — No. 4 Arizona. The exclusive club now has two members as Creighton men’s basketball took down No. 5 UConn 91-84.
That UConn team that Arizona beat 71-67 way back on Nov. 19 was not the same one the Bluejays faced Wednesday night. Coach Dan Hurley was without two key starters in that first home loss as Tarris Reed Jr. and Braylon Mullins watched from the bench. Those two combined for 40 points against Creighton, but the Bluejays still found a way to pull off their best win of the season.
Here are three takeaways from the upset.
Against All Odds
Creighton opened in some places as a 17.5-point underdog, and the line closed at plus-15.5. That was the biggest spread Creighton has faced since closing as a 17.5-point underdog to Tulsa in January of 1996.
KenPom projected a 15-point Husky win as the Bluejays entered the game ranked 79th, the program’s lowest mark since very early in the 2015-16 season.
It was $2 beer night in Gampel, as well as jersey retirement night for UConn great Emeka Okafor. The last time the two teams played, the Huskies outclassed the Bluejays over the last 25 minutes en route to a 27-point win.
Creighton had lost five of its last six, with Nik Graves’ game-winner against Seton Hall the only thing interrupting that streak of defeats.
While UConn had flirted with danger in a few recent home games, the Huskies always found a way to end up on top. Their only loss since that Arizona game came at Madison Square Garden against St. John’s.
There was nothing about this matchup on paper that indicated Creighton had a chance. Yet somehow, the Jays found a way.
“I’ve been doing this a long time, and I’m not sure I’ve been as proud of the team as I am tonight,” Coach Greg McDermott said. “We’ve got a lot of great wins in my 16 years at Creighton but given what this team has gone through the last few weeks, to come in here and defeat a team that we respect so much in UConn, on their floor, is pretty special, and our guys were incredibly connected. We were able to take a lot of waves of shot-making by UConn and Mullins in particular and kept on fighting.”
Even when Creighton traded blows early and spent most of the first half in front, most fans were likely sitting in front of their TVs waiting for the other shoe to drop — just like it did in the first meeting when the Bluejays had the game tied at 27-all late in the first half before UConn hit them with several knockout blows without a response.
Wednesday was different. Creighton dictated the pace and controlled the action through the game. Every time UConn put together a run, the Bluejays had an answer.
Creighton had defeated a top-10 team in each of the previous 10 seasons (and a top-25 team in each of the past 12). Through 26 games, all signs pointed to this Bluejay team snapping that streak.
However, despite their 13-13 record and 7-8 mark in Big East play, Josh Dix said the Bluejays continued to believe in each other and in the vision the coaches had for them. In a season where hardly anything seems to have gone right, everything clicked on Wednesday, and the top-10-win streak continues.
“Coming in here and beating a top-five team on the road, that’s the ultimate confidence booster for your team,” Josh Dix said. “I feel like we haven’t played as well as we should have the whole year, and this shows what we’re capable of.”
Wednesday was the first time Creighton won as a double-digit underdog since Feb. 1, 2022. The opponent that day? UConn — another of McDermott’s 10 career wins over Hurley (the most by any coach who’s faced the two-time champion).
Rising to the Occasion
Wednesday was a total team effort, and every Bluejay that set foot on the floor made at least one or two plays that contributed to the victory.
But three players stood out above the rest and produced new Creighton career highs.
The first is Fedor Žugić, who made his first collegiate start. During his pregame radio interview, McDermott cited defensive reasons for the decision as he looked to match up with UConn’s high-powered perimeter attack. It was his offense that set the tone, however.
The 6-foot-6 Montenegrin guard put his head down and attacked the rim at every opportunity, scoring nine of his career-high 14 points in the first half while shooting 3-for-4 on layups and 3-for-4 on free throws. He added another bucket inside and three more free throws in the second half, logging a career-high 31 minutes.
Graves was terrific as well, hitting timely 3s and living in the lane. He set a new Creighton career high with 18 points on 7-of-14 from the field (2-of-5 from 3) and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line while dishing out five assists with just one turnover in 35 minutes, tying his season high.
The star of the day for Creighton was none other than Dix, though. He topped the 20-point threshold for the first time in a Creighton uniform, finishing with 21 points on 6-of-10 from the field, including 3-of-4 from 3, and 6-of-6 from the foul line. It’s been a season of frustration for the sharp-shooter who has seen a lid on the rim for much of the campaign, but that lid certainly came off on Wednesday (perhaps thanks to Dix’s driving two-handed slam midway through the first half).
“It felt good,” Dix said of his jumper. “I’ve been working on it. Obviously, I haven’t shot the ball as good as I wanted this year, but my teammates and coaches continue to give me confidence every day, and they put me in good positions to keep shooting.”
Aside from the scoring and the typical tough defensive assignments, Dix also made a big impact on the glass, corralling eight rebounds, all on the defensive end of the floor. He played a big part in Creighton winning the rebounding battle 41-35 and holding UConn to a 17.8% offensive rebounding rate (roughly half its season average).
Creighton put up 45 points in the first half despite only shooting 3-of-9 from 3 by going 9-for-14 on layups and dunks and 10-for-14 on free throws. The focus going in was to push the pace at every opportunity and generate as many paint touches as possible before the defense could get set, and the trio of Žugić, Graves and Dix led that charge to keep the Creighton offense grooving until the 3s started to fall (7-for-12 in the second half).
“Our pace was incredible, and that’s been our area of focus the last couple days in practice is just touch the paint, touch the paint, touch the paint and watch what happens,” McDermott said. “We were able to create some opportunities by doing that, and Fedor really did a great job getting downhill. Obviously, Nik and Josh played at a high level as well.”
Creighton scored 30 points in the paint (on 15-of-31 shooting), 30 points from the 3-point line (on 10-of-21) and 27 points from the charity stripe (on 32 attempts) in a well-balanced offensive attack (with Dix and Graves each chipping in a middy from outside the lane to complete the scoring).
Closing Time, Answering the Call
While the three veteran guards shouldered the offensive load for most of the game, the man who carried the Bluejays home almost didn’t play at all.
Blake Harper had a rough outing against Villanova on Saturday, logging just 13 minutes and scoring two points on 1-for-4 shooting. What followed was an “interesting and eventful” week in practice, to hear Harper tell it.
On Wednesday, McDermott removed Harper from the starting lineup — and from the rotation entirely for much of the game, citing concern about his ability to defend UConn’s guards within Hurley’s offense featuring complex actions, constant movement and numerous screens.
Harper sat and watched from the bench for the first 32 minutes, but after freshman Hudson Greer tweaked his ankle, McDermott called Harper’s number at the 8:08 mark to spell starter Isaac Traudt at the four.
He didn’t leave the floor again until after the handshakes, scoring 12 points in the last eight minutes to help seal the victory.
“I’m really proud of Blake … He was terrific,” McDermott said. “Both ends of the floor, he was terrific. I’m not sure Blake Harper from a month or six weeks ago was mature enough to handle what happened tonight, but I think tonight was a great sign of growth for him.”
Harper agreed with his coach’s assessment.
“It was a good little mental battle for me, but I feel like I used it definitely to grow,” the sophomore said. “Take me back to October, I don’t think I could have done this, and I just want to thank the coaching staff — [Alan] Huss, Mac, Trey [Zeigler] — for still believing in me. I’m young, I’m still learning, but I love my coaches through thick and thin …
“This week was interesting. I definitely got tried, and I tried them for sure. But it’s family. I love them, they love me, and it’s unconditional, too. I love my coaches. I love everybody in the program.”
A couple minutes into his stint, Graves threw a skip pass to Harper in the corner, and he confidently let it fly for a triple. A couple minutes later, Harper bailed out the offense with a turnaround mid-range jumper released just before the shot clock buzzer.
His biggest bucket came with 90 seconds to play, however. Silas Demary Jr. had just scored inside to pull the Huskies within seven, but the Bluejays pushed off the make, with Dix advancing the ball to Harper in the corner. He jab-stepped his man then reset his feet and fired away just eight seconds into the possession, burying the shot in front of his bench to push the lead to 10 — enough to withstand a late rally from the Huskies.
BLAKE. HARPER. #GoJays // 📺 TNT pic.twitter.com/gvdIHgl3A2
— Creighton Men’s Basketball (@BluejayMBB) February 19, 2026
“I had a little bit of confidence under my belt,” Harper said. “I’m just glad Josh made a good pass to me, he found me in the corner and that’s like routine to us two.”
Harper added four free throws down the stretch. He hit every shot he took from the field and the line to score his 12 points in eight minutes (surpassing his point total from the previous three games combined) and carry the Bluejays home.
“We just continue to believe … We continue to believe in each other,” Dix said. “Blake, he didn’t play for the first, like, 20 minutes of the game, but he came in and played great. I feel like that’s just the definition of our team, guys like that. Blake, super unselfish, and when his number was called, he made big plays.”
