Graves’ Game-Winner Caps Comeback Win for Creighton Men’s Basketball Against Seton Hall

Creighton men’s basketball pulled off its third improbable win at CHI Health Center Omaha in less than four weeks on Saturday, downing Seton Hall 69-68 on a game-winning 3 from Nik Graves in the final seconds.

The Bluejays (13-11, 7-6 Big East) trailed by 10 in the second half and by nine with 90 seconds to play but rallied to snap their three-game losing streak.

“We’ve had some interesting finishes in this building this year, and that one probably, certainly takes the cake,” Coach Greg McDermott said. “It goes without saying it’s been a challenging week for our guys and our program, and I think we really needed to play basketball. I think that’s exactly what Josh [Dix] needed … This was kind of identical to the game in Newark, where we controlled it the whole way and they won it in a goofy fashion at the end. Today, the script was flipped.”

Here are three takeaways from the comeback.

Until the Clock Hits Zero

Things looked to be slipping away from the Jays in the second half after the Pirates rebuffed Creighton’s first comeback attempt. The Bluejays had cut a 10-point deficit to four with six minutes to play thanks to a quick 6-0 spurt, but they didn’t score again for nearly three minutes as the Pirates stretched it back to 10. It would have been easy for the Jays to pack it up at that point, especially considering everything they’ve been through this week with the passing of Josh Dix’s mother, Kelly. They had other plans, however.

“Anytime we’re trailing … it’s easy to just fall apart at that moment, give up,” Graves said. “But I think we’re a bunch of guys that are always going to fight until that clock says zero. Just coming together and fighting together.”

Fedor Žugić drew a foul on a 3-pointer and hit all three free throws to end the drought, but the Pirates answered that possession and Creighton’s next bucket to make it 67-58 with 95 seconds to play.

Žugić, who hit a flurry of 3s late against Georgetown when the Jays’ comeback attempt came up well short on Wednesday, immediately answered with a 3.

Six-point game, 1:21 to play.

Out of a timeout, the Jays got a stop, then Dix got loose for a 3 that circled the rim and popped back out — right into Jasen Green’s hands for the put-back.

Four-point game, 31.4 to play.

Creighton called a timeout to set up its press — to great effect. First, the Bluejays forced Coach Shaheen Holloway to call a timeout to prevent a five-second count, then on the second attempt, the in-bounder stepped over the line to give the ball back to the Jays.

Dix got another look from 3, but that one didn’t go down either. However, the rebound bounced out to Graves, who first tried to fire one up himself but had the ball knocked loose. He recovered it and tossed the ball to Žugić, whose shot from the corner found nothing but the bottom of the net. After the in-bound, Creighton fouled to stop the clock.

One-point game, 17.2 to play.

The Jays sent sophomore Trey Parker to the line. He had made 26 of his 31 attempts on the year heading into the game, 83.9%. Parker sank the first, but with the CHI Health Center rocking, he missed the second, giving the Jays a chance to tie with a 2 or go for the win.

“Everything had to happen perfectly like it did,” McDermott said. “It was very similar to the game there when we imploded. We forced a turnover in the press, we got it back, executed an out-of-bounds play really well, and then we got him to miss a free throw. I think the crowd, the students behind that basket, were huge with that.”

Green secured the board, and without a timeout available, he pitched it to Graves to get Creighton into the set they had discussed during the last stoppage — although it didn’t exactly play out like McDermott drew it up. Here’s the play.

Nik Graves hit the game-winner to come back against Seton Hall 🤯

Creighton made an 11-1 run in the final minutes to come back 69-68. pic.twitter.com/UYQmvQt7bb

— Hurrdat Sports (@HurrdatSports) February 8, 2026

 

“I was supposed to get a handoff, try to get a paint touch, really, and look for anybody coming off screens, stuff like that,” Graves said. “But they ended up blowing it up a little bit, and we got a little scrambled. I saw the shot clock was at six maybe and just sort of instincts kicked in a little bit.”

One-point Creighton lead with 2.5 to play, and Seton Hall didn’t get an answer off in time.

The winner was the only 3 Graves made all day. He had missed his first three attempts, but the fourth was as pure as could be.

“He’s worked on that step back, he’s made a ton of them in practice, and he might shoot those better than he shoots a catch-and-shoot 3-point shot,” McDermott said. “He said he was 0-for-7 on game winners at Charlotte, and today was his first one. So I think we think we had a little help from heaven today.”

Creighton had been tied with Seton Hall in the Big East standings, and in addition to ending the Jays’ skid, the win gave Creighton sole possession of fourth place in the league. More than anything, the Jays haven’t had much to smile about the last few days, and there were plenty beaming faces as the team stormed the court to celebrate with Graves.

“I think it can be a change in momentum for us,” Graves said. “Coach Mac mentioned before that I think tonight we had an angel watching over us. I think just that presence and that togetherness, we’ve been through a lot this past week, so just coming together and being able to win in that fashion, coming back, fighting hard, playing together, I think we can build off of that.”

Superhuman Effort

Dix learned of his mother’s passing via a phone call Wednesday morning in Washington D.C., but he chose to stay and play with his teammates. After spending Thursday with his family, he returned to practice on Friday to get ready for Seton Hall — his first practice of the week after missing Monday and Tuesday with the flu.

When public address announcer Jake Ryan introduced the senior from “C-B, I-A” during starting lineups, the crowd erupted. Then he went out and played over 38 minutes in a Creighton win.

“It’s a lot of fun,” Isaac Traudt said. “That was pretty awesome what just happened there, especially what we went through this week. One of our brothers obviously lost his mom, and that was one of the hardest days of my life, and I can’t imagine what he was going through. For him to still play that game and play today and keep practicing and being with us, I don’t know if I’ve ever respected somebody so much, and to win that game today was absolutely huge for us.”

Dix finished with 16 points, three assists and no turnovers, knocking down four 3-pointers, a mid-range pull-up and a layup. The Bluejays outscored the Pirates by nine with him on the floor.

“He had one of the best games he’s had in this building, and he had the ball in his hands a lot because we had some problems with other guys trying to fight that pressure,” McDermott said. “To play 38 minutes when he was out with the flu Monday, Tuesday, then you take Wednesday’s events and he didn’t practice Thursday, plays 38 minutes, he doesn’t turn it over against that pressure. I mean, come on; that’s superhuman stuff, given what he’s had to go through this week.”

When the final buzzer sounded and the Jays surrounded Graves, they weren’t just celebrating a great play or a big win. That moment was a release after four days of suffering — for Dix and for everyone in the program that cares about him.

“It was hard for all of us because you want to help Josh,” McDermott said. “He was away from his family at a time when he should be with his family, but he was adamant that he stay and play. It’s kind of a helpless feeling. You feel an obligation to someone that’s on your team to help them through anything, and that one’s hard. It’s not going to get easier for Josh. This new normal without Kelly is going to be hard, but basketball is his release. It’s his distraction from everything that’s been going on with her health for the last couple months, and certainly this week.”

After the Georgetown loss, I wrote about how cruel the game of basketball can be, and how players and teams don’t always get what they deserve. On Saturday, the Jays did, and McDermott said he couldn’t have drawn it up any better.

“I know I’m drained emotionally, and I haven’t been on the practice floor,” McDermott said. “I’ve just had a whistle in my mouth; that’s the level of my exertion. But they worked hard all week. They were there for Josh and I couldn’t be happier for them, because they’ve navigated a very difficult time, and we’re still in the middle of it. They’ve navigated it like the true character that they all possess.”

Return to Form for IT

Sophomore guard Austin Swartz has led Creighton in scoring in Big East play, but an ankle tweak suffered against Georgetown sidelined him for Saturday’s game. He wasn’t listed on the availability report submitted to the Big East because the staff expected Swartz to play after sitting out Thursday’s practice and the morning shoot-around, but McDermott said when he showed up to the facility, it “just it didn’t warm up in a way that we were comfortable having him out there.” When Swartz didn’t suit up, it left a big scoring void.

The next man up was Isaac Traudt, who had only played 16 minutes in Creighton’s previous two games combined after McDermott moved him back to the bench. He rejoined the starting lineup and wasted no time making an impact, burying a contested 3 from the left corner as the shot clock expired for Creighton’s first field goal.

“Making the first one always feels great, because then you kind of have a boost of confidence,” Traudt said. “It’s always good to make the first one, and especially late in the shot clock.”

He was just getting started, however. He hit his next two 3s as Seton Hall left him wide open, and on his fourth attempt in front of the Seton Hall bench, Holloway was jumping up and down in fear and frustration right behind him as soon as he touched it. That shot didn’t fall, but he hit his next two (both off baseline in-bounds plays) to tie his career high with five triples in the first eight minutes.

Traudt opened the second half with another corner 3 to set a new career high in triples and tie his career scoring high, finishing with a team-high 18 points on 6-of-10 from deep and six rebounds, one shy of his career high.

“I was feeling good,” he said. “Teammates were finding me in spots, and I had probably more open looks than I was used to, so I was just kind of letting them go and trusting in my shot. My teammates kept giving me the ball, so it was good.”

Traudt had gone just 10-for-33 (30.3%) from 3 in his last nine games. The first of those nine was the loss at Seton Hall, in which he went 0-for-7. The cold stretch had dropped him to 32.7% from 3 in Big East play.

That’s not who Traudt us. The 6-foot-10 forward shot 36.4% in Big East play as a redshirt freshman and 40.4% last season. A positive regression seemed likely, and it hit in a big way against the Pirates.

“I’m really proud of Isaac,” McDermott said. “He’s stuck with himself, his teammates have stuck with him, obviously. I moved him to scout team in preparation for the UConn game so he could play [Alex] Karaban, so he could fly off screens letting it rip in practice and trying to get some mojo back. It was good to see the basketball go in for him tonight.

“He’s a wonderful young man, he’s as good a teammate as you’ll find, and good things should happen to good people like that.”