It is all over. After more than 30 games and four-and-a-half months, the basketball season at Creighton has officially come to a close. The offseason has already begun, and the wait is going to be even more painful for Jays fans.

Because this isn’t the way it was supposed to end.

Last year, the men’s basketball team lost to a star-studded University of North Carolina Tar Heels in the third round of the NCAA Tournament. After getting a taste of the tournament for the first time since 2007, the Jays went unsatisfied. Returning almost the entire rotation, Creighton was hungry for more. Head coach Greg McDermott told the media that a Sweet 16 appearance was the team’s goal for this season.

After a successful 27-win season and a second round tournament win against the University of Cincinnati, the Jays were one win away from accomplishing their goal. All that stood in their way were the Duke University Blue Devils. What promised to be a high-scoring game between two great offensive teams turned out to be anything but.

The tone was set right from the opening tip, but it wasn’t set by either of the two teams. Instead, the game turned into the ref show. Neither team was able to establish any sort of rhythm with the game stopping every time down the court. In total, 56 fouls were called, which averages out to a whistle every 43 seconds. Significant players for both teams were limited by foul trouble throughout the game and each squad had two men foul out. I am not quite sure what that debacle was, but it was not basketball.

But even worse than the lack of rhythm was the complete inability by Creighton to hit an open shot. This was the best shooting team in the country, having finished the regular season first in the NCAA in both field goal and 3-point percentage. This was the most efficient offense in the country. This was the team that featured arguably the best scorer in the country and four other 40-plus percent 3-point shooters around him.

This was the team that shot 16-53 from the field and 2-19 from deep in the 66-50 loss to Duke.

The Jays, who struggled defensively during the season, put forth one of their best defensive performances of the year against the most talented team they played … and still lost. The Jays had every opportunity to accomplish their goals and advance to the Sweet 16, but the ball simply refused to go in the basket.

One gigantic opportunity lost. However, the bitter end does not cancel out what was a tremendously successful season.

The Jays went 28-8 overall, racking up MVC regular season and tournament titles along the way. Five of those wins came against NCAA Tournament teams including two against the Wichita State University Shockers, who are in the Final Four this year. The Jays won a game in the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year.

Creighton finished the regular season first in the country in field goal percentage and 3-point percentage, fourth in assists per game, 21st in free-throw percentage and 24th in scoring.

Junior forward Doug McDermott finished third in the country in scoring at 23.2 points per game while shooting 54.8 percent from the field and 49 percent from 3-point range. He broke the single-season and career records for points at Creighton. He was named MVC Player of the Year for the second straight year and was named a first team All-American by the National Association of Basketball Coaches and the Associated Press among others and is a Finalist for the National Player of the Year.

Senior center Gregory Echenique finished the regular season third in the country in field goal percentage at 65.8 percent, and eclipsed 1000 career points at Creighton in just two-and-a-half seasons. Echenique was named to the MVC All-Defensive team for the third straight year as well as the Honorable Mention All-MVC  team, and has been selected to play in the 2013 Reese’s Division I College All-Star Game, sponsored by the NABC.

Senior guard Grant Gibbs led the MVC in assists per game and assist-to-turnover ratio, was named to the Honorable Mention ALL-MVC team and finished third on the team in scoring.

Junior forward Ethan Wragge was named MVC Sixth Man of the Year while shooting 44.6 percent from 3-point range, while sophomore point guard Austin Chatman was named to the MVC All-Bench team.

But the men aren’t the only ones who had a great season.

The women’s team finished with a record of 26-8 and tied for first in the MVC regular season. The Jays were knocked off in the MVC Tournament by Illinois State University, but a strong nonconference slate in addition to the work they did in the Valley earnd the Jay an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

After making the Dance last season and falling in the first round on a buzzer-beating layup, the Jays knocked off the higher seeded Syracuse University Orange for their first tournament win since 1994.

The Jays fell in the next round to the University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers in Knoxville Tennessee to end their season.

Creighton finished with 302 made 3-pointers on the season, setting a school record and coming three treys short of the MVC record.

Guard Marissa Janning led the Jays in scoring at 13.3 points per game as a true freshman and finished second in the MVC in 3-pointers. She was named to the All-MVC first team and also became the first Bluejay to be named the MVC Freshman of the Year.

Junior forward Sarah Nelson finished first on the team in rebounding at 7.8 per game and blocks with 47 and second on the team in scoring at 11.7 per game and assists with 105. She led the Valley in field goal percentage at 50.3 percent and joined Janning on the All-MVC First team.

Junior guard Carli Tritz, who was named MVC preseason player of the year after a strong sophomore campaign, overcame significant knee problems to play in all 34 games and lead the Jays in assists with 122 and steals with 52.

Five-foot-six senior guard Ally Jensen finished second on the team in made 3-pointers with 72 and third on the team in rebounding at 4.2 per game. Senior guard Jasmin Corbin tore her ACL early in the year and played in only five games, but she was present and active on the bench all year, cheering on her teammates.

Creighton University’s success on and off the court this year and throughout the school’s history did not go unnoticed. On March 20, Creighton announced that it had joined the Big East Conference along with Xavier University an Butler University. Creighton can no longer be called a mid-major.

Although both the men’s and women’s basketball teams’ seasons ended with a loss, that cannot undo all the success they had throughout the year. The future on the court is bright for the Creighton Bluejays. Very bright indeed.