If ever there were a moment that embodied the phrase “it’s not about how you start, but how you finish,” it would be the adrenaline-fueled aftermath of Creighton’s double-overtime thriller in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament—a game that should never have needed extra time, let alone ended in a Bluejay victory.
From dominating DePaul twice in the regular season to barely surviving 50 minutes against a Blue Demon team refusing to go down quietly, this matchup was a stark reminder of just what can happen when the ‘Madness’ begins: top teams are tested, nobody is safe and, above all, every game is a fight to the finish.
But in the storied venue of Madison Square Garden on March 14, it didn’t take long to realize that the heavily favored Bluejays were in for a fight against No. 10 DePaul.It took late-game heroics, multiple clutch plays, 50 grueling minutes and a stroke of luck, but Creighton survived, 85-80, in double overtime.
Yesterday’s hard-fought win highlighted several key points—here are three takeaways heading into tonight’s game.
#1- Resilience was the guiding force keeping them in the game
Creighton has experienced slow starts throughout the season, but rarely have they come close to shooting themselves out of the game.
Finishing the first half shooting just 29.6% (8-27) from the floor and 21.4% (3-14) from beyond the arc, the Bluejays faced a 17-point deficit midway through the opening 20 minutes and entered halftime down 36-21.
However, the second half told a different story. Creighton’s shooting improved to 50% from the field (15-30) and 43.8% from three (7-16), but despite moments of offensive sparks, including key shots from Isaac Traudt, Ryan Kalkbrenner and others, the Bluejays found themselves down by 11 with under two minutes to go in regulation. It seemed like they couldn’t quite flip the script.
But the Bluejays clawed back into the game on the backs of Fedor Zugic and Kalkbrenner against all odds, finding a way, with 22 seconds left, to close the gap to one score, 62-59.
In the midst of this surge, a last-ditch play from one player exemplified the resilience that defined the team throughout the extra periods. The guard had struggled from beyond the arc, failing to make a three-pointer in the first half and only hitting his first with 11:40 remaining.
But when the game was on the line, it was Ashworth with the ball in his hands and a crucial decision to make. With 21.3 seconds left, he knew his night hadn’t been ideal—he was 1-9 from three and 3-16 from the field all night. He understood the risk of missing, but above all, he believed in his ability to help his team, no matter how the game had unfolded up until that point.
And it worked. His deep three-pointer tied the game at 62-62, igniting the rest of the team, who stepped up in double overtime to secure the victory. The comeback wasn’t pretty, and it required believing in the improbable, but in the end, the Bluejays demonstrated a resilience that carried them to victory.
“We don’t really panic in our program,” Creighton Head Coach Greg McDermott said. “We stayed true to who we are. We kept believing, kept fighting.”
This kind of resilience is exactly what Creighton will need as they navigate the rest of the tournament, where overcoming tough stretches and staying composed will be the difference between victory and defeat.
#2- When their name was called, they delivered
A common thread throughout the season has been the Creighton bench’s ability to convert when their team needs them the most. In what was most certainly the most important minutes they have played since becoming Bluejays, freshmen Ty Davis and Fedor Zugic gave Creighton the push that would lead them to a seemingly impossible escape from the Blue Demons.
Zugic’s critical contributions began in crunch time of regulation, with 2:12 showing ominously on a clock and a mountain of a 62-51 deficit to overcome. Pivotal back-to-back three-pointers from the freshman quickly sliced DePaul’s lead in half, giving Creighton a much more manageable 62-57 gap to work with.
The two triples kicked off an 11-0 run that was finished out by a layup with 1:10 left from Ryan Kalkbrenner and a far-reaching three from Ashworth that set up the Bluejays to survive regulation and advance to overtime.
Zugic’s 25 minutes on the floor, double his season average 12.2 minutes per game, were a difference-maker in Creighton’s double overtime success, his 13 points, four rebounds and one steal a momentum-shifter in what was overwhelming a very skewed game in DePaul’s favor.
The impact players of the night, excluding the routine impact performance from Kalkbrenner and clutch shot from Ashworth, proved to be the freshman, including guard Ty Davis.
While the guard has only played 11 minutes, his ability to not only step up after Ashworth fouled out of the game, but also run an effective offense for the entirety of overtime, were invaluable to Creighton’s victory.
As a freshman, it’s easy for the game at a higher level than in high school, to feel very sped up. There is a consistent pattern of freshmen in college programs speeding up the games in their heads, making costly mistakes and still trying to find their footing. While it looked like this exact thing might happen to the freshman after he was subbed in and turned the ball over, giving DePaul a crucial three in the first overtime with a minute to play, the guard made up for it in a big way throughout the final minutes of the matchup.
The freshman demonstrated against the Blue Demons that he was ready to make impact plays and be a driving force for an offense absent of its starting veteran guard.
Davis tallied seven points on the night, coming on a strong drive for a layup in the first overtime, though the bulk of his contribution came from the free throw line. On his first trip to the line in the first overtime, the guard went 1-2, but from there Davis never missed, icing the game on his third trip to the line with nine seconds remaining in double overtime, going 5-6 in free throws overall.
More than just his offensive presence in the final 11 minutes at Madison Square Garden, Davis dished a crucial assist to senior Jamiya Neal on a fast break. With just over a minute left in second overtime, Davis broke away from the defense, barrelling down the court with Blue Demons on his tail. With Neal stride-for-stride with the freshman, Davis made a crucial decision by giving up his own chances at a layup to deliver the pass for Neal, who slammed it home.
It was decisions like these, unselfish plays, ice cold free throws and the ability to see the court slowed down to find the highest percentage shot, that made Davis an impact player in the 50-minute thriller.
#3- How the thriller shapes Creighton’s matchup with UConn
The Big East Tournament offers drama, high stakes and tough competition. The one thing it doesn’t offer? Time to rest. With little time to recover after playing DePaul, Creighton will need to navigate not only fatigue but also the challenge of avoiding another slow start if they hope to keep their tournament run alive. How could these elements affect tonight’s matchup?
- Fatigue Factor: will it affect the Bluejays?
Fifty minutes is a lot of basketball, especially for a team like Creighton which had players who had little to no rest during the entirety of the contest. When you rely on your veterans and cornerstones for execution throughout an entire basketball game, that means staying out whether the game is 40, 45 or even 50 minutes long. This was the case for both Jamiya Neal and Kalkbrenner against the Blue Demons. Neal had no rest during the matchup, save timeouts intermittently, playing the entire 50 minutes. Kalkbrenner played nearly that, serving as a playmaker for 47 minutes of the matchup. With such impactful players fighting for so long, it’s inevitable that their legs won’t be as fresh when they face the Huskies tonight– that’s the nature of the tournament. The key for the Bluejays and McDermott will be balancing both players’ time on the floor, because the last thing that Creighton needs is sloppy basketball on account of fatigue. These players train for moments like this, yes, but knowing how deep of a bench that McDermott has at his disposal, letting Isaac Traudt, Frederick King, Mason Miller and others have their moment to give their veterans a break will be beneficial.
- No Time to Waste: can Creighton avoid a slow start against the Huskies?
If the DePaul matchup taught Creighton anything, it’s that they can’t afford to dig themselves into a hole early and spend the entire game fighting just to stay alive. Missing one or two shots at the beginning of the game, as the nerves wear off and the players settle into the game, is one thing, but going 1-11 again from the floor to begin a contest against a hungry and postseason successful team like the Huskies is a sure way to walk the road of a death sentence. We’ve seen that it’s possible for Creighton to dig itself out of it, but it’s not sustainable, nor is it likely to occur every game. For the Bluejays to have a real shot at taking down the Huskies and advancing to the Big East Finals, they’re going to need to find their offensive rhythm early. That doesn’t mean draining seven threes and shooting over 60% from the field right off the bat (though that would help), but it means establishing Kalkbrenner early, getting the inside-out game started and finding multiple avenues to score. A solid offensive flow from the get-go will be key in setting the tone for a game they can’t afford to play catch-up in
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The Bluejays’ fight and bench depth propelled them through DePaul, but to take down UConn, they’ll need to come out strong and avoid the fatigue that nearly derailed their last game.