LEXINGTON, KY– Until the final whistle, the Creighton men’s basketball team wasn’t intimidated. It wasn’t about the opponent—it was about Creighton basketball. It was about their identity, their resilience and how they would come together when it mattered most. Up against Auburn, No. 1 team in the nation, in the Round of 32, the Bluejays played with passion and determination, making the Tigers work for every basket.
But despite a gutsy effort, their March Madness run came to an end with an 82-70 loss to the nation’s best, falling just short of an unforgettable season and an appearance in their fourth consecutive Sweet 16 game.
From the opening tip, Creighton matched Auburn’s intensity, raining down triples early in the game to allow them to stay neck-in-neck with the nation’s best.
It was Ryan Kalkbrenner—knocking down a corner three as the shot clock dwindled for Creighton’s first points of the game—who set the tone, igniting a long-range onslaught that defined the Bluejays’ first half.
Steven Ashworth (3-for-4 from deep) and Jackson McAndrew (4-for-5) put on a shooting clinic, combining for seven of Creighton’s nine first-half triples. Each three kept the Bluejays’ upset hopes alive, countering Auburn’s physicality with precision from beyond the arc.
Creighton’s offensive performance from three point land was even more remarkable considering the fact that, throughout the season, the Tigers held opponents to just 34.49% from beyond the arc throughout the game, with only 29% shooting success.
Meanwhile, Creighton casually shot 64.3% from downtown in the first half, 44.4% overall.
Yet, even as Creighton’s three-point shooting percentage continued to climb as the half went on, reaching a blistering 64.3% by the end of the half, the Bluejays still found themselves locked in a deathmatch with the Tigers.
The reason? Every time the Bluejays would extend their lead, which reached four points at its largest in the opening 20 minutes, Auburn would find a way to counter, most consistently in the paint.
By the end of the half, the Tigers dominated the paint, outsourcing the Bluejays 22-8, though they only shot a collective 38.5% from the field. Pair that with a stronghold, 8-1, over offensive rebounds, and the Tigers’ chances of keeping the game close were drastically increased, as evidenced by the score.
Yet, even as the teams traded blows, this was exactly where Creighton Head Coach Greg McDermott wanted the game to be. In the pregame, the Bluejays emphasized the importance of limiting the impact of Auburn’s star players, especially Miles Kelly and Johni Broome.
In the first half, Creighton’s defense delivered exactly as planned—limiting the two key threats to just seven points combined throughout the first half, with Broome shooting just 2-8 from the field and Kelly going 1-7. This defensive effort allowed the Bluejays to narrowly hold onto a slim lead, 37-35 at the break.
McAndrew, with his four triple, paced all scorers with 12 points by halftime, reaching his 69th made three point shot and setting a Creighton single season record for a freshman. Ashworth tacked on 11 for the Bluejays with his own three-point game, while Kalkbrenner had four points and Neal claimed five.
With 13 lead changes and nearly identical time spent in front—Auburn leading for 8:44 and Creighton for 9:39—the first half was a true heavyweight battle, setting the stage for an intense finish.
Unfortunately for the Bluejays, though, what Auburn lacked in offensive efficiency in the first half, they made up for in spades in the second half.
The key juncture of the game came with 12:50 remaining in the game, as the Tigers accumulated their largest lead of the game, 58-50, thanks to a 10-0 run over 1:36 minutes and four successful shot attempts in a row.
With Rupp Arena buzzing with the energy of Auburn fans, driven by their team’s surge in the second half, the Bluejays refused to back down. Unfazed by the moment, they fought relentlessly, showing resilience and determination until the very end.
A late surge seemed to light a fire under Creighton’s offense, as the Bluejays went on a 7-0 run in just over a minute, kicked off by Fedor Zugic, who ended Creighton’s five minute scoring drought with a three.
Creighton trimmed the deficit to six with 1:39 remaining, 74-68, but the momentum they had built in the closing minutes of the game was quickly extinguished by a clutch three-pointer from Auburn’s Denver Jones. The senior’s timely shot sealed the fate of the game, securing the victory for the top-seeded Tigers.
Despite their best efforts, the Bluejays came up just short, but their performance in the face of adversity was something McDermott said he was proud of the team for putting together.
“If you had told me before the game that Kelly was going to have 5 and Broome was going to have 8 and we were going to shoot almost 50% from the field and 45% from the three-point line, I would have probably told you that we would have won,” McDermott said. “Especially the fact that we assisted on 17 out of 25 baskets and held them to only 11 assists on 30 baskets.”
But even in defeat, the Bluejays proved that their identity, resilience and ability to execute under pressure remained intact, making their march through March Madness one to be remembered.
“We lost to an outstanding team. We recognized we were going to have to play a pretty perfect game if we expected to win. While we weren’t perfect, I certainly applaud our effort,” McDermott said. “We came into the game trying to make it tough for Broome and I think we did that. We didn’t want Kelly to get a lot of clean looks, and we were able to accomplish that.”
Though the team’s journey ended in the Round of 32, marking the bittersweet curtain call on the careers of Steven Ashworth, Ryan Kalkbrenner, Jamiya Neal and Sami Osmani, their legacy will be felt for seasons to come. From start to finish, these seniors embodied Creighton basketball—unselfishness, passion, and heart—showing just how far they’ve come and the lasting impact they leave behind.
“They’ve been selfless. They’ve done so much for this program in their own ways, and it’s absolutely been a pleasure to coach this team,” McDermott said. “This has been a great ride that they’ve taken us on. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”