If this season has taught fans anything about the Creighton basketball team of 2025-26, it’s that the game will go down to the wire, no matter which way it leans in the end.
Creighton has won both of the games that have been decided by one point this season, those two victories coming against Xavier on Jan. 21, 94-93, and most recently, Seton Hall, 69-68.
But for the first time this season, the one-point margin flipped against the Bluejays when they faced off against DePaul on Feb. 11, the last seven seconds deciding the game 72-71 in favor of the Blue Demons.
“[DePaul has] played some good basketball. They’ve lost some close games and unfortunately tonight we were the recipient of them winning a close game,” head coach Greg McDermott said.
The story of the first half was Creighton fighting to surmount an early deficit. With six minutes gone, the Bluejays found themselves down 20-13 before their 3-point offense ignited.
Triples from freshman guard Hudson Greer and sophomore guard Austin Swartz gave Creighton the leverage to push the score to within two, 28-26.
Later in the half, after taking the lead 42-37 thanks in part to two 3-pointers from senior guard Josh Dix, DePaul’s CJ Gunn nailed a buzzer beater triple to take the Blue Demons in the half trailing by just two, 42-40.
The second half saw back-and-forth play that never ceased. Creighton’s lead never reached more than six in the second half, so when the final minute rolled around and just two points separated the two squads, there was no room for error.
Even with the pressure rising, it seemed that Creighton had survived the challenge when the score shone at 71-68 with 2:36 remaining. But when senior guard Nik Graves missed a triple and committed a foul on the next play, DePaul’s Brandon Maclin was put at the line.
Maclin made the first to put the score within two, 71-69. But when Maclin missed the second shot, Creighton couldn’t grab the board, relinquishing the rebound to DePaul and forcing Creighton into another foul, and the chance for the Blue Demons to tie up the game.
A sliver of hope opened when DePaul’s CJ Gunn missed the back end of a pair at the line, allowing Creighton to cling to a 71-70 advantage. But the window didn’t stay open long. On the Bluejays’ next possession, with under a minute to play, Swartz’s jumper came up short, and Maclin secured the rebound to swing momentum back to the Blue Demons.
After 24 seconds and two timeouts to set the stage, DePaul put the ball in Maclin’s hands with 12 seconds remaining. He attacked the lane, slipping just half a step past Dix and finishing at the rim to give DePaul a 72-71 edge.
Graves had one final look from three as the buzzer sounded, but it fell short. When it did, the Blue Demons walked away with a 72-71 win over the Bluejays — their first in the series since 2015.
Creighton dropped to 13-12 on the season and 7-7 in conference play. Now, with the big three — Villanova, UConn and St. John’s — on the near horizon, here are three takeaways from this nailbiting loss on the road:
- Rebounding
It’s incredible how one play can decide the entire game. If Creighton had gotten the rebound with 1:07 remaining on the missed free throw from Maclin, the result of the game could have been entirely different.
With a minute and change on the clock, Maclin made his first free throw, putting the Blue demons within two, 71-69. But when Maclin missed his second attempt, it wasn’t the Bluejays who pulled down the board, but DePaul’s CJ Gunn.
That single missed opportunity for a rebound set up Gunn to be fouled by Greer and have the chance to tie the game at the line with 1:05 remaining. But when he missed the second, the score still sat at 71-70 in favor of the Bluejays with a minute to play.
This might not sound like a consequential play, but taken in context, it was critical. On the following Creighton possession, Swartz missed a jumper and the Blue Demons’ next play won them the game, not tied the game.
That one rebound from Maclin’s shot would have set Creighton up with a one score buffer, preventing the layup from having the game-ending impact it did.
“Obviously, [this was] really disappointing. [We’ve] just got to get a rebound on a free throw and we’re in good shape,” McDermott said.
Aside from the final minute, game-changing missed rebound, the Blue Demons dominated the boards all game, ending with a 30-22 edge. DePaul also owned a 10-5 advantage in offensive rebounds.
- Points in the paint cost them the game, and didn’t help during the rest of the 40 minutes
The Bluejay defense’s inability to snuff out offense in the paint consistently this season has been a self-proclaimed weak point for the program. The battle with DePaul was no exception to that rule.
Over 40 minutes, DePaul claimed ownership over paint points, outscoring the Bluejays 46-12. Not only that, but the Blue Demons’ game-winning shot came, fittingly, in the paint as well.
In those final 12 seconds of the game, Maclin did exactly what had kept DePaul step-in-step with the Bluejays all game — driving into the paint — and it once again paid dividends, even against Dix, Creighton’s most dangerous defender.
Maclin got just a hair ahead of Dix in the lane, allowing for him to evade the Bluejay resistance at the rim and get the game-winning layup.
In the end, that final drive wasn’t a surprise — it was a summary.
DePaul had been driving into the lane all game, so when the game tightened to a single possession, it returned to the very space Creighton had struggled to protect.
- Creighton’s shooters are back
Creighton’s performance in Chicago was far from flawless, but a silver lining proved to be the reemergence of Creighton’s consistent scorers from shooting slumps.
The first was Swartz, who has struggled in the last few games — and didn’t play against Seton Hall because of a foot injury — but found his rhythm at DePaul despite the loss.
In the last two games he played prior to playing the Blue Demons, Swartz totaled 48 minutes and had a combined 12 points. Against UConn, the sophomore went 2-of-5 from the field and had just five points. At Georgetown, the Miami transfer went 3-of-10 from the field and 1-of-6 from the field for just seven points.
But against DePaul, Swartz came out with a bang, posting a team-high 15 points, connecting on all three 3-point attempts and shooting 60% from the field. Seeing Swartz creating plays for himself and his teammates, like he has in his 20 or 30 point performances of games past, was reassuring to see.
The other comeback standout was Dix, who has struggled over the last couple games to generate much offense for himself. This makes sense considering the reality he is facing outside of basketball, but it was encouraging to see the senior guard begin to look like himself offensively against DePaul.
In the three games prior to DePaul, Dix was on the floor for 96 minutes, but couldn’t find his stride. The senior was scoreless against UConn, going 0-of-6 from the field and 0-of-4 from three. It was his first zero-point game all season.
Then, at Georgetown, amid personal struggles, Dix scored nine points, going 4-of-12 from the field and 1-of-6 from beyond the arc.
Returning home to play Seton Hall in the game right before DePaul, Dix had arguably his best performance at CHI Health Center, scoring 16 points on 6-of-14 from the field.
Dix carried that scoring momentum into DePaul, where he scored 13 points on 50% from the field and notched three triples.
Dix’s last two games in double-figures are a good indication that he is reclaiming his stride on the court, in a time where the Bluejays need him the most.
In total, Creighton made 14 3-pointers and finished the game shooting 51.9% from beyond the arc, and 46.9% from the field. And yes the Bluejays lost, but the game also saw the return of some of Creighton’s most critical puzzle pieces return to the scoring column.
Overall, the single point loss to DePaul was certainly disappointing for a Bluejay squad that has faced just about everything this season, but if they can learn from these, they still have a chance to win some games as the regular season comes to a close.