A Big East battle turned shooting deadlock defined the No. 13 Creighton Bluejays’ 99-98 loss to the 14-7 Butler Bulldogs in a regulation game. 

On Feb. 2, after returning to Omaha in front of yet another sell-out crowd of 17,874, Creighton and Butler battled for the edge in a back-and-forth battle, where the Bluejays found themselves one point shy as the buzzer sounded.

But the matchup was not just the first time since 2011 that both teams in a college basketball game scored more than 95 points in regulation. The Bluejays and Bulldogs also both shot an incredible first half, unlike anything Creighton had faced so far. 

“Hats off to Butler,” head coach Greg McDermott said. “They did to us what no other team has been able to do all season long… So in some ways we got beat at our own game.”

Off to a blazing start were the Bluejays, as the roster rallied for a 61.3% shooting percentage from the field in the first half. But the poise with which Butler continued to make their own shots wouldn’t allow for Creighton to pull away.

With just under 17 minutes in the half, senior guard Steven Ashworth banked his first of two three pointers in the first half to give the Bluejays their first lead of the night after a similarly hot start for the Bulldogs. 

Going shot for shot, a timeout from Creighton boasted incredible stats for both benches. The Bluejays totaled 53% from the field with just under 11 minutes in the half. On the other side of the court, Butler held in with insanely accurate shooting with their own 50% three-point shot making. 

“They hit a few tough ones for sure, [with] guys in their face,” fifth-year senior Baylor Scheierman said. “And then they did a good job of running their actions with chase and, a couple times we had switch, and we didn’t get out there on the switch and they knocked [the three] down.”

Coming out of the timeout, Ashworth drilled his second three pointer to give the Bluejays a 25-23 over the visitors, but the Bulldogs could not be contained from behind the arc. Ashworth’s three pointer was equalized on the next possession by a Butler three to put the Bulldogs back on top 26-25.

Just one play later, Scheierman got whistled for traveling. The lost possession gave way for a three to rain down from beyond the arc for the Bulldogs, but a triple from Scheierman on the following play tied the game back up 28-28 with just under nine minutes in the half. 

But the end of the half saw a glimpse of Creighton supremacy from the field, as the Bluejays elevated their intensity to gain their largest lead of the night with two minutes and change left in the half. A high-powered drive from fifth-year senior guard Scheierman put him at the free throw line, where he nailed two free throws to put Creighton up 44-37. 

The Bluejays kept climbing as the half drew near but with under 40 seconds remaining, the Bulldogs clawed their way back into the game, putting an exclamation point on their shooting surge with a 40-foot buzzer-beater to end the half in a four-point deficit 49-45.

At the half, the Bluejays shot an incredible 61.3% from the field, tallying a 41.7% three-point percentage. Scheierman led the roster at the half with 17 points and junior guard Trey Alexander posted 13 points. 

But despite such strong shooting stats, the Bluejays were unable to separate themselves from their Big East opponents due to Butler boasting a 57.1% three-point shooting percentage. 

As the second half gained momentum so did both teams, as the shooting percentages remained high and the back-and-forth battles continued in what seemed like an unceasing deadlock.

Butler picked up momentum faster as the second half began, tallying a 62.5% success rate from the field, while Creighton only connected on 48.4% of their shots. Racing up and down the court with a fervor and matching each shot, Butler and Creighton rallied down the stretch, neither team leading by more than five points in the second half.

“We changed up some ball screen coverages at times, and [moved] our matchups all over the place to try to slow down their roll,” McDermott said.

In the final stretch, it seemed unclear which team would come out on top. With less than a minute remaining in the game, a missed free throw from Butler set up one of the final offensive possessions for the Bluejays with less than 30 seconds remaining. 

Set up from beyond the arc, a miss from Alexander to tie the game was rebounded by senior center Ryan Kalkbrenner in the paint. The seven-foot senior sent the ball outside once more for a second chance opportunity. But missing the second shot, a lucky bounce put the ball in the Bluejays’ hands under the basket with 12.2 second remaining. 

Fouled directly following the inbound on the following play, Butler put Kalkbrenner at the line for two free throws. After one free throw and then the next fell for the senior, the Bluejays got in formation for a last-ditch effort to defend the inbound pass to gain one last offensive possession.

With the game on the line and just 11 seconds on the clock, Butler attempted to inbound the ball when senior forward Francisco Farabello executed a heads-up play. The senior knocked the ball off a Butler players’ knee and out of bounds. Creighton regained control off the basketball with 10 seconds left.

‘[Fara]bello’s huge for us,” Ashworth said. “He’s always the guy that we can rely on to bring a spark, to bring a change of energy, and to bring that juice for us. He’s an everyday guy and to be able to be in those moments and pressure the ball and give us two opportunities, that was something we needed in those moments.” 

But not even two seconds later, a turnover from Alexander, as he dribbled it off his foot, gave Butler possession with 8.3 seconds remaining. 

And just like the entirety of the game’s back and forth nature, the ball switched hands two more times before Alexander stepped up to the free throw line with 5.8 seconds, with the chance to bring the game within one. Two made free throws later and the Bluejays stood just one point behind 99-98. 

Poised and ready once again for a second Butler inbound, a physical play from the Bluejays earned a jump ball with 0.5 seconds left in the matchup. From the right sideline, the final play unfolded as if in slow motion. Lined up on the right sideline, Alexander called the play and the Bluejays were in motion. 

Twisting under the Butler defense, Kalkbrenner attempted to find his way to the rim for the lob, leaping into the air as the ball sailed towards the hoop. But the lob fell short, and the buzzer sounded over a heartbroken CHI Health Center, as the Bluejays fell to the Butler Bulldogs 99-98.

Leading the Bluejays was Ashworth and Scheierman, who each posted 26 points in the matchup, while Alexander and Kalkbrenner dished 22 and 20 points, respectively. Creighton shot a collective 54.8% from the field.

Despite outperforming the Bulldogs in rebounding, second-chance points and made free throws, the Bulldogs still edged out the No. 13 Bluejays in a heartbreaking fashion.

“I mean you look at the stats sheet and, in some ways, it’s hard to believe we lost,” McDermott said. “We made double the free throws they did, outrebounded them by ten, shot 55% on our home floor. If you told me [all] that going in, I would tell you we were going to win handily. But their shot-making was elite.”

The last-minute regulation loss dropped the Bluejays to 16-6 on the season and No. 19 in the AP poll, with a 7-4 conference record. Bidding farewell to CHI Health Center and Omaha, the Bluejays will face two road matchups against Providence and Xavier. Tipoff on Feb. 7 at Providence is set for 7:30 p.m.