The men’s basketball team closed out its Big East Conference schedule going 2-2 in it’s last four games before suffering a close loss to Providence in the first round of the Big East Tournament.

Thanks to the Jay’s overall performance this year, it was revealed on Sunday that they were given an 8-seed in the NCAA Tournament. They will be traveling out to Charlotte, North Carolina on Friday to take on Kansas State in their first-round matchup, starting at 5:50 p.m.

On Feb. 20, the Bluejays went to Indianapolis to take on Butler, where they suffered a 93-70 defeat. A few minutes into the game, the Jays found themselves with a lead; however, things went south from there. The Bulldogs responded with a run of their own that allowed them to grab the lead and never look back, thanks to a blitz of converted opportunities. Butler shot 54.4 percent from the field and went 14-for-26 from the 3-point line.

Freshman guard Mitch Ballock led the team with 15 points in the game, while junior forward Ronnie Harrell had eight points, seven rebounds and three assists.

The Jays came back home to take on then ranked No. 3 Villanova on Feb. 24, which they beat 89-83 in overtime.

Fast pace and high-level execution was key as both teams started out red hot, bringing 15-15 score just more than  four minutes into the game.

The game remained close through much of the second half until Villanova propelled itself from a tied game to go on an 8-0 run, making the score 68-60 with four minutes left. However, the Bluejays had enough left in the tank to come storming back through several 3s, resulting in a 72-72 score with 10 seconds left. Senior guard Marcus Foster had a chance at another game-winner, but it was blocked.

In overtime, the offense continued to flow for both teams before Creighton managed multiple stops in a row, then converting its chances on the other end to jump out in front and take full control of the game. As the game closed in, the Jays had built a lead of up to eight points, insurmountable for Villanova to overcome so late.

Sophomore guard Davion Mintz had 10 points, nine rebounds and six assists, while Foster added 28 points and eight rebounds.

Coming off the big win, Creighton won again against DePaul in its Senior Night game on Feb. 27. The Bluejays seized the lead roughly five minutes in and continued to build on it for the rest of the game, going into halftime up 10 points before putting the game out of question for Blue Demons in the second half.

The Jays shot 51.7 percent and racked up a hefty 20 total assists. They also held DePaul to just 35.5 percent shooting and forced them to commit 15 turnovers.

Junior guard Khyri Thomas had 16 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and five steals. Foster added 20 points, three rebounds, four assists and four steals. 

Creighton had one more regular season game to play at Marquette, which the Jays narrowly lost 85-81 on March 3.

While the Jays had many different contributors on offense and often found good shots, Marquette’s sharpshooting proved too much to stop. Marquette shot 14-25 on 3s during the game, including going 10-12 from deep in the second half. Despite the Golden Eagles often managing to convert their attempts, the Jays were able to force 13 turnovers while only committing four of their own. Foster and Thomas once again lead the team in scoring with 29 and 24 points, respectively.

At the Big East Tournament in New York City, Creighton earned the No. 4 seed in the tournament and were set to play the No. 5 seed Providence. The game went to overtime, but the Bluejays ultimately couldn’t hang on and lost 72-68. 

The first half was one that relied heavily on momentum from both sides. Creighton took an 8-3 lead early into the game, but the Friars responded with a 12-2 run. After Creighton kept the game within reach, they suddenly exploded for their own 11-2 scoring run that gave them a 30-26 lead at halftime in a defensive battle.

While the Jays built up a healthy lead in the second half on various occasions, Providence was able to hang around and close the gap each time. As overtime started, Providence was the first to score and while the Bluejays had an answer for many of the Friars’ baskets, they could never grab the lead in the extra time. The Jays had a chance to tie the score again and the end of overtime, but the 3-point shot fell short.

Davion Mintz had 14 points, six assists and four rebounds and Marcus Foster put together another stat line of 19 points, three assists and five rebounds.