Tuesday, December 30
Omaha, Neb.
8:00 PM
Creighton University
9-5,3-0Big East
89
vs
85
Butler
10-4,1-2Big East
1
2
F
Butler
35
50
85
Creighton
44
45
89
Isaac Traudt
Photo by: Joel Deman
Men's Hoops Fends Off Late Butler Charge to Earn 89-85 Win
12/30/2025 10:39:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Jays now 3-0 in BIG EAST play.
OMAHA, Neb. -- Staked to a double-digit advantage in the opening moments of the game, Creighton Men's Basketball held off charge after charge from visiting Butler to earn an 89-85 win on Tuesday, Dec. 30. The victory pushed the Bluejays to 9-5 on the season and 3-0 in BIG EAST action, while Butler fell to 10-4 overall and 1-2 in conference contests.
A steep launch by the Bluejays set Creighton up with a 12-2 edge just four minutes in. Butler dropped in the first bucket of the contest, while Creighton connected of five of its first seven shots to deliver a 12-0 run, capped by three pointers from Austin Swartz and Josh Dix as well as a driving layup from Dix.
As the game moved into the middle of the opening half, Butler clawed back within five at 19-14 (11:43) to draw a Bluejay timeout from Creighton head coach Greg McDermott. Following some motivational words, the Bluejays responded with a 10-4 run to claim a 29-18 edge (9:10). This surge was powered by a pair of treys from Isaac Traudt. Over the next four minutes the Bulldogs imposed their will on the offensive glass to go on a 10-0 run, pulling withing one point at 29-28 (5:36).Â
Creighton refused to surrender the lead as Swartz and Traudt combined for a trio of trifectas to help the Bluejays reclaim a double-digit edge at 44-33 (1:27) and hold a 44-35 lead at halftime. The Bluejays dominated the long range game in the first 20 minutes, hitting eight shots from beyond the arc, while Butler connected just twice. Butler, however, remained within striking distance with 12 offensive rebounds and nine second chance points.
The Bulldogs physicality and tenacity on the glass helped Butler chip away through the first 10 minutes of the second half, drawing as close as three at 59-56 (11:51) and again at 65-62 (8:53). Each time Bluejay transfer Nik Graves answered with a trey, the second time converting a four-point play.
Creighton pushed their edge back out to double-digits at 82-71 with 3:14 remaining, holding off one final charge (four Bulldog treys in the final two minutes) to claim the victory.
Jasen Green led Creighton with career-highs of 23 points and five assists, hitting six critical free throws down the stretch. Swartz and Traudt closed the game with 22 and 16 points respectively, and Graves closed the game with 11 points. Creighton shot 49.2 percent for the game and made 13-of-32 three-pointers. The Jays also owned a 12-5 lead in fast break points.
Butler got a season-high 20 points from SMU transfer Yohan Traore as well as 16 points from Michael Ajayi and Jamie Kaiser Jr. to guide the Bulldogs. Ajayi also grabbed 13 rebounds for his nation-leading 12th double-double, but fouled out with just under five minutes left. The Bulldogs shot 41.3 percent from the field (31-75), 30.8 percent from deep (8-26) and won the rebound battle 42-35. The Bulldog bench scored 35 points.
The Bluejays return to the court on Sunday, Jan. 4 as Creighton travels to Newark, N.J., to face Seton Hall. The contest is slated to begin at 11:00 a.m. (CT) on Peacock.
NOTES: Creighton now owns a BIG EAST record +66 point differential through three league games, the best mark in league history ... After just one performance of 20+ points in Creighton's first 13 games, both Jasen Green (23) and Austin Swartz (22) scored more than 20 points on Tuesday night ... Creighton has made 89 three-pointers in its last seven games ... Josh Dix made a three-pointer in his 26th straight game and Creighton made a three-pointer for the 1,070th game in a row ... Creighton has made five or more three-pointers in 85 straight games ... Creighton has won a league-leading 25 games in a row when scoring 85 points or more ... Creighton's only other 3-0 start to BIG EAST play came in 2013-14, when the Jays won their first five league contests ... Creighton improved to 161-7 when scoring 80+ points all-time at CHI Health Center Omaha ... Greg McDermott now owns 141 career wins in BIG EAST play, tied with Rick Pitino for fifth-most in league history ... Blake Harper finished the game with 750 career points ... Creighton is 15-1 in its last 16 BIG EAST home games ... Creighton has won a season-best four straight games ... Creighton is 7-1 in its last eight meetings vs. Butler ... Creighton improved to 2-0 in head coach challenges this season ... Butler's only lead of the game came at 2-0 before CU followed with a 12-0 run.
A steep launch by the Bluejays set Creighton up with a 12-2 edge just four minutes in. Butler dropped in the first bucket of the contest, while Creighton connected of five of its first seven shots to deliver a 12-0 run, capped by three pointers from Austin Swartz and Josh Dix as well as a driving layup from Dix.
As the game moved into the middle of the opening half, Butler clawed back within five at 19-14 (11:43) to draw a Bluejay timeout from Creighton head coach Greg McDermott. Following some motivational words, the Bluejays responded with a 10-4 run to claim a 29-18 edge (9:10). This surge was powered by a pair of treys from Isaac Traudt. Over the next four minutes the Bulldogs imposed their will on the offensive glass to go on a 10-0 run, pulling withing one point at 29-28 (5:36).Â
Creighton refused to surrender the lead as Swartz and Traudt combined for a trio of trifectas to help the Bluejays reclaim a double-digit edge at 44-33 (1:27) and hold a 44-35 lead at halftime. The Bluejays dominated the long range game in the first 20 minutes, hitting eight shots from beyond the arc, while Butler connected just twice. Butler, however, remained within striking distance with 12 offensive rebounds and nine second chance points.
The Bulldogs physicality and tenacity on the glass helped Butler chip away through the first 10 minutes of the second half, drawing as close as three at 59-56 (11:51) and again at 65-62 (8:53). Each time Bluejay transfer Nik Graves answered with a trey, the second time converting a four-point play.
Creighton pushed their edge back out to double-digits at 82-71 with 3:14 remaining, holding off one final charge (four Bulldog treys in the final two minutes) to claim the victory.
Jasen Green led Creighton with career-highs of 23 points and five assists, hitting six critical free throws down the stretch. Swartz and Traudt closed the game with 22 and 16 points respectively, and Graves closed the game with 11 points. Creighton shot 49.2 percent for the game and made 13-of-32 three-pointers. The Jays also owned a 12-5 lead in fast break points.
Butler got a season-high 20 points from SMU transfer Yohan Traore as well as 16 points from Michael Ajayi and Jamie Kaiser Jr. to guide the Bulldogs. Ajayi also grabbed 13 rebounds for his nation-leading 12th double-double, but fouled out with just under five minutes left. The Bulldogs shot 41.3 percent from the field (31-75), 30.8 percent from deep (8-26) and won the rebound battle 42-35. The Bulldog bench scored 35 points.
The Bluejays return to the court on Sunday, Jan. 4 as Creighton travels to Newark, N.J., to face Seton Hall. The contest is slated to begin at 11:00 a.m. (CT) on Peacock.
NOTES: Creighton now owns a BIG EAST record +66 point differential through three league games, the best mark in league history ... After just one performance of 20+ points in Creighton's first 13 games, both Jasen Green (23) and Austin Swartz (22) scored more than 20 points on Tuesday night ... Creighton has made 89 three-pointers in its last seven games ... Josh Dix made a three-pointer in his 26th straight game and Creighton made a three-pointer for the 1,070th game in a row ... Creighton has made five or more three-pointers in 85 straight games ... Creighton has won a league-leading 25 games in a row when scoring 85 points or more ... Creighton's only other 3-0 start to BIG EAST play came in 2013-14, when the Jays won their first five league contests ... Creighton improved to 161-7 when scoring 80+ points all-time at CHI Health Center Omaha ... Greg McDermott now owns 141 career wins in BIG EAST play, tied with Rick Pitino for fifth-most in league history ... Blake Harper finished the game with 750 career points ... Creighton is 15-1 in its last 16 BIG EAST home games ... Creighton has won a season-best four straight games ... Creighton is 7-1 in its last eight meetings vs. Butler ... Creighton improved to 2-0 in head coach challenges this season ... Butler's only lead of the game came at 2-0 before CU followed with a 12-0 run.
Team Stats
Butler
CU
FG%
.413
.492
3FG%
.308
.406
FT%
.789
.933
RB
42
35
TO
10
12
STL
7
4
Game Leaders
Pts
23
FGM
8
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Pts
22
FGM
8
3FGM
5
FTM
1
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
5
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
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