Wednesday, January 21
Omaha, Neb.
6:00 PM
Creighton University
12-8,6-3Big East
94
vs
93
Xavier
11-8,3-5Big East
1
2
F
Xavier
39
54
93
Creighton
42
52
94
Photo by: Sullivan Lawrence
Swartz Hits Game Winner as Men's Hoops Defeats Xavier, 94-93
1/21/2026 9:08:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Jays improve to 12-8.
Omaha, Neb. --Â Austin Swartz turned a missed free throw into a game-winner in the closing second to lift Creighton Men's Basketball to a 94-93 win over Xavier on Wednesday, January 21. The victory pushed Creighton to 12-8 on the season and 6-3 in BIG EAST action, while Xavier dropped to 11-8 overall and 3-5 in conference contests.
Trailing 93-91 with 4.3 seconds on the clock Swartz drew a foul to earn a pair free throws. After the 60 percent shooter knocked down the first, Swartz missed a potential game-tying shot from the charity stripe to the right. Deftly the North Carolina native raced to collect his fifth offensive rebound of the season and elevated to kiss the game-winner off the glass with 0.6 seconds remaining. Following a timeout, Xavier's full-court pass from Roddie Anderson III was deflected without the Musketeers managing to get a shot off.
Creighton and Xavier battled back-and-forth throughout the entire contest as neither team led by more than seven points. That seven point margin came early in the first half as the Bluejays turned a 10-10 contest into 17-10 (10:54) game. The surge was powered by a dunk from Jasen Green, followed by five straight from Swartz.
Xavier responded with five straight, but Creighton held the Musketeers off until Xavier seized the lead at 35-34 with 2:35 remaining. Down 37-36 with under two minutes left, the Jays got back-to-back treys from Hudson Greer to reclaim the advantage (42-37) and took a 42-39 lead into the locker room.
The second half was an offensive showcase to behold, with both teams shooting better than 60 percent and score more than 50 points.Â
Xavier used a three-pointer from Anderson to take an 83-79 with with 5:13 left, and also led by four points 85-81 (with 4:17 left), 87-83 (3:50), 89-85 (3:14) and 93-89 (0:53) as the teams traded baskets. But just as it did in its previous home game win vs. Georgetown, the Bluejays found a way with a comeback you'd have to see to believe.
Blake Harper's layup seconds left sliced the Xavier lead in half to 93-91 with 43.2 seconds left, the only basket of the game for the Creighton sophomore. CU then got a defensive stop and had one last chance with 11.7 seconds left after the rebound was knocked out of bounds.
Following a timeout, Swartz brought the ball upcourt and attacked the glass, where he was fouled with 4.3 left to set up the last-second heroics.
Dix led Creighton with a season-high 19 points, while Nik Graves as well as Austin Swartz finished with 16 points. Also reaching double-digits for the Bluejays were Zugic with 11 points, his first double figure performance of the season, and 10 points from Green. Graves also dished out a career-high nine assists. Creighton shot 54.2 percent for the game, 54.2 percent from three-point range and made 70.8 percent of its free throws. The Bluejay bench outscored its Xavier counterparts, 40-13.
Xavier got a game-high 29 points from Tre Carroll on 12-for-14 shooting to go with 16 points, nine assists and eight rebounds from Filip Borovicanin. Jovan Milicevic and Malik Messina-Moore rounded out the Musketeers in double digits with 15 and 12 points respectively. The Musketeers shot 56.9 percent from the field and made 12-of-24 three-point shots, in addition to winning the rebound battle 30-29.
The Bluejays are back in action on Tuesday, January 27 in a road game at Marquette. The game can be seen on TNT and truTV with an 8:30 tip time.
NOTES: Creighton's Pink Out auction continues through Sunday, with bids being accepted at http://GoCreighton.com/pinkoutauction ... Twenty-six of the 45 all-time meetings between Creighton and Xavier have been within five points in the final minute ... Creighton has swept Xavier for the third time since becoming a member of the BIG EAST in 2013, joining 2019-20 and 2023-24 ... Creighton has won four straight home games against Xavier ... Isaac Traudt surpassed 400 career points and has now made exactly 100 career three-pointers ... Josh Dix has made a three-pointer in 32 straight games ... Creighton is now 11-2 all-time in its ninth BIG EAST game of the season ... Creighton is 17-2 in its last 19 BIG EAST home games ... Creighton is 6-3 or better after nine BIG EAST games for the sixth time in the last seven years ... Creighton has alternated wins and losses in its last seven games ... Creighton is now 334-66 in 400 home games since the start of the 2002-03 season ... Creighton's last team to start 12-8 after 20 games was its 2022-23 team that reached the Elite Eight ... Since the start of the 2020-21 season, Creighton, Xavier and Marquette lead the BIG EAST with 21 wins by three points or fewer ... Creighton has won 25 straight games when shooting 50 percent or better from the three-point line ... Creighton improved to 163-7 all-time at CHI Health Center Omaha when scoring 80 points or more ... Creighton has made five or more three-pointers in 91 straight games ... Austin Swartz is the first Creighton player to hit a go-ahead shot in the final 10 seconds of a win at CHI Health Center Omaha since Marcus Zegarowski's game-winner with 3.2 left vs. Providence on Jan. 18, 2020.
Trailing 93-91 with 4.3 seconds on the clock Swartz drew a foul to earn a pair free throws. After the 60 percent shooter knocked down the first, Swartz missed a potential game-tying shot from the charity stripe to the right. Deftly the North Carolina native raced to collect his fifth offensive rebound of the season and elevated to kiss the game-winner off the glass with 0.6 seconds remaining. Following a timeout, Xavier's full-court pass from Roddie Anderson III was deflected without the Musketeers managing to get a shot off.
Creighton and Xavier battled back-and-forth throughout the entire contest as neither team led by more than seven points. That seven point margin came early in the first half as the Bluejays turned a 10-10 contest into 17-10 (10:54) game. The surge was powered by a dunk from Jasen Green, followed by five straight from Swartz.
Xavier responded with five straight, but Creighton held the Musketeers off until Xavier seized the lead at 35-34 with 2:35 remaining. Down 37-36 with under two minutes left, the Jays got back-to-back treys from Hudson Greer to reclaim the advantage (42-37) and took a 42-39 lead into the locker room.
The second half was an offensive showcase to behold, with both teams shooting better than 60 percent and score more than 50 points.Â
Xavier used a three-pointer from Anderson to take an 83-79 with with 5:13 left, and also led by four points 85-81 (with 4:17 left), 87-83 (3:50), 89-85 (3:14) and 93-89 (0:53) as the teams traded baskets. But just as it did in its previous home game win vs. Georgetown, the Bluejays found a way with a comeback you'd have to see to believe.
Blake Harper's layup seconds left sliced the Xavier lead in half to 93-91 with 43.2 seconds left, the only basket of the game for the Creighton sophomore. CU then got a defensive stop and had one last chance with 11.7 seconds left after the rebound was knocked out of bounds.
Following a timeout, Swartz brought the ball upcourt and attacked the glass, where he was fouled with 4.3 left to set up the last-second heroics.
Dix led Creighton with a season-high 19 points, while Nik Graves as well as Austin Swartz finished with 16 points. Also reaching double-digits for the Bluejays were Zugic with 11 points, his first double figure performance of the season, and 10 points from Green. Graves also dished out a career-high nine assists. Creighton shot 54.2 percent for the game, 54.2 percent from three-point range and made 70.8 percent of its free throws. The Bluejay bench outscored its Xavier counterparts, 40-13.
Xavier got a game-high 29 points from Tre Carroll on 12-for-14 shooting to go with 16 points, nine assists and eight rebounds from Filip Borovicanin. Jovan Milicevic and Malik Messina-Moore rounded out the Musketeers in double digits with 15 and 12 points respectively. The Musketeers shot 56.9 percent from the field and made 12-of-24 three-point shots, in addition to winning the rebound battle 30-29.
The Bluejays are back in action on Tuesday, January 27 in a road game at Marquette. The game can be seen on TNT and truTV with an 8:30 tip time.
NOTES: Creighton's Pink Out auction continues through Sunday, with bids being accepted at http://GoCreighton.com/pinkoutauction ... Twenty-six of the 45 all-time meetings between Creighton and Xavier have been within five points in the final minute ... Creighton has swept Xavier for the third time since becoming a member of the BIG EAST in 2013, joining 2019-20 and 2023-24 ... Creighton has won four straight home games against Xavier ... Isaac Traudt surpassed 400 career points and has now made exactly 100 career three-pointers ... Josh Dix has made a three-pointer in 32 straight games ... Creighton is now 11-2 all-time in its ninth BIG EAST game of the season ... Creighton is 17-2 in its last 19 BIG EAST home games ... Creighton is 6-3 or better after nine BIG EAST games for the sixth time in the last seven years ... Creighton has alternated wins and losses in its last seven games ... Creighton is now 334-66 in 400 home games since the start of the 2002-03 season ... Creighton's last team to start 12-8 after 20 games was its 2022-23 team that reached the Elite Eight ... Since the start of the 2020-21 season, Creighton, Xavier and Marquette lead the BIG EAST with 21 wins by three points or fewer ... Creighton has won 25 straight games when shooting 50 percent or better from the three-point line ... Creighton improved to 163-7 all-time at CHI Health Center Omaha when scoring 80 points or more ... Creighton has made five or more three-pointers in 91 straight games ... Austin Swartz is the first Creighton player to hit a go-ahead shot in the final 10 seconds of a win at CHI Health Center Omaha since Marcus Zegarowski's game-winner with 3.2 left vs. Providence on Jan. 18, 2020.
Team Stats
XU
CU
FG%
.569
.542
3FG%
.500
.542
FT%
.875
.708
RB
30
29
TO
9
9
STL
4
4
Game Leaders
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballCreighton Men's Basketball vs. Xavier Press Conference - 1/20/26
Wednesday, January 21
Creighton Men's Basketball Media Availability - 1/20/26
Tuesday, January 20
Creighton Men's Basketball vs. Georgetown Press Conference - 1/13/26
Tuesday, January 13
Creighton Men's Basketball vs. St. John's Press Conference - 1/10/26
Friday, January 09
