Men's Hoops Meets West Virginia in Semifinals of College Basketball Crown

College Basketball Crown - Semifinals
Game #34: Creighton Bluejays (16-17) vs. West Virginia Mountaineers (19-14)
Saturday, April 4, 2026 • 3:00 p.m. CST • Las Vegas, Nev. • T-Mobile Arena
| LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO | LIVE STATS | CU NOTES |

• Creighton (16-17) meets West Virginia (19-14) on Saturday, April 4th at 3:00 p.m. Central in the semifinals of the College Basketball Crown. The game will take place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nev.

• With a win on Saturday, Creighton would advance to Saturday's 4:30 p.m. Central final against either Oklahoma or Baylor, which would air on FOX.

• Gus Johnson, Jim Jackson and Kristina Pink will call the telecast on FOX. A live stream of the contest can also be viewed at http://foxsports.com/live.
KOZN (1620 AM), KOOO (101.9 FM) and KMTY (97.7 FM) will carry Saturday's game. John Bishop and Connor Happer will call the action. The audio is webcast at 1620thezone.com.
Live stats for the game can be found at http://creighton.statbroadcast.com.

• Creighton is 1-1 all-time against West Virginia. The Bluejays won in Morgantown, 27-26, on Feb. 2, 1932.
The rematch didn't come until 73 years later on March 17, 2005, when WVU beat Creighton 63-61 in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament in Cleveland, Ohio.
Greg McDermott, who has faced 226 different schools in his 32 years as a head coach, has never squared off against West Virginia nor against Ross Hodge.

• With a win on Saturday, Creighton would even its overall record to 17-17.
Creighton would also win back-to-back games for the first time since four straight triumphs from Dec. 17-30.
Creighton would improve to 2-1 all-time against West Viginia with its first win over WVU since 1932.
Creighton would improve to 23-23 on FOX since joining the BIG EAST in 2013, snapping a six-game losing skid on the network.

• Saturday's game will take place on April 4th, marking the latest game on the Creighton Basketball calendar in program history.
Thursday's win over Rutgers was Creighton's first ever in the month of April in two tries.

• West Virginia's head coach last season, Darian DeVries (now the Indiana head coach) served on the Creighton Basketball staff as a graduate assistant (1998-2001) and assistant coach (2001-18).

• Creighton and West Virginia own four common opponents this season: Xavier, Iowa State, Kansas State and Baylor.
Creighton beat Xavier twice but lost to Iowa State, Kansas State and Baylor.
WVU split two games against Kansas State and lost once each to Xavier, Iowa State and Baylor.

• Creighton trailed 24-14 early in Thursday's eventual win over Rutgers. It was the fourth time CU has overcome a double-digit deficit this season in a victory, having also done it at Villanova and at home against both Georgetown and Seton Hall. The only other seasons under Greg McDermott with four or more comeback wins after trailing by 10 points or more came in 2011-12 (5 times) and 2021-22 (4 times).
Creighton has now overcome a 10+ point deficit 34 times under McDermott, with 16 of those away from home.
Creighton's largest deficit in a win under Greg McDermott came on Nov. 19, 2014 against then-No. 18 Oklahoma. The Jays were down 18 points in that win.

• Greg McDermott (Northern Iowa, 1988) owns a 366-188 record in his 16th season with the Bluejays. He owns a career mark of 646-383 in his 32nd season, and is 515-319 in 25 Division I campaigns.
The all-time winningest coach in Creighton men's basketball history, McDermott announced on March 23rd his decision to retire from his position as head coach of the Creighton men's basketball program following the team's final game in the College Basketball Crown tournament.
At that time, Alan Huss, who returned to his alma mater last April as associate head coach and head coach in waiting, will take over as head coach of the Bluejay program.
During his time at Creighton McDermott led the Bluejays to 14 seasons of 20-plus wins and 12 NCAA Tournament wins in 10 NCAA Tournament trips, including one Elite Eight (2022-23) and three Sweet 16 appearances (2020-21, 2022-23, 2023-24). Creighton has 21 victories in 14 postseason trips overall under McDermott, taking two teams to the NIT quarterfinals and one to the CBI final. That doesn't take into account the 2019-2020 season, when Creighton won a share of its lone BIG EAST title to date and was ranked seventh nationally before the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the NCAA Tournament.
In addition to the 2019-20 BIG EAST regular-season title, Creighton also won the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season crown in 2012-13 as well as the Valley Tournament title in both 2012 and 2013.
McDermott helped transition Creighton from the Missouri Valley Conference to the BIG EAST in 2013. His 147 league victories rank sixth in the storied history of the BIG EAST, trailing only Naismith Hall of Fame inductees Jim Boeheim, Jim Calhoun, Jay Wright, John Thompson and Rick Pitino.
Creighton has produced three NBA First Round picks (Doug McDermott, Justin Patton, Baylor Scheierman) and three NBA Second Round picks (Khyri Thomas, Marcus Zegarowski, Ryan Kalkbrenner) during his tenure. His son, Doug McDermott, was a three-time First Team All-American and was named National Player of the Year following the 2013-14 season as he finished with 3,150 career points, to rank fifth in NCAA history at the time.
Creighton has been a fixture in the Top 25 under McDermott, spending 121 weeks in the Associated Press rankings. His teams have produced 43 Top-25 victories, with 17 Top-10 wins, including triumphs over No. 1 Connecticut and No. 1 Kansas in 2024.
McDermott's impact hasn't been limited to on-court success. He was recognized after the 2017-18 season with the NABC's Coaches vs. Cancer Champions Award, a testament to his work in the community and with the program's annual Pink Out game. Held each January, Creighton's Pink Out game has raised over $1 million to benefit Hope Lodge and support the ongoing fight against cancer.
Additionally, 35 of 37 seniors who completed their eligibility requirements over the past 12 years have earned their undergraduate degree, with 26 going on to play professionally and four others attending graduate school.
The on-campus home to Creighton men's basketball was renamed from The Championship Center to The McDermott Center in 2024.
Creighton plans to honor Coach McDermott for his contributions to the men's basketball program with the hanging of a banner at CHI Health Center Omaha during a halftime ceremony at a yet-to-be-determined game during the 2026-27 season.

McDermott's Accomplishments
Over the last 16 seasons, Greg McDermott has transformed Creighton from a strong mid-major to a BIG EAST power.
Here's some of his biggest accomplishments....
- 366 wins (CU MBB record)
- 147 BIG EAST wins (CU MBB record; 6th league history)
- 10 NCAA Tournament trips (CU MBB record)
- 12-10 NCAA Tournament record (CU MBB record)
- 3 Sweet 16's (2020-21, 2022-23, 2023-24)
- 1 Elite Eight (2022-23)
- 121 weeks in AP poll (CU MBB record)
- 43 Top 25 wins (CU MBB record)
- 17 Top 10 wins (CU MBB record)
- 14 seasons of 20+ wins (CU MBB record)
- 14 Postseason trips (CU MBB record)
- 21 Postseason wins (CU MBB record)
- 6 NBA Draft Picks (3 First Round, 3 Second Round)
- 2 MVC Tournament titles (2011-12, 2012-13)
- 1 MVC regular-season title (2012-13)
- 1 BIG EAST regular-season title (2019-20)
- 1 National Player of the Year (Doug McDermott)
- Over $1 million raised for Hope Lodge

• Greg McDermott's coaching tree includes 12 men (not counting Alan Huss) who are currently a head coach at the Division I level, including three men at Power 5 schools.
Through games of April 1st, McDermott's 12 former assistant coaches (not counting Huss) who are currently Division I head coaches have accounted for more than 1,900 victories, and a better than .600 winning percentage. Here's a list:
Darian DeVries - Indiana
Kyle Green - Northern Iowa
Eric Henderson - Drake
Ben Jacobson - Utah State
Steve Lutz - Oklahoma State
Ryan Miller - Murray State
TJ Otzelberger - Iowa State
Bryan Petersen - South Dakota State
David Richman - North Dakota State
Daniyal Robinson - North Texas
Paul Sather - North Dakota
Patrick Sellers - Central Connecticut State

• Not counting the 2019-20 season when the postseason was canceled due to COVID-19 (Creighton was ranked No. 7 nationally in the final poll), Creighton is one of 11 schools to have made the postseason each of the last 10 seasons (including 2025-26).
That list consists of Michigan State (37), Kansas (36), Gonzaga (28), Saint Mary's (17), Baylor (14), Villanova (13), Alabama (11), Purdue (11), Creighton (10), Houston (10) and Florida (10).

• This week is Creighton's 11th trip ever to Las Vegas, the seventh since 2012, and fourth in the last four seasons. That doesn't count a 2023 game against UNLV in nearby Henderson, Nev. The Bluejays are 12-9 all-time in Las Vegas, and 8-7 under Greg McDermott.

• For the season, 1,627 of Creighton's 2,425 points have been scored by newcomers, an astounding 67.09 percent. By comparison, newcomers on last year's team accounted for only 36.6 percent of CU's points.

• Reaching the semifinal of the College Basketball Crown might be a good sign for the future. Only three of the 16 teams in the 2025 College Basketball Crown ascended to the 2026 NCAA Tournament (Villanova, UCF, Nebraska), but all three of those teams made the semifinals of the event (along with Boise State).

• Josh Dix has made four or more three-pointers in each of his last four games. Creighton's only other players under Greg McDermott to make four or more trifectas in four straight games are Ethan Wragge (5 straight from Nov. 29-Dec. 17, 2013), Doug McDermott (4 straight from March 1-13, 2014) and Mitch Ballock (4 straight from Dec. 31, 2018 to Jan. 13, 2019). Three of those four men were at MGM Grand Garden Arena on Thursday.

• Nik Graves is 17-for-56 from the field over the last five games, but he's found other ways to be productive.
The senior guard has made 44-of-48 foul shots in that time while also dishing 36 assists against just 10 turnovers.
He's Creighton's only player in the last 20 years to make six or more free throws in five straight games.
Graves also owns 32 assists and just six turnovers over the past four games. The only other Creighton players to do that in the last 20 years are Grant Gibbs (Nov. 28-Dec. 9, 2012) and Antoine Young (March 15-28, 2011).

• Nik Graves went 12-for-13 at the line in Thursday's win over Rutgers. He's now made exactly 400 career free throws in 505 attempts (79.2 percent), including a team-leading 111 makes this season at CU.

• Nik Graves scored 25 of his season-high 28 points after halftime in Thursday's win over Rutgers.
Graves is the first Bluejay to score at least 20 points in a half since Steven Ashworth had 21 in the first half of a March 8, 2025 win vs. Butler, and the first with 25 points or more in a half since Ryan Kalkbrenner had 29 points vs. UTRGV on Nov. 6, 2024.

• Nik Graves became Creighton's first player in 20 years with at least 28 points, 8 assists and 5 assits in a game.
No Bluejay had owned at least 25 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds in the same game since Jamiya Neal had 29 points, 12 rebounds and six assists in Creighton's first NCAA Tournament game a year ago, a March 20, 2025 win over No. 10 Louisville.
Like Neal, Graves also wears No. 5.

Men's Hoops Meets West Virginia in Semifinals of College Basketball Crown

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Players Mentioned

Steven Ashworth

Josh Dix

Nik Graves

Ryan Kalkbrenner

Jamiya Neal