Featured Testimonial About Creighton University
By Jon Nyatawa
The 2024-25 Creighton basketball season just started, and history is already being made.
Coach Greg McDermott earned his 327th career win as Creighton’s head coach on Sunday, Nov. 10, against Fairleigh Dickinson, tying Dana Altman’s school record.
McDermott will become the program’s all-time winningest coach with his next victory — the Jays play Houston Christian on Wednesday, Nov. 13, and Kansas City on Saturday, Nov. 16.
It’s an achievement that further cements McDermott’s Creighton legacy.
Under his leadership, the Jays have reached the NCAA tournament’s Sweet 16 in three of the last four years, including an Elite Eight run in 2023. Creighton won a BIG EAST championship in 2020. Hired in 2010, McDermott also led the Jays to a Missouri Valley Conference regular season title and MVC two tournament championships. Creighton named its practice facility after the McDermott family in June.
He’s not done yet, but with another milestone near, it’s an ideal time to appreciate some of the best moments in McDermott’s 14-plus years at Creighton. So, we made a list! And we’ll forgo a traditional countdown reveal style to get to the good stuff right away. Enjoy!
The Top 25 wins
1. The Seton Hall game in 2020
This top 15 showdown had it all. Passion, stakes, excitement, big shots, a full arena chanting "C-U, C-U, C-U" in the final moments. The Jays closed on a monumental 30-10 run to secure a 77-60 victory and clinch a share of their first-ever BIG EAST regular season title. The fans stormed the court. Players cut down the nets. A championship banner was revealed in the rafters. It was a program-defining moment in so many ways.
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2. Reaching the Elite Eight in 2023
Creighton earned an 86-75 Sweet 16 victory over No. 15 seed Princeton and advanced to its first Elite Eight in the sport’s modern era (the only other appearance came in 1941, when only eight teams made the NCAA tournament). "We've taken a step that nobody that's ever worn a Creighton uniform has taken," McDermott said after the game. "That's really special stuff."
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3. Taking down No. 1 UConn in 2024
For the first time in program history, the Jays defeated the top-ranked team in the country. Creighton controlled most of the game to beat UConn 85-66. The fans and the team celebrated accordingly. McDermott said afterward that it was a “historic game for our program” that represented a “culmination of a lot of work by a lot of people over a long period of time.”
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4. The Wragge Bomb game in 2014
A performance that likely will never be replicated. Creighton made its first nine 3-pointers of the game at Villanova. Nine. Consecutive. Triples. Ethan Wragge hit seven of them, several of which he launched well beyond the arc. The 96-68 victory helped raise Creighton’s national profile and solidified its potential as an annual BIG EAST title contender.
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5. Senior night in 2014
Doug McDermott stole the show, as he often did during his senior year. But this game, he was at a different level. The eventual National Player of the Year scored 45 points and dazzled an arena-record crowd in the 88-73 victory over Providence — and he nailed an unforgettable 3-pointer at the top of the key to surpass 3,000 career points.
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6. Defeating Ohio to reach the Sweet 16 in 2021
After so many near-misses, devastating defeats and would-have-could-have-should-haves, the Jays FINALLY earned a well-deserved trip to the NCAA tournament’s second weekend. Sweet 16! It was the program’s first since 1974. Creighton took down Ohio 72-58 to get it done.
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7. Beating Wichita State to clinch the 2013 MVC title
It was the final game of the regular season between two intense league rivals, and the winner got to celebrate a Missouri Valley Conference championship. Plus, to add to the drama, the Jays were leaving for the BIG EAST after the season. Creighton, led by 41 points from Doug McDermott, earned a 91-79 victory in front of a rowdy home crowd.
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8. Beating Wichita State again in the 2013 MVC tournament
One week after Creighton beat Wichita State for the regular season title, the Jays won the rematch in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament championship game. A layup by Jahenns Manigat with 11 seconds left helped Creighton hold off the Shockers 68-65 and clinch a second-consecutive NCAA tournament berth.
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9. The convincing win over Wisconsin in 2016
The return to the big stage for the Jays. Creighton’s high-flying collection of new-era stars, including freshman phenom Justin Patton, caught the nation’s attention with a thrilling 79-67 home win over No. 9 Wisconsin. It marked Creighton’s first win over a nonconference opponent ranked in the top 10 since 1973.
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10. The first BIG EAST game in 2013
What a way to ring in the New Year. The Jays extinguished any short-term concerns about making the transition to major-conference basketball by pouncing all over Marquette in a 67-49 win. Creighton never trailed in front of the home fans, who got to start their New Year’s Eve celebrations by enjoying a statement win.
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11. Winning at San Diego State in 2011
Speaking of a statement win ... Greg McDermott and his team gained considerable credibility by doing what many teams could not: beating San Diego State on its home floor. The Jays had to overcome a 17-point deficit to do it in this early season battle, but they ultimately secured an 85-83 victory and offered glimpses of their enormous potential in the process.
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12. Knocking off Baylor to reach the 2023 Sweet 16
A little redemption, perhaps. It was Baylor that eliminated Creighton from the 2014 NCAA tournament. This time, the Jays took home a milestone victory. Point guard Ryan Nembhard led the way with 30 points, and the team combined to set a school record by making all 22 of its free-throw attempts in an 85-76 win.
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13. Outlasting Oregon in the 2024 NCAA tournament
A marathon for the right to advance to the Sweet 16. Creighton found a way to win it, knocking off the Ducks 86-73 in double overtime. The Jays erased a four-point deficit in the final 30 seconds of regulation to stay alive before eventually pulling away with a 15-2 surge in the second overtime. Said McDermott: "Epic game. Not sure I've been part of one quite like it."
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14. Clinching an NCAA tournament berth in 2012
The first NCAA bid for Greg McDermott at Creighton. And the program’s first in five years. It wasn’t easy. Illinois State used a layup in the closing seconds of regulation to force overtime, but the Jays responded to earn an 83-79 win in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament title game.
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15. An OT win over Villanova in 2018
Creighton saved its best performance of the season for the best team on its schedule. The Jays, led by 52 combined points from Marcus Foster and Khyri Thomas, went toe-to-toe with the eventual national champions. Their 89-83 win marked the first time Creighton had ever defeated a top 3 team.
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16. The 2017 BIG EAST tournament semifinal
A semifinal showdown in the World’s Most Famous Arena ended with a memorable game-winning shot. Xavier seemed to have all the momentum after tying the game with 15 seconds left. But on the ensuing possession, Marcus Foster nailed a pullup 3-pointer to seal a 75-72 win and advance Creighton into the BIG EAST tournament title game.
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17. A court storm in 2012
Remember the BracketBusters?! This one, nationally televised on ESPN2, featured two NCAA tournament hopefuls, Creighton and Long Beach State. And it ended up being a thriller. Antoine Young made a jumper with 0.3 seconds left to give the Jays an 81-79 victory and bolster their NCAA resume.
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18. The CBI win over Davidson in 2011
The origins of Creighton’s space-and-pace system and “Let It Fly” mantra can be traced to this game. McDermott’s told this story many times before. At the end of his first year, the Jays had extra practices to prepare for the postseason. So, they experimented with a new philosophy on offense. And it stuck. Creighton beat Davidson 102-92 and laid the foundation for the innovative system that would define its program for years to come.
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19. Snapping a nine-game losing streak in 2015
The Jays were in a major slump, dropping nine in a row (including several by close margins). Yet they found a way to battle and beat St. John’s for a 77-74 win. One thing that’s always stuck with McDermott in the years since: the fans’ support that night. McDermott said this after the game: “If there’s a team that starts 0-8 in conference play and they start at 8 o’clock on a Wednesday night, that arena’s going to resemble a ghost town. Not here.”
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20. The second-ever Pink Out game in 2012
The annual Pink Out game made its debut a year earlier, but tradition really cemented itself during Greg McDermott’s second season. The Jays wore white jerseys with pink trim and bright pink sneakers in front of 18,111 fans. Creighton won 75-58 over Bradley. The Pink Out game, ever meaningful and emotional for the program and community, has become a must-see event ever since.
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21. Erasing an 18-point deficit against Oklahoma in 2014
The Sooners were the highest-ranked nonconference team to play Creighton in Omaha in 13 years. It was a marquee game, especially for November. And the Jays (eventually) took advantage. They used a 24-4 run over six second-half minutes to secure the second-largest comeback in the history of their home arena.
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22. The triple overtime win at Seton Hall in 2024
The only other time in program history that Creighton played a three-overtime game was in 1978 (an 85-82 loss to DePaul). The Jays won this one. Trey Alexander delivered a couple clutch shots late, and Ryan Kalkbrenner nearly finished with a triple-double (28 points, nine rebounds and seven blocks).
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23. An OT win over San Diego State in the 2022 NCAA tournament
Creighton scored the final nine points of regulation to force overtime and ultimately prevailed with a 72-69 win in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Several players contributed in key moments, but it was Trey Alexander who put the Jays ahead for good with a momentous 3-point play with one minute left. The win set the stage for the next year’s memorable NCAA run.
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24. The epic comeback at Seton Hall in 2021
There were 10 minutes left, and Creighton trailed 68-52. But the Jays — notably Mitch Ballock and Marcus Zegarowski — suddenly caught fire from long range (a timely switch to a zone defense helped, too). The Jays scored 14 of the game’s final 16 points, earned the stunning 85-81 win and showcased the grit and resiliency that ultimately defined the season.
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25. The first one
On Nov. 12, 2010, Greg McDermott officially made his debut as Creighton’s head coach. The Jays went on an 11-0 run early in the second half to take control in a 71-57 win against Alabama State. Just over 14 years (and 326 more wins) later, McDermott’s still at Creighton, making history.
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Honorable mentions:
- All of the down-to-the-wire first-round NCAA tournament wins not yet mentioned: Alabama in 2012, Cincinnati in 2013, UC Santa Barbara in 2021 and NC State in 2023.
- Dominating top-seeded Providence in the 2022 BIG EAST tournament. The Jays won by 27 points. Twenty-seven!
- The 2020 home win over Providence that featured Marcus Zegarowski’s game-winning 3-pointer and helped spark a title run.
- The 2016 upset over No. 4 Xavier. Maurice Watson scored 32 points that day and kept Creighton in the NCAA tournament hunt.
- All the one-sided victories against rival Nebraska, but especially the 2013 game. The Jays are 11-3 against the Huskers under McDermott.
- The 2014 nail-biting win over St. John’s, highlighted by Doug McDermott’s late triple. Creighton went undefeated at home that season.
- Evansville at home in 2012. It was an overtime win three days after a classic victory over Long Beach State.
Did we forget an important win? Should the rankings be adjusted? Do you have any fun memories of these games? Send your thoughts to jonnyatawa@creighton.edu and you may be included in a future feature story.
