Creighton men’s basketball was eliminated from the College Basketball Crown semifinals on April 4 after an 87-70 loss to West Virginia at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The defeat concluded Creighton’s season with a record of 16-18 and marked the end of Greg McDermott’s tenure as head coach, who leaves as the program’s all-time winningest coach with a record of 366-189 over sixteen seasons.
The game saw West Virginia take control early, scoring the first eight points before Creighton responded. Despite narrowing the deficit to one possession in the first half, Creighton trailed at halftime, with West Virginia leading 43-37 after outscoring them in paint points and shooting efficiently from the floor. Hudson Greer led Creighton off the bench in scoring during the opening period, while Josh Dix contributed ten points.
In the second half, Dix scored quickly for Creighton but West Virginia extended its lead through key plays by Brenen Lorient and Harlan Obioha. Although Creighton mounted an 8-0 run midway through the half to reduce their deficit, three-pointers by Treysen Eaglestaff and Honor Huff for West Virginia re-established a double-digit margin that proved insurmountable.
West Virginia was led by DJ Thomas with twenty points off the bench and Chance Moore added thirteen rebounds. For Creighton, Jasen Green achieved his first career double-double with fourteen points and twelve rebounds. Dix finished as top scorer for Creighton with eighteen points followed by Greer’s fifteen.
With this win, West Virginia advanced to face Oklahoma in Sunday’s title game after Oklahoma defeated Baylor earlier that day. The match also set several milestones: it was noted as being played on April 4—the latest calendar date ever for a Creighton game—and extended streaks such as consecutive games making at least one three-pointer (1,090) and five or more threes (105). This contest also marked only their third meeting since their series began in 1932.
