MGM GRAND GARDEN ARENA (LAS VEGAS) — With 7:23 remaining in a game that felt more and more like a foregone conclusion, a fan behind the Creighton bench held up a sign for all to see. On a white background and written in blue letters, the message was equal parts clear and concise: “THANK YOU Coach Mac!!!”
The sign, of course, referred to Bluejays head coach Greg McDermott, who won his 366th game for Creighton on Thursday night by pulling away from Rutgers, 82-69, in the quarterfinals of the College Basketball Crown. Last month, the 61-year-old McDermott announced his intention to retire at the end of this year, calling it quits on an exceptional career that included 10 NCAA Tournament appearances with the Bluejays and 14 seasons featuring at least 20 victories.
For now, though, McDermott’s legendary run continues thanks to a second-half surge against the Scarlet Knights. His team will move on to face West Virginia in the semifinals on Saturday.
Here are my takeaways from Day 2 of the College Basketball Crown:
1. Creighton comes to life in the second half to prolong Greg McDermott’s tenure
Creighton head coach Greg McDermott looks on during the 2026 College Basketball Crown. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
Because of when the College Basketball Crown takes place each year — roughly three weeks removed from the end of most conference tournaments — there is an element of strategy involved when it comes to preparation. Some coaches have chosen to afford their players extra time off following a grueling five-month season. Others have preferred to parlay whatever momentum their programs might have into additional practices that can play an important role in player development. There is no universal, or universally accepted, approach.
How and when Creighton might prepare for this year’s event was draped with an extra layer of uncertainty once McDermott shared his decision to retire at the campaign’s end. That meant it was fair to wonder about the Bluejays’ collective level of focus given the impending transition from McDermott, who has been at the helm since 2010, to associate head coach Alan Huss, previously named the coach in waiting.
“Obviously, there’s a little emotion involved,” McDermott said during the postgame news conference in response to my question about what the last few weeks have been like. “Last practice in the facility back home and all that. But like I told the guys when we decided to do this, ‘We’re going to have fun with this.’ We did a lot of workouts, we had a few practices, we wanted them to enjoy this experience. We’re gonna be around for the weekend now — at least for a couple more days — so we’re going to have fun together.”
And they certainly had fun after halftime on Thursday night, exploding for 51 second-half points and shooting a sizzling 61.5% from the floor. Everything, it seemed, ran through the hands of point guard Nik Graves, who poured in a season-high 28 points and also dished out eight assists. Graves had 25 of those points in the second half, which underscores just how much of an influence he had down the stretch, repeatedly irritating Rutgers’ defenders with pump fakes that drew fouls.
Now, the Bluejays have an opportunity to win back-to-back games for the first time since late December — and perhaps send McDermott out with a championship.
[CBB CROWN: 4 Takeaways From Day 1]
2. Proficient freshman class provides Steve Pikiell a robust basis at Rutgers
Jamichael Davis and Dylan Grant of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights attempt to steal the ball from Nik Graves of Creighton. (Photograph by Mitchell Layton/Getty Photographs)
In contrast to the 2 freshman phenoms who have been clearly one-and-done prospects from the second they stepped foot on Rutgers’ campus final season — guard Dylan Harper and ahead Ace Bailey, the Nos. 2 and 5 picks within the 2025 NBA Draft — the Scarlet Knights have a set of rookies that ought to develop fairly properly within the years to return.
The backcourt trio of Harun Zrno (6.6 factors per sport), Lino Mark (5.6 factors per sport) and Kaden Powers (6.1 factors per sport) all made a minimum of 28 appearances this yr and averaged a minimum of 15.7 minutes of taking part in time per outing. Collectively, they need to enter subsequent season as one of many extra promising younger cores within the Big Ten — assuming head coach Steve Pikiell can maintain them collectively as soon as the switch portal opens subsequent week.
“We now have a brand new administration and a brand new president, and our assets have modified,” Pikiell stated throughout the postgame information convention in response to my query about retaining his roster collectively. “I am wanting ahead to lots of these guys returning. We will add some items for certain, going within the portal. However I believe it was a priceless expertise this yr for these guys that logged lots of minutes. They received higher because the yr went on with every little thing. I am very hopeful on this new period that good issues are going to occur for us and we’ll have the ability to compete available in the market.”
Although the Scarlet Knights have been finally upended by Creighton on Thursday evening, working out of fuel within the second half after main by as many as 10 within the early phases, the freshmen provided one more glimpse of their collective potential. Mark chipped in 14 factors and 7 rebounds, pacing the offense at instances along with his velocity and explosiveness within the open court docket. Powers scored six factors and snagged three rebounds, flashing a snug mid-range pull-up that adopted a fast first step. Zrno, who didn’t play till the second half, scored three factors in restricted motion.
The most important problem going through Pikiell and his employees between now and the tip of the month may very well be retaining these three gamers from getting into the switch portal. Rutgers will want them to keep away from a fourth consecutive dropping season subsequent winter.
3. Ebuka Okorie wants extra assist if he returns to Stanford
Ebuka Okorie of the Stanford Cardinal drives to the basket over DJ Thomas of West Virginia. (Photograph by Mitchell Layton/Getty Photographs)
There have been so many possessions on Thursday evening when Stanford level guard Ebuka Okorie, the ACC’s main scorer at 22.8 factors per sport, searched and probed and hunted for openings on the offensive finish. He maneuvered round screens on the high of the important thing, gave the ball up simply to get it again seconds later and labored tirelessly off the ball to create separation from whichever West Virginia defender was hounding him on that specific possession.
In some respects, nothing in regards to the nature of Okorie’s effort was uncommon. He arrived on the School Basketball Crown as Stanford’s solely wholesome participant averaging greater than 11.1 factors per sport and owned the Thirteenth-highest utilization fee within the nation amongst freshmen this season, according to Torvik. His collegiate résumé already included seven 30-point video games and first-team All-ACC honors for a program that completed 20-12 general and 9-9 within the convention.
Within the 82-77 additional time loss to West Virginia, he scored a game-high 34 factors and dished out 5 assists on an evening when no different teammate topped 12 factors.
“Ebuka is an unimaginable participant,” West Virginia head coach Ross Hodge instructed me after the sport. “He’s every little thing we thought he was going to be. We did every little thing we may to maintain the ball out of his palms, and he nonetheless had 34 factors.”
Whether or not Okorie will return to Stanford for an additional yr has been a well-liked matter of dialog in faculty basketball circles. He may select to enter the NBA Draft, the place he initiatives as a second-round choose given his comparatively slender body (6-foot-2, 185 kilos). He may select to discover his choices within the switch portal, the place different power-conference faculties would definitely throw seven-figure presents Okorie’s approach. However a supply near the Cardinal believes Okorie will both stay at Stanford or flip professional.
Ought to head coach Kyle Smith and his employees be lucky sufficient to retain Okorie, they’ll must encompass the budding star with extra scoring punch than what Stanford had this season. A highschool recruiting class that ranks No. 16 nationally represents a superb begin. The Cardinal have already signed 4 gamers rated among the many high 165 nationally, according to 247Sports, together with four-star ahead Aziz Olajuwon, the No. 62 general prospect. Olajuwon selected Stanford over Houston, Vanderbilt and Cincinnati, amongst others.
4. The way forward for West Virginia’s program hasn’t arrived but
West Virginia head coach Ross Hodge appears on within the second half of the 2026 School Basketball Crown. (Photograph by Mitchell Layton/Getty Photographs)
One of many largest statistical disparities between West Virginia and Stanford getting into Thursday’s sport got here in a class most followers wouldn’t usually contemplate: maturity. The Mountaineers have been the second-oldest workforce in faculty basketball this season, according to KenPom, with 2.86 years of Division I expertise per participant. The Cardinal rank simply 268th in that very same class with just one.07 years of Division I expertise per participant.
For first-year head coach Ross Hodge, previously of North Texas, the group he dropped at Las Vegas this week included six seniors and one fifth-year senior — that means there might be vital roster churn for the Mountaineers within the coming weeks, particularly as soon as the switch portal opens on April 7. The workforce that Hodge places on the ground subsequent fall goes to look markedly completely different than the one which completed the common season 18-13 general and 9-9 within the Large 12, unable to win consecutive video games after Jan. 21.
No matter what Hodge accomplishes within the switch portal, the participant to look at is incoming freshman level guard Miles Sadler, a five-star prospect and the No. 23 general participant within the 2026 recruiting cycle. Sadler dedicated to the Mountaineers over Tennessee and Oklahoma, amongst others, and immediately grew to become the highest-rated signee in program historical past, according to 247Sports. If Sadler lives as much as expectations, then Hodge could have an elite ground normal to construct round as West Virginia chases its first NCAA Match berth since 2023 and first March Insanity victory since 2021.
“Once we put this workforce collectively,” Hodge instructed me after the sport, “once we began hitting the portal, we needed to recruit guys that had been a part of successful and beloved basketball and beloved one another. If that’s sort of your make-up, and you actually love basketball and you’re keen on being round different individuals, then you’ve got a capability to remain collectively by actually robust instances. This group has embodied that and actually set a normal for future groups in this system.”
4½. What’s subsequent?
Listed here are just a few storylines to look at forward of the semifinals:
Oklahoma vs. Baylor (Saturday) — One did it the simple approach, one did it the arduous approach. Oklahoma trailed an undermanned Colorado workforce by double digits early and wanted additional time to lastly eliminate the upset-minded Buffaloes, leaning on a robust defensive effort to succeed in the semifinals. Baylor, in the meantime, coasted by its quarterfinal sport towards Minnesota because of balanced scoring from every member of the Bears’ main trio: Tounde Yessoufou (19 factors), Obi Agbim (17 factors) and Cameron Carr (15 factors).
West Virginia vs. Creighton (Saturday) — Over the course of McDermott’s extremely profitable tenure at Creighton, his groups have ranked among the many high 35 in offensive effectivity 10 instances. And whereas this yr’s group hasn’t fairly reached that threshold — the Bluejays entered The Crown ranked 73rd nationally — no one would dare query this system’s prowess at that finish of the court docket. Such a pedigree units the stage for a captivating semifinal conflict with West Virginia, whose protection ranks seventeenth in general effectivity after beating Stanford on Thursday evening.
