Creighton’s Senior Backcourt Lifts Bluejays to Finale Victory Against Butler
Senior guards Nik Graves and Josh Dix delivered a commanding finish to Creighton’s regular season, with Graves posting 14 points and career‑high marks of 13 assists and six steals while Dix poured in a season‑best 22 to fuel a 76–59 win at Butler. Their poise and production powered the Bluejays to their fourth straight victory inside Hinkle Fieldhouse and secured a 9–11 Big East record, keeping alive the team’s pursuit of a quarterfinal bye in next week’s conference tournament. The win pushed Creighton to 15–16 overall, while Butler slipped to 15–15 as it heads into its finale at DePaul.
Dix paced Creighton with 22 points on 9‑of‑17 shooting, but Butler’s Michael Ajayi was the night’s top scorer with 26 points while also dominating the glass with 13 rebounds. Jasen Green anchored the Bluejays on the boards with nine rebounds, splitting his work between five defensive and four offensive. In the backcourt, Graves orchestrated Creighton’s offense with 13 assists in 35 minutes, while Ajayi again led Butler with three assists across his 39‑minute effort.
Creighton held a slight shooting edge over Butler, hitting 42 percent from the field compared to the Bulldogs’ 41 percent, and the Bluejays’ 36 percent mark from deep proved far more impactful than Butler’s 17 percent from long range. Creighton was also perfect at the line at 10‑for‑10, while Butler went 7‑of‑8. The Bluejays won the turnover battle 9–15 and held a 37–34 advantage on the glass, helping them control the flow of the game for 51 percent of the action. That consistency allowed Creighton to build a commanding 23‑point lead at its peak, while Butler’s largest push topped out at seven.
Even after trailing by four at halftime, Creighton showed the kind of resilience that has defined its late‑season surge, flipping the game with poise, defensive pressure, and a far more efficient second half to pull away for a 17‑point win. The Bluejays tightened their rotations, cleaned up the glass, and found a better offensive rhythm, turning a sluggish opening 20 minutes into a dominant closing stretch that overwhelmed Butler on its home floor. It was the type of response that underscored both their maturity and their momentum, a reminder that even when the start isn’t sharp, this group has the toughness and composure to recalibrate and take control.
Creighton’s win at Butler nudged the Bluejays into a clearer spot in the middle of the Big East pack. They remain in sixth place, 8.5 games behind co-leaders UConn and St. John’s, but importantly just a half‑game back of Seton Hall in the race for improved seeding, and with their hopes for a first‑round bye in next week’s Big East Tournament still mathematically alive.
The victory also gave Creighton a bit of separation from the cluster behind them, with DePaul, Providence, Butler, Xavier, and Marquette all sitting at either eight, ten, or eleven games back in a tightly packed lower half of the standings.
The Bluejays' win came with a long list of meaningful milestones and program markers. Dix logged his 60th career double‑figure scoring game and crossed both 250 career assists and 1,200 career points, while Graves surpassed 100 career steals and delivered one of the most unique stat lines the Big East has seen in decades, becoming the first player in at least 30 years to post 14 points, 13 assists, and six steals in a conference game.
The Bluejays extended their streak of consecutive games with a made three‑pointer to 1,087, and they closed out their 11th straight season with nine or more Big East wins. The victory also completed a second consecutive sweep of Butler, giving Creighton wins in eight of the last nine meetings, and their current five-game streak over the Bulldogs ties the longest in the 34‑game history of the series, which dates back to 1933.
Creighton now shifts into a rare idle weekend as the only Big East team without a game, leaving the Bluejays in wait‑and‑watch mode while the rest of the league finishes its regular‑season slate. Their seeding and whether that coveted quarterfinal bye remains within reach will be determined entirely by results elsewhere before the conference unveils the full Big East Tournament bracket on Saturday night. As for postseason implications, the Jays still have a path to a quarterfinal bye, needing DePaul to lose twice at home this week and Providence to drop at least one of its remaining games.
Once the matchups are announced, Creighton will turn its attention to Madison Square Garden, where the tournament runs March 11–14 and where the Bluejays will look to carry their late‑season momentum onto college basketball’s most iconic stage.
More From Creighton On SI
feed
Stay up to date with the BlueJays by bookmarking Creighton On SI and follow us on Twitter.
Michael is a passionate sports writer who covers Major League Baseball, the NFL, college football, Rutgers University athletics, and Monmouth football. With published work at FanSided, The Rutgers Wire (USA Today), and The League Winners, Michael delivers insightful analysis, in-depth features, and timely coverage that connects fans to the heart of the game. His work highlights key storylines and standout performances across both professional (NFL & MLB) and collegiate sports (Football, Baseball, Basketball, and Wrestling), with a strong focus on New Jersey-based programs.