How to Watch Nebraska Basketball vs. Creighton with Preview, Breakdown, TV Channel

The Nebraska men's basketball team has joined elite company within its own program history.

Despite a sloppy, come-from-behind 72-63 win over South Carolina Upstate last Saturday, the Huskers managed to seal victory on a day that they didn't bring their best game to the court — a skill that can pay dividends deep in the season. From a broad view, NU's 8-0 record is nearly fifty years in the making, as it represents the team's best start to a season since the 1977-78 campaign in which Nebraska finished 22-8 with a second-round defeat in the NIT.

Aspirations are much higher in 2025-26, but with the calendar moving to early December, it's the annual time of year when most Nebraskans put away their Husker football gear and instead turn to their apparel of choice: Nebraska or Creighton. The 59th edition of the NU-CU rivalry gets underway on Sunday afternoon, and for the first time in recent memory, the Huskers appear to be the favorite on paper. But that hasn't been the end-all in the last few seasons, especially with the fact that Nebraska will attempt to beat the Bluejays in Lincoln for the first time since 2018.

Here's all you need to know as Nebraska takes on Creighton in Sunday's sold-out rivalry showdown.

How to Follow Along

Matchup: Nebraska (8-0, 0-0 B1G) vs. Creighton (5-3, 0-0 BIG EAST)
When: Sunday, Dec. 2
Where: Pinnacle Bank Arena, Lincoln, Neb.
Time: 4 p.m. CST
Watch: FS1
Listen: Huskers Radio Network and Affiliates

Creighton Scout

Head Coach

Greg McDermott | 16th season at Creighton; 32nd as HC.
355-174 (.671) at CU; 635-369 (.632) Career Record.
13x NCAA Tournament Apps., 1x Elite Eight, 1x Sweet 16, 1x CBI Runner-Up.
1x BIG EAST Regular Season title (2020), 3x MVC Tournament titles, 1x MVC Regular Season title, 1x NSIC regular season title.
1x BIG EAST Coach OTY (2020), 1x NSIC Coach OTY (2000).
Previous head coach at Iowa State, Northern Iowa, North Dakota State and Wayne State | Previous assistant at North Dakota.

2024 Finish

L, 70-82 to #4 Auburn in the NCAA Tournament Round of 32.

2024 Record & Awards

25-11 (15-5 BIG EAST, 2nd)
1x All-Americans, Naismith Defensive Player OTY, NABC Defensive Player OTY, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award.
BIG EAST Defensive Player OTY | All-BIG EAST: 1x First Team, 1x Second Team, 1x All-Freshman.

All-Time Series

Creighton leads 30-28 (Nov. 22, 2024, last matchup, 74-63 NU)

Creighton forward Jasen Green is one of four double-digit scorers for the Bluejays in starting four of his seven appearances. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Key Returners

Jasen Green | F | Jr. | Omaha native, who's one of four double-digit scorers for CU this season with 10.3 PPG while grabbing 3.9 rebounds.
Jackson McAndrew | F | Soph. | BIG EAST All-Freshman team last season and was taking on a big role as a starter before suffering a season-ending injury last month.
Isaac Traudt | F | Jr. | A Grand Island native who transferred from Virginia, CU's sharpshooter has gone 13-for-31 from three so far this season.
Fedor Žugić | G | Jr. | Reserve guard that's filling a similar role this season with 3.5 PPG while seeing the floor for 11 minutes per contest.

Key Departures

Ryan Kalkbrenner | C | NBA Draft | One of the best players in Creighton history, the Missouri native was the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year last season.
Steven Ashworth | G | Graduated | The transfer from Utah State was an All-BIG EAST point guard for the Bluejays in his final two seasons.
Pop Isaacs | G | Transfer | Totaled 16.3 PPG in eight games for CU before undergoing hip surgery to end his season in December; now at Texas A&M.
Jamiya Neal | G/F | Graduated | Arizona State transfer who averaged 12.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game in his lone season in Omaha.
Fredrick King | C | Transfer | Reserve center that averaged six minutes per game last season before transferring to Murray State over the offseason.
Mason Miller | F | Jr. | Another reserve forward that followed former CU assistant Ryan Miller to Murray State after he was named head coach.

Charlotte Hornets center Ryan Kalkbrenner (11) won four-straight BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year awards at Creighton. | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Impact Transfers/Newcomers

Josh Dix | G | Sr. | One of two Iowa transfers for CU in the offseason, and leads the Bluejays with 12.0 points per game and is second with 3.4 assists per contest.
Blake Harper | G | Soph. | Heralded transfer from Howard, where he became the first player in the history of the MEAC to be named the conference Player and Rookie of the Year in the same season.
Owen Freeman | F | Jr. | Joined Dix as a transfer from Iowa and has averaged 10.1 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, which doesn't match his production in Iowa City from a year ago.
Nik Graves | G | Sr. | Charlotte transfer who's started in all eight games and leads the team with 30 assists and 11 steals.
Hudson Greer | G | Fr. | 6-foot-7 true freshman who was a top-50 prospect coming out of Monteverde Academy, but has dealt with an injury that's knocked him out for the last few games.
Kerem Konan | F | Soph. | International transfer from Turkey, who's scoring 4.6 points and 2.9 rebounds per game in his first collegiate season.
Austin Swartz | G | Soph. | Saw 29 games of action at Miami last season before making his way to Omaha, where he's averaging 12.6 minutes in seven appearances.

Outlook

The 2025-2026 season was always going to be a campaign of transition for head coach Doug McDermott and Creighton men's basketball. Last season marked the end of an era for the Bluejays, who said goodbye to program legend and 7-foot-1 center Ryan Kalkbrenner. The Charlotte Hornets draft pick was last year's Naismith Defensive Player of the Year and ended his college career with four-straight BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year honors. It also marked the end for point guard Steven Ashworth, who became one of the most impactful transfers in program history. His leadership, maturity, and sharpshooting did wonders for a CU team that made the Sweet 16 and Round of 32 in his two seasons.

Heralded Texas Tech transfer Isaac Pops averaged 16.3 PPG before season-ending hip surgery after only eight games, but he didn't stay in Omaha and is now at Texas A&M. Arizona State transfer Jamiya Neal was productive in his lone season with CU before graduating while reserve forwards Fredrick King and Mason Miller followed former CU assistant Ryan Miller to Murray State when he named head coach of the Racers.

Omaha native Jasen Green has started in four of his seven appearances while averaging over 10 points per game and nearly four rebounds as an impact returner. Sharpshooting forward and Grand Island graduate Isaac Traudt also returned to CU and is second on the team with 13 made three-pointers. A BIG EAST All-Freshman team pick who broke the CU freshman record for the most made three-pointers last season, sophomore Jackson McAndrew suffered a season-ending injury in November that rocked the Bluejays and their ceiling for the year.

Former Iowa transfer Josh Dix leads Creighton in scoring with 12 points per game while hitting 15 three-pointers. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Five of the top six scorers for Creighton are newcomers, led by the Iowa transfer duo of Josh Dix and Owen Freeman. The former leads CU in scoring (12.0) and has hit a team-high 15 three pointers, while the latter has averaged 10.1 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. 6-foot-7 guard Blake Harper transferred from Howard, where he joined Cooper Flagg as one of only two freshmen to win their conference's Player of the Year award. Charlotte transfer Nik Graves has slotted in as a key ballhandler for the Bluejays with a team-high 30 assists and 11 steals. Finally, true freshman Hudson Greer has carved out a nice role, but he's been dealing with an injury that will keep him out against the Huskers.

It's a revamped squad for Creighton in McDermott's 16th season, but it still has plenty of talent. They've taken some early lumps with a blowout loss to No. 19 Gonzaga (90-63) and going 1-2 at the Players Era Men's Championship with defeats to both No. 15 Iowa State (78-60) and Baylor (81-74). Offense hasn't been the issue (77.5 PPG), but rather the defense that's allowing 71.5 PPG, which could allow for a shootout on Sunday. On paper, I think it's really close between the two programs that have exchanged blows in this rivalry over the past two seasons. With the margins close, I'm leaning on the side of the home team and see Nebraska picking up the win over CU at home for the first time since 2018.

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