4 Takeaways From Day 2 of the 2026 Faculty Basketball Crown

[ad_1] MGM GRAND GARDEN ARENA (LAS VEGAS) — With 7:23 remaining in a recreation that felt an increasing number of like a foregone conclusion, a fan behind the Creighton bench held up an indication for all to see. On a white background and written in blue letters, the message was equal elements clear and concise: "THANK YOU Coach Mac!!!"

The signal, in fact, referred to Bluejays head coach Greg McDermott, who gained his 366th recreation for Creighton on Thursday evening by pulling away from Rutgers, 82-69, within the quarterfinals of the Faculty Basketball Crown. Final month, the 61-year-old McDermott introduced his intention to retire on the finish of this 12 months, calling it quits on an distinctive profession that included 10 NCAA Match appearances with the Bluejays and 14 seasons that includes at the least 20 victories.

For now, although, McDermott’s legendary run continues due to a second-half surge in opposition to the Scarlet Knights. His workforce will transfer on to face West Virginia within the semifinals on Saturday.

Listed below are my takeaways from Day 2 of the Faculty Basketball Crown:

1. Creighton involves life within the second half to lengthen Greg McDermott’s tenure Creighton head coach Greg McDermott seems on through the 2026 Faculty Basketball Crown. (Photograph by Mitchell Layton/Getty Pictures)

Due to when the Faculty Basketball Crown takes place annually — roughly three weeks faraway from the top of most convention tournaments — there is a component of technique concerned in terms of preparation. Some coaches have chosen to afford their gamers further break day following a grueling five-month season. Others have most popular to parlay no matter momentum their applications may need into further practices that may play an vital position in participant growth. There isn't any common, or universally accepted, method.

How and when Creighton may put together for this 12 months’s occasion was draped with an additional layer of uncertainty as soon as McDermott shared his choice to retire on the marketing campaign’s finish. That meant it was truthful to marvel concerning the Bluejays’ collective degree of focus given the upcoming transition from McDermott, who has been on the helm since 2010, to affiliate head coach Alan Huss, beforehand named the coach in ready.

"Clearly, there's slightly emotion concerned," McDermott mentioned through the postgame information convention in response to my query about what the previous few weeks have been like. "Final observe within the facility again house and all that. However like I advised the blokes after we determined to do that, ‘We’re going to have enjoyable with this.' We did numerous exercises, we had a number of practices, we wished them to take pleasure in this expertise. We're gonna be round for the weekend now — at the least for a pair extra days — so we'll have enjoyable collectively."

They usually actually had enjoyable after halftime on Thursday evening, exploding for 51 second-half factors and taking pictures a scorching 61.5% from the ground. All the things, it appeared, ran by way of the arms of level guard Nik Graves, who poured in a season-high 28 factors and in addition dished out eight assists. Graves had 25 of these factors within the second half, which underscores simply how a lot of an affect he had down the stretch, repeatedly irritating Rutgers' defenders with pump fakes that drew fouls.

Now, the Bluejays have a possibility to win back-to-back video games for the primary time since late December — and maybe ship 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 Pictures)

Not like 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 group of rookies that ought to develop fairly properly within the years to come back.

The backcourt trio of Harun Zrno (6.6 factors per recreation), Lino Mark (5.6 factors per recreation) and Kaden Powers (6.1 factors per recreation) all made at the least 28 appearances this 12 months and averaged at the least 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 Massive Ten — assuming head coach Steve Pikiell can hold 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 sources have modified," Pikiell mentioned through the postgame information convention in response to my query about maintaining his roster collectively. "I am trying ahead to numerous these guys returning. We'll add some items for certain, going within the portal. However I feel it was a useful expertise this 12 months for these guys that logged numerous minutes. They bought higher because the 12 months went on with every part. 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 supplied yet one more glimpse of their collective potential. Mark chipped in 14 factors and 7 rebounds, pacing the offense at occasions along with his pace and explosiveness within the open courtroom. Powers scored six factors and snagged three rebounds, flashing a cushty 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 largest problem dealing with Pikiell and his employees between now and the top of the month could possibly be maintaining these three gamers from coming into the switch portal. Rutgers will want them to keep away from a fourth consecutive shedding 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 Pictures)

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 recreation, searched and probed and hunted for openings on the offensive finish. He maneuvered round screens on the prime 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 exact possession.

In some respects, nothing concerning the nature of Okorie’s effort was uncommon. He arrived on the Faculty Basketball Crown as Stanford’s solely wholesome participant averaging greater than 11.1 factors per recreation and owned the Thirteenth-highest utilization fee within the nation amongst freshmen this season, in keeping with 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 time beyond regulation 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 advised me after the sport. "He’s every part we thought he was going to be. We did every part we might to maintain the ball out of his arms, and he nonetheless had 34 factors."

Whether or not Okorie will return to Stanford for an additional 12 months has been a well-liked matter of dialog in faculty basketball circles. He might select to enter the NBA Draft, the place he tasks as a second-round decide given his comparatively slender body (6-foot-2, 185 kilos). He might select to discover his choices within the switch portal, the place different power-conference colleges will surely throw seven-figure provides Okorie’s means. 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 have to 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 wonderful begin. The Cardinal have already signed 4 gamers rated among the many prime 165 nationally, in keeping with 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 seems on within the second half of the 2026 Faculty Basketball Crown. (Photograph by Mitchell Layton/Getty Pictures)

One of many greatest statistical disparities between West Virginia and Stanford coming into Thursday’s recreation got here in a class most followers wouldn’t sometimes contemplate: maturity. The Mountaineers have been the second-oldest workforce in faculty basketball this season, in keeping with 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 — which means there can be important 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 totally different than the one which completed the common season 18-13 general and 9-9 within the Massive 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, in keeping with 247Sports. If Sadler lives as much as expectations, then Hodge could have an elite ground basic 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 advised me after the sport, "after we began hitting the portal, we wished to recruit guys that had been a part of profitable and beloved basketball and beloved one another. If that’s type of your make-up, and you actually love basketball and you like being round different individuals, then you've got a capability to remain collectively by way of actually robust occasions. This group has embodied that and actually set an ordinary for future groups in this system."

4½. What’s subsequent? Listed below are a number of storylines to look at forward of the semifinals:

Oklahoma vs. Baylor (Saturday) — One did it the straightforward means, one did it the arduous means. Oklahoma trailed an undermanned Colorado workforce by double digits early and wanted time beyond regulation to lastly get rid of the upset-minded Buffaloes, leaning on a robust defensive effort to achieve the semifinals. Baylor, in the meantime, coasted by way of its quarterfinal recreation in opposition to Minnesota due to 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 prime 35 in offensive effectivity 10 occasions. And whereas this 12 months’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 courtroom. Such a pedigree units the stage for an interesting semifinal conflict with West Virginia, whose protection ranks seventeenth in general effectivity after beating Stanford on Thursday evening.