In the latest episode of Half-Court Press, Wilson Moore and Jon Walker make their debut in the Omaha World-Herald’s brand new podcast studio with an end-of-summer update on the Nebraska and Creighton basketball programs.
Jon begins the episode with news that has been circulating for some time: Greg McDermott and the Bluejays have completed their 2024-25 roster by signing international star Fedor Zugic (2:08), and he discusses what the Montenegro native will bring to the Bluejays (7:34).
Next, Wilson recaps how former Huskers Keisei Tominaga and Jack McVeigh fared at the 2024 Paris Games (9:30) before the guys discuss why Keisei wasn’t more involved in Japan’s rotation.
The duo then discusses Purdue and Creighton’s agreement to host a charity competition and explains why events like this are important to college basketball and the communities served by its top schools (14:49).
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The guys end the episode with a look ahead to the Big Ten and Big East Media Days this fall and look at what the biggest storylines are for each team heading into this season (18:10).
The two then give an update on recruiting for 2025, which players Creighton and Nebraska are targeting, what their strategy will look like in the coming months and which positions are needed (28:28).
At the end of the episode, the crew presents a new segment for the first time entitled “Pressing Question” (36:30).
Don’t want to miss an episode? Get the podcast on iTunes or Spotify.
Creighton-Nebraska men’s basketball series since 2004
2020: Creighton 98, Nebraska 74
This time it took a full half, but Creighton finally prevailed with the kind of colossal scoring drive that so often makes the difference when the two rivals meet on CU’s home turf. The Bluejays turned a hard-fought showdown into a lopsided victory with a 30-7 run after halftime.
ANNA REED, THE WORLD HERALD
2019: Creighton 95, Nebraska 76
The Bluejays scored the first 10 points of the game, extending their lead to 27-4 after 10 minutes. It was 37-7 when sophomore Christian Bishop’s one-handed dunk in transition forced NU coach Fred Hoiberg to call his third timeout of the half. And, well, that was about it.
CHRIS MACHIAN/THE WORLD HERALD
2018: Nebraska 94, Creighton 75
In front of a capacity crowd eager for revenge after seven years of embarrassing defeats, Nebraska exorcised its Bluejay demons with a 94-75 victory. The win ended NU’s seven-game losing streak to the Jays and was Tim Miles’ first win over Greg McDermott in 15 tries. James Palmer led the Huskers with 30 points on 9 of 12 shooting and hit 6 of his 7 3-pointers. Thomas Allen scored a career-high 18 points. Isaiah Roby added 15, Glynn Watson 13 and Isaac Copeland 11.
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2017: Creighton 75, Nebraska 65
You could feel the momentum waning. One-point game. Four minutes left. Anyone can win. But Marcus Foster (pictured) didn’t let it bother him. The senior shooting guard completed a three-point play, followed up his own miss with a putback, sank a deep 3-pointer and sealed CU’s 75-65 victory with two free throws – helping Creighton to its seventh consecutive win in the annual duel.
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2016: Creighton 77, Nebraska 62
Creighton’s leading scorer Marcus Foster missed all four of his first-half shots and struggled with foul trouble. Each of CU’s three big players had two fouls by halftime. The normally efficient Khyri Thomas made just one of his first six shots. But Maurice Watson (pictured) scored a season-high 25 points — making eight layups and recording eight assists — to lead No. 10 Creighton to a 77-62 victory.
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2015: Creighton 83, Nebraska 67
After falling behind 18-4 in the first six minutes, NU was only able to pull within six points by halftime and then cut the deficit to four points with the first basket of the second half. But Geoffrey Groselle sparked Creighton’s decisive run early in the second quarter that gave the Bluejays an 83-67 victory. Groselle scored three of his baskets in a 16-2 run that turned a four-point Bluejays lead into a 52-34 lead with 12:37 left.
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2014: Creighton 65, Nebraska 55
The Bluejays defended strongly in both halves and added offense in the second to beat the Huskers 65-55, becoming the first non-conference opponent to win at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Nebraska took a 24-14 lead in the first half, but Creighton held on despite trailing by 10 points rather than giving in. From there, the Bluejays scored more points than the Huskers, shooting 53% to 34% and committing four fewer turnovers.
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2013: Creighton 82, Nebraska 67
Creighton won its third straight game in the series and 12th of 16 games: Scored the first eight points, with Doug McDermott (pictured) and Ethan Wragge each sinking threes. Ran for 20 points with 11:06 left in the half when McDermott scored on a layup. Got on a 12-2 run over the next four minutes to make it 38-8 with 7:06 left in the half. Extended its lead to 32 points with 4:12 left before settling for a 26-point lead at halftime.
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2012: Creighton 64, Nebraska 42
No. 16 Creighton battled through the first six minutes, setting up its defense to build an 11-point halftime lead, then ignited its offense and pulled away for a 64-42 win. Doug McDermott shook off a first half that would have earned honorable mention in conference play (3 of 9 shooting, two turnovers) and finished with 27 points.
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2011: Creighton 76, Nebraska 66
The Huskers’ Toney McCray and coach Doc Sadler were given technical fouls midway through the second half after an interior foul. The Bluejays made 5 of 6 free throws to turn a one-point lead into a six-point lead, then kept the pressure on until the end and won 76-66.
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2010: Nebraska 59, Creighton 54
Nebraska beat Creighton in the same way the Huskers nearly lost. After a first half in which Nebraska made 3 of 18 three-pointers, the Huskers opened the second half by making three three-pointers in the first 91 seconds. They made 6 of 8 long-range shots in just over seven minutes to take the lead for good and hold on for a 59-54 victory.
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2009: Creighton 67, Nebraska 61
Creighton got the plays it needed when it counted most and won 67-61. The Bluejays clung to a two-point lead with 2.5 minutes left, got a dunk and three big defensive rebounds from Kenny Lawson (pictured), then made six straight free throws to seal the win.
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2008: Nebraska 54, Creighton 52
The Huskers played 28 minutes before making more baskets than turnovers overall. The Bluejays scored 10 points in the first 16 minutes of the second half. But the score was tied and Nebraska guard Steve Harley (pictured) brought the ball up with 17 seconds left. NU called a double ball screen as Harley made his way to the basket. When Creighton forward Kenny Lawson stepped out to defend the drive, Harley made a pass in the crease to guard Ade Dagunduro, whose uncontested layup with 2.7 seconds left gave Nebraska a 54-52 victory.
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2007: Creighton 74, Nebraska 62
Creighton swept Nebraska for 20 minutes and spent the remaining 20 trying not to implode. After the Huskers twice cut a 27-point halftime deficit to nine points, the Bluejays finally made some plays down the stretch and came away with a 74-62 victory.
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2006: Nebraska 73, Creighton 61
The Huskers, riding on a 19-point performance from freshman Ryan Anderson and a strong second half from Aleks Maric, surprised the No. 20 and No. 25 Bluejays with a 73-61 victory in front of a sold-out crowd at the Devaney Center. The win was just Nebraska’s third in the last 11 meetings with Creighton and its first in the regular season since 1999.
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2005: Creighton 70, Nebraska 44
In front of what was then the largest crowd to ever watch a basketball game in state history, the Bluejays played well defensively, held their ground and made enough shots to extend their recent lead over the Huskers with a 70-44 victory. The lead was Creighton’s largest over Nebraska since 1932.
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2004: Creighton 50, Nebraska 48
CU guard Kellen Miliner (pictured) took a throw-in from Tyler McKinney with 3.2 seconds left, stormed past Jake Muhleisen and sank a 15-foot jump shot to beat the Huskers 50-48 at the Devaney Center. Creighton won for the sixth time in seven meetings with NU and the third straight time in Lincoln.
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