Rutgers basketball falls to Creighton in College Basketball Crown
The Scarlet Knights finish with a 14-20 record. Offseason roster moves up next.
It went on three weeks longer than expected, but the Rutgers basketball season officially ended Thursday with an 82-69 loss to Creighton in the quarterfinals of the College Basketball Crown. The Scarlet Knights sputtered after a spirited start and were unable to collect the $50,000 prize money guaranteed for the semifinalists. They finish the 2025-26 campaign with a 14-20 record.
Junior guards Jamichael Davis (17 points on 7-of-9 field goals) and Tariq Francis (19 points on 3-of-15 field goals) and freshman guard Lino Mark (14 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals) paced Rutgers. Though the Scarlet Knights played well down the stretch of their Big Ten slate, going 5-4 from mid-February on before accepting the Crown’s Invitation, the reality is they were the weakest team in the field. This was the program’s first postseason appearance since a first-round NIT loss to Hofstra in 2023.
For Creighton (16-17), which finished fifth in the Big East with a 9-11 record, this is the swan song for retiring head coach Greg McDermott, whose distinguished career in Omaha included one Big East title, three Sweet 16 appearances and an Elite Eight run in 2023. Right-hand assistant Alan Huss is taking over. The Bluejays face West Virginia (19-14), which escaped Stanford in overtime Thursday, in the semifinals Saturday (4 p.
m. Eastern tip, Fox). The other semifinal features Oklahoma (20-15) vs.