There was a lot of talk, here and elsewhere, about Thursday night’s game against Ohio State serving as a litmus test for a young Bluejay team. A blowout loss, like they suffered in the Gavitt Games at Indiana in 2015, would show them to be a lot further away than anyone hoped. A win, like the last two years against Wisconsin and Northwestern in these Games, would ratchet up expectations. Instead Creighton gave us a third scenario — playing well enough to win, setting themselves up to do just that, and then not sealing the deal.
They fought back from a double-digit deficit to take a lead late in the game, and after Mitch Ballock nailed a three-pointer from the corner with 2:57 left — off an assist by Ty-Shon Alexander — the Jays led 60-56.