Juwan Gary on rivalry win vs. Creighton: ‘I’m glad I got to beat those guys twice’

On Friday, Nebraska upset No. 14 Creighton 74-63 on the Bluejays’ home court. After the game, Nebraska forward Juwan Gary didn’t mince words about the victory.

“I’m glad I got to beat those guys twice,” Gary said, per 10/11 News’ Chase Matteson.

This is Gary’s second win over Creighton since joining Nebraska. The other was a 63-53 win over the Bluejays on Dec. 4, 2022. In both wins, Gary played a pivotal role.

On Friday, Gary led the Cornhuskers with 16 points and seven rebounds while shooting 6-13 from the field. In Nebraska’s 2022 win over the Bluejays, who were No. 7 in the nation at the time, Gary notched 12 points and nine rebounds on perfect shooting.

Nebraska is now 3-4 in its last seven meetings against Creighton. After spending his first two collegiate seasons at Alabama, Gary certainly hasn’t taken the rivalry for granted.

“These games are always fun, playing a rival team, for sure,” Gary said. “I told the new guys to go out there and enjoy it.”

Gary poured salt in the wound after the win, writing, “Road KiLL,” on X. The fifth-year senior has room to talk. He not only excelled on offense but on defense too. With help from Gary, Nebraska held Creighton star Ryan Kalkbrenner to just four points.

Kalkbrenner didn’t connect on a single field goal in the game, with all four of his points coming from free throws. His only shot attempt that didn’t result in a foul was a 3-pointer.

For reference, the 7-foot-1 center entered tonight averaging 25.8 points, shooting better than 90% on 10.5 2-pointers per game. In fairness, Kalkbrenner wasn’t the only Bluejay who struggled against Nebraska’s suffocating defense.

In the win, the Cornhuskers forced 17 turnovers. They didn’t hesitate to capitalize on Creighton’s mistakes, scoring 22 points off the Bluejays’ turnovers. In comparison, Creighton scored just seven points off turnovers in the loss.

Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg raved about his team’s showing and Gary’s individual performance.

“Juwan really stepped up and I thought emerged as the leader of the team this week,” Hoiberg said. “He was so good with his voice every day. We had a couple days of practice where I didn’t love the energy, but Juwan pulled the guys through. He’s the guy when he’s loud, when he’s out there showing emotion, the guys feed off of that.

“I thought we closed out with great urgency,” Fred Hoiberg said postgame. “I thought our rotations were crisp, unlike a year ago where they sprayed it all over the place. They killed us. You know, this was a really good team effort.”