Connecticut men’s basketball held a moment of silence for the late mother of Creighton’s Josh Dix ahead of the teams’ Big East game on Wednesday, Feb. 18.
Dix paid the No. 5-ranked Huskies back by scoring 13 of his 21 points in the second half to lead the Bluejays to a 91-84 upset victory in Storrs, Connecticut. The massive performance from Dix came two weeks after his mother died from colon cancer.
‘I really respect this university for doing that and thinking of my mom,’ Dix said, via ESPN. ‘I know she would greatly appreciate it. I know she saw that.’
‘That locker room is still healing, and they needed a shot in the arm,’ Creighton coach Greg McDermott said after the game. ‘We have been through a lot as a group; we’ve shed a lot of tears, and they needed something like this. It’s a great win for us. I’m not sure I’ve ever been prouder of a group.’
Dix, a transfer from Iowa, has averaged 12.3 points per game for Creighton this season. He did not score and went 0-for-6 from the field in the previous game against the Huskies. Along with the 21 points — which came on 6-of-10 shooting, including 3-of-4 from 3 — Dix also added eight rebounds on Feb. 18.
‘I couldn’t do it alone,’ Dix said. ‘My family, my teammates, my coaches, they all stick by my side. I try not to be alone; I try to be around people who want to see you do well.
‘Basketball brings a lot of joy to a lot of people, so that kind of takes your mind of a lot of stuff. They have meant a lot, something like this can either separate you or get you closer to your teammates. They have all been by my side. The last couple of weeks haven’t been easy, but they stuck by my side.’