Creighton Upsets Number One Ranked Connecticut
Omaha, Neb. - Creighton (20-7, 11-5 Big East) hosted the number one ranked Connecticut Huskies (24-3, 14-2 Big East) Tuesday night. Creighton went into this game having lost all six of its previous meetings against number-one ranked teams and never came closer than 10 points. On their seventh try, the Bluejays finally broke through, building a double-digit lead in the first half, and never looked back with the winning result being 85-66. This was the Huskies’ third game in seven days, so this was the perfect opportunity for the Bluejays to take advantage of. This was a total domination by the Blue Jays, unlike the first matchup between these teams. Connecticut won the first matchup 62-48 in a low-scoring, defensive-focused game.
Simply put, Creighton came out on fire and stayed hot the entire game. As a team, the Bluejays made 14 of 28 (50%) 3-pointers, which is very impressive since UConn holds teams to 31.5% from 3-point land this season. In their last loss against UConn, they shot six of 26 so last night’s shooting was a huge improvement. Utah State transfer, Steven Ashworth, led the Blue Jays with 20 points and seven rebounds. The two-man duo of Ryan Kalkbrenner (15 points, six rebounds, and four blocks) and Trey Alexander (16 points and four assists) also played a crucial role in the dominant performance. Ironically, the Bluejays leading scorer, Baylor Scheierman, was held to 12 points which is far below his normal average of 18.4 points.
UConn was on a 14-game win streak heading into the game but was quickly squashed. The Huskies sank a season low, three 3-pointers on 16 attempts. The reliable shooting of Cam Spencer and Alex Karaban was not there, and it was upon Tristan Newton (27 points) to do all the heavy lifting on offense. The defending champions haven’t won a game against a ranked opponent on the road since 2014, a 21-game stretch. UConn will need to bounce back against Villanova on Saturday if they want to clinch the Big East regular season title.
This was Bluejays head coach, Greg McDermott, 600th career win, and has now consistently beaten a top-ten team nine years in a row. They also have surpassed the 20th-win mark, giving them a minimum 20-win season for nine years in a row. Creighton looks to continue their fiery offensive touch as they go to visit the Red Storm of St. Johns. UConn is looking to hold onto the number one overall seed in the upcoming March Madness tournament and repeat as champions since the Florida Gators did it in 2006-2007.
