OMAHA, Neb. — For the first time in school history the No. 15 Creighton men’s basketball team picked up a win over the top team in the nation, upsetting No. 1 Connecticut 85-66 on Tuesday, February 20. The win was the 600th career victory for Creighton head coach Greg McDermott.
The Bluejays moved to 20-7 overall and 11-5 in BIG EAST play, clinching its ninth straight 20-win season and 24th in the past 26 campaigns. Connecticut fell to 24-3 on the season and 14-2 in conference action, as its league-record tying 14-game win streak in BIG EAST play was snapped.
Connecticut got off to a fast start with a 7-0 start in the opening 90 seconds and held an 11-3 edge with 15:51 showing on the clock. Returning to the court after the first media timeout, Creighton closed the frame with a 40-18 surge over the next 15 minutes.
Creighton’s charge began with a 5-0 burst ignited by a dunk from Ryan Kalkbrenner, followed by a three-pointer from Trey Alexander to make it 11-8. Showing the fight expected from the defending national champion, Connecticut kept the Bluejays at arms length. Down 23-21 Steven Ashworth took over with 13 of the next 18 points as the Bluejays seized a 39-25 advantage.
Jasen Green started the surge with his first career three-pointer to give Creighton its first lead, then Kalkbrenner threw down a dunk to make it 26-23. From there Ashworth’s 13-point barrage was only interrupted by a dunk from Connecticut’s Donovan Clingan. Ashworth closed the first half with 16 points as the Bluejays took a 43-29 lead into the locker room.
Creighton’s momentum carried through the break as Ashworth drained another three-ball, then Mason Miller dropped in a layup to push the edge to 48-29. The edge grew to as much as 21 points at 55-34 with 17:15 left on Trey Alexander’s three-pointer from the top of the key. Later in the frame another dunk by Kalkbrenner and Green’s second trey of the evening gave the Bluejays a 23-point bulge (69-46) with just over 10 minutes left.
Connecticut answered with a 10-0 run over its own and pulled with 10 points at 74-64 as the game moved to the final media timeout with 4:29 remaining.
Down the stretch the Bluejays showed their mettle with an 11-2 run to close the game, securing the first win over a top-ranked squad fin seven tries.
Ashworth led four Bluejays in double figures with 20 points, his 11th straight game in double-figures. Alexander finished with 16 points, Kalkbrenner delivered 15 and Scheierman posted 12 points. Connecticut got a game-high 27 points from Tristen Newton, while Clingan delivered 12 points and Stephon Castle finished with 10 points.
Creighton returns to the hardwood on Sunday, February 25 in a road contest at Madison Square Garden against St. John’s at 11:00 a.m.
