Featured Columnist IVFebruary 21, 2024
Zach Bolinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Down goes No. 1.
The No. 15 Creighton Bluejays defended home-court advantage with a dominant 85-66 victory over the top-ranked UConn Huskies in Tuesday’s Big East men’s basketball showdown at the CHI Health Center. Creighton’s victory snapped a 14-game winning streak for the reigning national champions.
UConn is still 24-3 overall and 14-2 in Big East play, which puts it in line for a No. 1 seed come Selection Sunday even with this uncharacteristically poor performance.
It was a more important result for Creighton, which defeated the No. 1 team for the first time in program history and continues picking up momentum at the right time with four straight conference wins. The Bluejays are 20-7 on the season and 11-5 in Big East play.
Social media had plenty of love for the victors:
CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 @CBSSportsCBB
DOWN GOES NO. 1 🚨
For the first time in history, @BluejayMBB defeats a No. 1 team 🤩 pic.twitter.com/pVZeNn3qKu
Creighton Men’s Basketball @BluejayMBB
THIS SEQUENCE 😍🏀
WHAT A FIRST HALF#GoJays pic.twitter.com/1SIKcoYfIg
Creighton Men’s Basketball @BluejayMBB
THIS IS A 20 POINT BASKETBALL GAME
📺 FS1
Creighton 51, Connecticut 31#GoJays pic.twitter.com/FBMpNandYy
Sam Vecenie @Sam_Vecenie
lol I don’t even think Connecticut can be mad about this? Creighton is just burning the nets out. Running good stuff to get free but like, my god the fire in the nets for creighton
Matt Norlander @MattNorlander
Most combined Quad 1 + 2 wins:
Purdue: 15
Connecticut: 13
Creighton: 12 pic.twitter.com/cq9c5WaHLz
Dana O’Neil @DanaONeilWriter
And down goes @UConnMBB. Impressive win by @BluejayMBB. No one is invincible. Especially on the road. Again, I look forward to the @BIGEAST tournament
Tate Frazier @tatefrazier
Creighton beats the #1 team in the country for the first time, this felt like a signature win for this group
Rob Dauster @RobDauster
Creighton’s now made nine straight shots, five of them threes, and all of them with Donovan Clingan on the bench. The Jays can absolutely fill it up when they get hot.
Nicole Auerbach @NicoleAuerbach
Creighton is shooting 59% from three and 60.5% overall. Just absolutely lights-out shooting tonight so far.
John Fanta @John_Fanta
Creighton has done an OUTSTANDING job running Alex Karaban and Cam Spencer off the line. Huskies are 1/8 from 3. The Jays are 11/19.
Rob Dauster @RobDauster
The issue for UConn tonight is that they haven’t been able to get many clean looks out of their offense. Creighton’s done a terrific job fighting over screens and utilizing Kalkbrennar to negate anything going to the rim. Clinic defensively. https://t.co/v0lmrI9n5b
Matt Norlander @MattNorlander
My word Creighton, save some for March.
The No. 1 team is down 23 in Omaha.
Pregame Empire @PregameEmpire
Creighton from 3 point range pic.twitter.com/15ZSMq0kIn
Brian Rauf @brauf33
It obviously helps that Creighton basically hasn’t missed, but the Bluejays have consistently gotten open looks they want. UConn’s defense has been much more porous than normal
Creighton jumped out to a double-digit lead in the first half and was in full control throughout the majority of the contest. The story for much of the game was its three-point shooting, as the home team ended up 14-of-28 from long range.
It also played impressive defense on the perimeter and held UConn to an ugly 3-of-16 shooting from three-point range.
Steven Ashworth led the way for the Bluejays with 20 points and seven rebounds, while Ryan Kalkbrenner (15 points and six rebounds) and Trey Alexander (16 points and four assists) played impressive supporting roles.
Tristen Newton did what he could for UConn with a double-double of 27 points and 12 rebounds, but he was the only member of his team to score more than 12.
Creighton will look to keep things rolling when it travels to St. John’s on Sunday, while the Huskies will attempt to bounce back and further solidify their hold on a No. 1 seed when they host Villanova on Saturday.
