No. 9 seed Creighton (25-10, 15-5) made a large assertion in Thursday’s emphatic NCAA Match opening spherical 89-75 win over No. 8 seed Louisville (27-8, 18-2 in ACC).
The Bluejays have a professional likelihood of reaching the tourney’s second weekend for the third consecutive season and probably profitable the South Area.
With fifth-year seniors Steven Ashworth and Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton has veteran leaders who will not shrink in upcoming larger moments.
Ashworth, a 2024-25 second-team All-Large East member, started his collegiate profession at Utah State (2020-23) and transferred to Creighton in 2024. In the course of the workforce’s run to the Candy 16 final season, the 6-foot guard averaged 15.7 factors per recreation and shot 47.8 p.c from past the arc.
On Thursday, Ashworth had 22 factors, 5 rebounds and 5 assists.
The 7-foot-1 heart Kalkbrenner has performed at Creighton because the 2020-21 season. The four-time Large East Defensive Participant of the 12 months averaged a career-high 19.4 factors and eight.8 rebounds per recreation this season. He led the Large East in blocks (2.7 per recreation) for the third consecutive 12 months and shot 65.5 p.c from the court docket.
Throughout his final 9 NCAA Match video games, courting again to the beginning of the 2022 March Insanity, Kalkbrenner has averaged 18.4 factors on 61.9 p.c capturing whereas including 7.8 rebounds and a couple of.5 blocks per recreation. He had 14 factors on 6-of-8 capturing whereas including six rebounds and three blocks in opposition to the Cardinals.
The workforce across the veteran Bluejays make them a critical risk to advance previous East No. 1 seed Auburn (28-5, 15-3 in SEC), which is prone to beat No. 16 seed Alabama State (20-15, 12-6 in SWAC) later Thursday. The Tigers, the highest total seed on this 12 months’s match, have misplaced three of their final 4 video games getting into their first-round recreation.
Towards Louisville, senior switch ahead Jamiya Neal led Creighton with 29 factors on 11-of-16 capturing. He additionally had team-highs in rebounds (11) and assists (5) because the Bluejays received within the Spherical of 64 for the fifth consecutive season.
Freshman 6-foot-10 ahead Jackson McAndrew chipped in with 11 factors whereas capturing 3-of-7 from deep. The Bluejays have been 11-of-24 from past the arc and shot 55.6 p.c total.
Creighton seemed like a workforce that had been right here earlier than in its Spherical of 64 triumph. Do not be stunned if it hangs round a bit longer.
