No. 15 Creighton Impresses CBB Fans With Dominant Upset Win Over No. 1 UConn

Scott Polacek@@ScottPolacekFeatured 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 🏀 @CBSSportsCBBDOWN GOES NO. 1 🚨

For the first time in history, @BluejayMBB defeats a No. 1 team 🤩 pic.twitter.com/pVZeNn3qKu

Creighton Men’s Basketball @BluejayMBBTHIS SEQUENCE 😍🏀

WHAT A FIRST HALF#GoJays pic.twitter.com/1SIKcoYfIg

Creighton Men’s Basketball @BluejayMBBTHIS IS A 20 POINT BASKETBALL GAME

📺 FS1

Creighton 51, Connecticut 31#GoJays pic.twitter.com/FBMpNandYy

Sam Vecenie @Sam_Vecenielol 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 @MattNorlanderMost combined Quad 1 + 2 wins:

Purdue: 15
Connecticut: 13
Creighton: 12 pic.twitter.com/cq9c5WaHLz

Dana O’Neil @DanaONeilWriterAnd 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 @tatefrazierCreighton beats the #1 team in the country for the first time, this felt like a signature win for this group

Rob Dauster @RobDausterCreighton’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 @NicoleAuerbachCreighton is shooting 59% from three and 60.5% overall. Just absolutely lights-out shooting tonight so far.

John Fanta @John_FantaCreighton 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 @RobDausterThe 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

Jack McGuire @JackMacCFBNice. Creighton is the 2017 Warriors tonight.

Matt Norlander @MattNorlanderMy word Creighton, save some for March.

The No. 1 team is down 23 in Omaha.

Pregame Empire @PregameEmpireCreighton from 3 point range pic.twitter.com/15ZSMq0kIn

Brian Rauf @brauf33It 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.