Unranked Creighton storms past No

OMAHA, Neb.– Creighton has played eight No. 1 groups in its basketball history, and the very first 6 of those games weren’t close. All were losses.The last 2

? Bluejays blowouts at the CHI Health Center.Creighton took down top-ranked Kansas 76-63 on Wednesday night in a game the unranked Bluejays never tracked and led by as numerous as 17 points.Ten months ago, they knocked off No. 1 Connecticut 85-66. That was UConn’s last loss before winning 13 in a row en route to its second straight nationwide championship.Five of the Creighton players on the court against the Jayhawks likewise bet the Huskies, including 7-foot-1 center Ryan Kalkbrenner. The Big East preseason player of the year returned from injury to score 17 points and outperform Kansas huge man Hunter Dickinson. Kalkbrenner had 15 points against UConn last February.Editor’s Picks 2 Related” Both feel excellent, clearly,”Kalkbrenner stated.”Both those groups, UConn and Kansas, are elite, top-level programs. We had the ability to carry out the

game plan in both games and played at a high level. You feel excellent about those wins. “A raucous crowd was involved from the opening suggestion versus KU, the sound level increasing each time Pop Isaacs swished among his six 3-pointers and Kalkbrenner flushed lob passes for dunks. At the last buzzer

, students put out of completion zone seats onto the court as flames soared behind both backboards.”I have not quite had a minute like that in college,” Isaacs said. “I have not played against the No. 1 team in the country. I’ve bet No. 2 and No. 3. It was hyped. The trainees showed up

, and it was electrical out there. That wasn’t the first court storming I’ve been in. It was the most significant one.”Isaacs was well familiar with the way Kansas plays defense from the two seasons he dipped into Texas Tech, and he stated that was an advantage. He scored a season-high 27 points. “I saw the ball go through

the basket, “he said.”Very first shot went in. It felt great coming off my hands. I felt I had some actually good looks tonight. Like coach says, I’m a really good shooter when I take the best shots, and I took the best shots tonight for the most part. “Jayhawks coach Expense Self applauded Isaacs.”Pop was excellent,”he said.” We understand Pop returning to when he was freaking 5 years old. I have understood his dad permanently and coached against him for the last 2 years at Tech. He was great tonight.”Isaacs and point guard Steven Ashworth remained practice time since of illness this week, Ashworth was still dealing with pain from an ankle sprain 2 weeks earlier, and Kalkbrenner had actually sat out the Bluejays’win against Notre Dame on Saturday due to the fact that of a lower-body injury.Asked if he believed his team would be up to the task against the Jayhawks, coach Greg McDermott pointed out that he had actually called his 90-year-old daddy before the game for some words of wisdom. “He stated pack your bags and go home,”McDermott stated.” He wasn’t extremely positive having actually seen us play and having actually seen Kansas play.

“McDermott indicated that beating Kansas suggested a little bit more to him than beating UConn although the Huskies are a Big East challenger. McDermott grew up in Iowa paying attention to the Jayhawks, and he coached four seasons at Iowa State and never ever might beat Self and the Jayhawks. In truth, he was 0-10 against KU before Wednesday.”I have actually been enjoying Kansas basketball

permanently,” McDermott said.”Back to coach [Roy] Williams and after that coach Self, they are among the best. We had some close calls at Hilton [Coliseum] when I was at Iowa State where we went out of Hilton disappointed we could not get the job done versus an excellent Kansas team. To finally beat them when they had a fantastic group and they’re

ranked No. 1 in the country, it’s excellent for our guys and excellent for our fans.”Dajuan Harris Jr. had 15 points and AJ Storr and Zeke Mayo added 12 each for Kansas, which shot 36 %from the field.The game significant Kansas’105th game versus an unranked challenger as the AP No. 1 group. Just two other times before Wednesday had the Jayhawks lost by double digits in such cases.Information from ESPN Research and The Associated Press was utilized in this report.