The last two? Blue Jays Blast at CHI Health Center
Creighton took down the top rank. Kansas The unranked Blue Jays never trailed and led by as many as 17 points in a game Wednesday night, 76-63.
Ten months ago, they knocked off No. 1 Connecticut 85-66. It was the last loss before UConn won 13 in a row en route to its second straight national championship.
Five Creighton players on the court against the Jayhawks also played against the Huskies, including the 7-foot-1 center. Ryan Kalkbrenner. The Big East Preseason Player of the Year returned from injury and scored 17 points to outscore the Kansas big man. Hunter Dickinson. Clickbrenner had 15 points against UConn last February.
“Both feel great, obviously,” Kalkbrenner said. “Both of those teams, UConn and Kansas, are elite, high-level programs. We were able to execute the game plan in both games and played at a high level. You feel good about those wins.”
A crowd was involved from the opening tip against KU, the noise level rising each time. Pop Isaacs Swished one of his six 3-pointers and Kalkbrenner passed a flush lob for a dunk. At the final buzzer, students poured out of the end zone seats onto the court as flames rose behind both backboards.
“I never had a moment like this in college,” Isaacs said. “I haven’t played against the No. 1 team in the country. I’ve played against No. 2 and No. 3. It was hyped. The students showed up, and there was electricity. It’s the first time I’ve been on the court. It was the biggest.”
Isaacs was well-versed in the way Kansas played defense from his two seasons at Texas Tech, and he said that was an advantage. He scored a season-high 27 points.
“I saw the ball go through the basket,” he said. “The first shot went in. It felt good coming out of my hands. I felt like I had some really good shots tonight. Like coach says, I’m a really good shooter when I get the right shots. And I took the right shots for the most part tonight.”
Jayhawks coach Bill Self praised Isaacs.
“Pop was great,” he said. “We’ve known Pop going back to when he was 5 years old. I’ve known his dad forever and coached against him for the last two years at Tech. He tonight. It was great.”
Isaac and the point guard Steven Ashworth Ashworth sat out practice this week due to illness, Ashworth suffered a sprained ankle two weeks ago, and Kalkbrenner sat out the Blue Jays against Notre Dame on Saturday with a lower-body injury. The win was over.
Asked if he thought his team would perform against the Jayhawks, coach Greg McDermott mentioned that he called his 90-year-old father before the game for some words of wisdom.
“He said pack your bags and go home,” McDermott said. “He wasn’t very confident playing us and watching the Kansas game.”
McDermott indicated that beating Kansas meant a little more to him than beating UConn even though the Huskies are a Big East opponent. McDermott grew up in Iowa paying attention to the Jayhawks, and he coached four seasons at Iowa State and never beat Self and the Jayhawks. In fact, they were 0-10 against KU before Wednesday.
“I’ve been watching Kansas basketball forever,” McDermott said. “Back on the coach [Roy] Williams and then Coach Self, he’s one of the best. We had some close calls at the Hilton. [Coliseum] When I was at Iowa State we came out of Hilton disappointed and didn’t get the job done against a good Kansas team. To finally beat them when they had a great team and they’re ranked No. 1 in the country, it’s great for our guys and great for our fans.”
Dajuan Harris Jr. There were 15 points. AJ Store And Zeke Mayo Each added 12 for Kansas, which shot 36 percent from the field.
The game marked Kansas’ 105th game as an AP No. 1 team against an unranked opponent. Only twice before Wednesday had the Jayhawks lost by double digits.
This report used information from ESPN Research and The Associated Press.