Pop Isaacs scored 27 points, Ryan Kalkbrenner added 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Creighton beat No. 1 Kansas 76-63 on Wednesday night in Omaha, Neb., for the Jaywawks’ first loss of the season
Isaacs shot 6 for 9 from beyond the arc and added seven rebounds and four assists. His contested layup with 3:14 to play pushed Creighton’s lead to 73-57 as the program notched its second win over a No. 1 team in school history. (The Bluejays beat UConn 85-66 last season.)
Kalkbrenner, Creighton’s star center, missed Creighton’s win over Notre Dame on Saturday because of a lower-body injury and he was a game-time decision Wednesday.
Steven Ashworth contributed 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists as the Bluejays (6-3) defeated Kansas for the first time since 1949.
Dajuan Harris Jr. scored 15 points for Kansas (7-1). AJ Storr and Zeke Mayo each scored 12 in the loss.
Harris hit a three-pointer and a layup to highlight a 9-0 run to begin the second half as Kansas trimmed its deficit to 41-40 with 17:31 left.
The Bluejays answered with a 10-0 run, capped by two 3-pointers from Isaacs and a pair of free throws from Ashworth, pushing Creighton’s lead to 51-40 with 15:58 left.
Ashworth hit a 3-pointer to cap a 7-0 surge and push the Bluejays to a 65-53 lead with 9:26 to play. Kansas never again got within single digits.
Creighton built a 10-2 lead in just over three minutes on two layups from Jamiya Neal and 3-pointers from Isaacs and Jackson McAndrew.
The Bluejays continued the pressure thanks to their 3-point shooting, hitting five of their first eight attempts from deep to build a 21-11 lead with 11:36 left in the first half.
Creighton pushed its advantage to as many as 13 points in the first half.
–Field Level Media
