Ryan Kalkbrenner takes over, Creighton holds off No. 18 UConn

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The days of Ryan Kalkbrenner huffing and puffing his way up and down the court are long gone.

Creighton's 7-foot sophomore showed boundless energy and emotion Wednesday night when his team needed him most, pumping his fist and letting out primal screams dunk after dunk as he willed the Bluejays to a 64-62 win over No. 18 Connecticut.

Kalkbrenner matched his career high with 22 points, scoring 20 in the second half as the Huskies tried to come all the way back from 16 down.

"UConn, they played hard. That’s their thing," Kalkbrenner said. "For us to match their energy was going to be big for us, and you could feel the energy coming from the crowd, and it made it so easy to play hard for the next play."

The Bluejays (20-9, 12-6 Big East) won for the seventh time in eight games and clinched a top-five seed and first-round bye in the conference tournament next week.

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Creighton's Ryan Kalkbrenner (11) celebrates after scoring against Connecticut during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, March 2, 2022, in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Rebecca S. Gratz)

UConn (21-8, 12-6) lost for the first time in six games and dropped to 0-5 all-time against Creighton.

"Digging a hole on the road like that at the start of the game, they took it right to us," Huskies coach Dan Hurley said. "We blew an unbelievable opportunity to get six straight Big East wins here with a chance to get our seventh at home and really go into New York City on a roll."

Kalkbrenner shot 9 of 12 in the second half, including five dunks, and played all 20 minutes. He played all but five over the course of the game.

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