Friday, March 22
Omaha, Neb.
7:30 PM
Creighton University
20-14
79
vs
67
Memphis
22-14
1
2
F
Memphis
30
37
67
Creighton
40
39
79
Mitch Ballock and Christian Bishop combined for 22 points and 18 rebounds on Friday.
Photo by: Chelsea Nicholson
Men's Basketball Continues NIT Run with 79-67 Win Over Memphis
3/22/2019 10:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball
All five CU starters score in double-figures
OMAHA, Neb. -- In an up and down battle filled with postseason intensity, the Creighton men's basketball team defeated Memphis 79-67 to advance to the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament on Friday, March 22.
The win gave Creighton a 20-14 record this season, as the Bluejays joined Gonzaga, Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, Florida and Syracuse as the nation's only teams with 20+ wins in 19 of the last 21 seasons. Memphis closed Penny Hardaway's first season at 22-14.
Creighton made its first five shots of the game and opened up a 14-7 lead after five minutes. The Jays endured a 5-for-23 drought in the 13 minutes that followed, falling behind 27-22 after a 7-0 blitz by the Tigers with 5:24 left in the half. The Bluejays regrouped and made its final seven shots of the first half, closing out the first half on a 9-0 run to take a 40-30 lead into the locker room, including Marcus Zegarowski's three-pointer at the buzzer.
Mitch Ballock scored the first eight points of the second half for Creighton, and the lead was 52-35 with 16:05 left following a pair of free throws from Davion Mintz. Memphis turned up its defensive pressure a notch and played with renewed vigor, embarking on a 17-2 run over the next five minutes to draw within two (54-52) with 11:23 remaining.
The Bluejays would pull away thanks to its work on the defensive end of the floor, manufacturing stops on nine of the next 10 Memphis possessions to stretch the lead to 70-56 with under four minutes remaining. With star big man Martin Krampelj sidelined with four fouls, freshman Christian Bishop helped fuel the Creighton surge. Bishop had six points, four rebounds and a steal during the decisive 14-4 run.
Memphis would get no closer than 11 the rest of the way.
All five Bluejay starters scored in double-figures for the second straight game. Zegarowski had 14 points and a team-best eight assists, while Bishop more than doubled his previous rebounding high with a game-high 10 rebounds Krampelj and Mintz each had 12 points, Ballock had 14 points and tied his career-high eight rebounds, and Ty-Shon Alexander turned in 11 points. Creighton shot 50.8 percent for the game, outrebounded Memphis 40-29, and outscored the Tigers 18-13 in transition and 42-36 in the paint..
Jeremiah Martin scored 20 points for Memphis, which was held 13 points below its season average of 80 points per game. The Tigers shot 44.3 percent for the game, but committed 15 turnovers. Three Tigers (Kyvon Davenport, Kareem Brewton Jr. and Antwann Jones) fouled out in the contest, which featured 41 fouls.
Creighton will face the winner of Sunday's game in Fort Worth, Texas featuring Nebraska and TCU. The site/time/date of that game will be determined after the conclusion of Sunday's contest.
NOTES: Creighton has won eight straight postseason home games ... Creighton is 7-1 in its last eight games this season ... Creighton improved to 4-1 in the NIT under Greg McDermott, making McDermott the winningest coach in the NIT in program history ... Creighton has won 28 straight home games on Friday's dating to Dec. 12, 1975 ... Creighton has made a three-pointer in 850 straight games, a three-pointer before halftime in 221 consecutive contests and five or more trifectas in 70 games in a row ... Martin Krampelj scored in double-figures for the 15th straight game ... Martin Krampelj had three dunks and now owns 73 this season, one more than the 72 Justin Patton had in 2016-17 that had been the most in one year in Greg McDermott's nine seasons at Creighton ... Ty-Shon Alexander now owns 524 points this season, passing Bob Harstad for fourth-most in program history by a sophomore and trailing only Doug McDermott (801), Rodney Buford (589) and Paul Silas (551).
The win gave Creighton a 20-14 record this season, as the Bluejays joined Gonzaga, Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, Florida and Syracuse as the nation's only teams with 20+ wins in 19 of the last 21 seasons. Memphis closed Penny Hardaway's first season at 22-14.
Creighton made its first five shots of the game and opened up a 14-7 lead after five minutes. The Jays endured a 5-for-23 drought in the 13 minutes that followed, falling behind 27-22 after a 7-0 blitz by the Tigers with 5:24 left in the half. The Bluejays regrouped and made its final seven shots of the first half, closing out the first half on a 9-0 run to take a 40-30 lead into the locker room, including Marcus Zegarowski's three-pointer at the buzzer.
Mitch Ballock scored the first eight points of the second half for Creighton, and the lead was 52-35 with 16:05 left following a pair of free throws from Davion Mintz. Memphis turned up its defensive pressure a notch and played with renewed vigor, embarking on a 17-2 run over the next five minutes to draw within two (54-52) with 11:23 remaining.
The Bluejays would pull away thanks to its work on the defensive end of the floor, manufacturing stops on nine of the next 10 Memphis possessions to stretch the lead to 70-56 with under four minutes remaining. With star big man Martin Krampelj sidelined with four fouls, freshman Christian Bishop helped fuel the Creighton surge. Bishop had six points, four rebounds and a steal during the decisive 14-4 run.
Memphis would get no closer than 11 the rest of the way.
All five Bluejay starters scored in double-figures for the second straight game. Zegarowski had 14 points and a team-best eight assists, while Bishop more than doubled his previous rebounding high with a game-high 10 rebounds Krampelj and Mintz each had 12 points, Ballock had 14 points and tied his career-high eight rebounds, and Ty-Shon Alexander turned in 11 points. Creighton shot 50.8 percent for the game, outrebounded Memphis 40-29, and outscored the Tigers 18-13 in transition and 42-36 in the paint..
Jeremiah Martin scored 20 points for Memphis, which was held 13 points below its season average of 80 points per game. The Tigers shot 44.3 percent for the game, but committed 15 turnovers. Three Tigers (Kyvon Davenport, Kareem Brewton Jr. and Antwann Jones) fouled out in the contest, which featured 41 fouls.
Creighton will face the winner of Sunday's game in Fort Worth, Texas featuring Nebraska and TCU. The site/time/date of that game will be determined after the conclusion of Sunday's contest.
NOTES: Creighton has won eight straight postseason home games ... Creighton is 7-1 in its last eight games this season ... Creighton improved to 4-1 in the NIT under Greg McDermott, making McDermott the winningest coach in the NIT in program history ... Creighton has won 28 straight home games on Friday's dating to Dec. 12, 1975 ... Creighton has made a three-pointer in 850 straight games, a three-pointer before halftime in 221 consecutive contests and five or more trifectas in 70 games in a row ... Martin Krampelj scored in double-figures for the 15th straight game ... Martin Krampelj had three dunks and now owns 73 this season, one more than the 72 Justin Patton had in 2016-17 that had been the most in one year in Greg McDermott's nine seasons at Creighton ... Ty-Shon Alexander now owns 524 points this season, passing Bob Harstad for fourth-most in program history by a sophomore and trailing only Doug McDermott (801), Rodney Buford (589) and Paul Silas (551).
Team Stats
MEMPHIS
CU
FG%
.443
.508
3FG%
.235
.273
FT%
.750
.579
RB
29
40
TO
15
15
STL
9
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
3
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's BasketballG
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