Friday, December 17
Omaha, Neb.
7:00 PM
Creighton University
9-3,1-0Big East
79
vs
59
Villanova
7-4,0-1Big East
1
2
F
#9 Villanova
30
29
59
Creighton
39
40
79
Photo by: Catherine Grosdidier
Defense Paves Path to 79-59 Win Over #9 Villanova
12/17/2021 8:58:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Creighton ends game on 23-5 run to pull away
OMAHA, Neb. -- Clinging to a 56-54 lead with 8:38 remaining in the game, the Bluejay defense clamped down to secure a 79-59 win over No. 9 Villanova on Friday, December 17.
Creighton did not allow a field goal to the Wildcats over the final 8:38, closing the game on a 23-5 run. The win lifted Creighton to 9-3 on the season and 1-0 in BIG EAST action, while three-time defending league champ Villanova fell to 7-4 overall and 0-1 in conference play.
Creighton took an early 4-0 lead by on a layup from freshman Arthur Kaluma and a dunk by Ryan Kalkbrenner, but Villanova responded with eight straight to hold an 8-4 edge with 16:12 remaining. The Bluejays groundwork on the interior began to pay dividends as the collapsing Wildcat defense gave Creighton shooters an extra step of space, the result was a quartet of three-pointers down the stretch of the first half. The balance of offense from beyond the arc and on the interior allowed the Bluejays to take a 39-30 lead into the locker room at the break.
During the opening 20 minutes a combined 14 players hit at least one field goal, including all eight Bluejays that saw the floor.
The second half opened at a frenetic pace as the Wildcats hits their first four shots, but CU continued to sizzle from long range as Alex O'Connell, Ryan Hawkins and Ryan Nembhard each connected. Creighton extended its advantage to double figures at 50-40, courtesy of a driving layup by Nembhard, the Bluejays largest lead of the game to that point.
Down 52-42, Villanova pulled a page from the Bluejays' playbook by getting the ball into the low block. The result was an 12-4 burst to make it a one possession game as Creighton clung to a 56-54 lead with 8:38 remaining. The Bluejays turned the tide by extending Villanova's defense, then taking advantage by driving the lane. Creighton converted five consecutive driving layups, then freshman Rati Andronikashvili punctuated a 13-1 run with a three-ball from seven feet beyond the arc as the shot clock was expiring to put the Bluejays up 69-55.
Creighton defense did the rest and CU scored the final eight points of the contest.
Hawkins led all scorers with 19 points, also collecting 11 rebounds to record his 33rd career double-double. Three other Bluejays finished in double figures, getting 14 points from Nembhard, 12 from O'Connell and a season-high 10 points from freshman Trey Alexander. CU made 54.4 percent of its shots from the floor (31-57) and hit 9-of-23 three-pointers (39.1 percent).
Villanova got a team-high 16 points from Collin Gillespie, while Eric Dixon finished with 15 points. and nine rebounds. The Wildcats shot just 21-of-63 from the field (33.3 percent) and were 4-of-23 from downtown (17.4 percent).
The Bluejays are scheduled to return to action on Monday, December 20 as Creighton travels to Chicago to face DePaul at 5:30 pm in Wintrust Arena.
NOTES: Friday's victory was Greg McDermott's 11th win over a Top-10 team since taking over the Creighton program 12 seasons ago, compared to a 5-31 mark before his arrival ... Creighton owns 26 wins under Greg McDermott vs. top-25 teams, compared to 18 by all other coaches in program history ... Since the beginning of the 2013-14 season, Villanova has lost a total of 49 games, with 12 coming by 15 points or more. Creighton has delivered five of those blowout losses ... Friday's loss marked the first time since 2012 that Villanova has been under .500 in BIG EAST play, when the Wildcats started BIG EAST play 4-5 in 2012 ... Ryan Hawkins' teams are now 168-11 at the college level, including 11-0 after a loss ... Creighton has beaten multiple ranked teams in each of the last seven seasons ... Creighton is 7-4 in its last 11 games vs. top-10 teams ... Creighton's six wins vs. Villanova since 2013-14 are the most by any team against the Wildcats ... Creighton is now 6-3 all-time in BIG EAST openers and 8-4 in league openers under Greg McDermott. Each of McDermott's first seven teams to win a league opener ended .500 or better in conference play ... No team has won a BIG EAST regular-season title after losing its league opener since Georgetown in 2012-13 ... Creighton has won 33 straight home games on Friday's, a streak that dates to Dec. 12, 1975 ... Creighton is now 21-19 since the start of 2016-17 vs. ranked teams ... Creighton is now 4-4 all-time against ranked Villanova teams in Omaha ... Ryan Hawkins had his 40th career game with double-figure rebounds ... Creighton avoided its first three-game losing streak at home since 2014-15 ... Ryan Hawkins 19 points tied Doug McDermott's 19 points in 2013-14 for the most by a Bluejay in their BIG EAST debut ... Creighton has made a three-pointer in 925 games in a row ... Creighton had five dunks and now owns 54 slams through 12 games ...Creighton's freshmen scored 36 points and its seven players making its BIG EAST debut combined to contribute 59 points.
Creighton did not allow a field goal to the Wildcats over the final 8:38, closing the game on a 23-5 run. The win lifted Creighton to 9-3 on the season and 1-0 in BIG EAST action, while three-time defending league champ Villanova fell to 7-4 overall and 0-1 in conference play.
Creighton took an early 4-0 lead by on a layup from freshman Arthur Kaluma and a dunk by Ryan Kalkbrenner, but Villanova responded with eight straight to hold an 8-4 edge with 16:12 remaining. The Bluejays groundwork on the interior began to pay dividends as the collapsing Wildcat defense gave Creighton shooters an extra step of space, the result was a quartet of three-pointers down the stretch of the first half. The balance of offense from beyond the arc and on the interior allowed the Bluejays to take a 39-30 lead into the locker room at the break.
During the opening 20 minutes a combined 14 players hit at least one field goal, including all eight Bluejays that saw the floor.
The second half opened at a frenetic pace as the Wildcats hits their first four shots, but CU continued to sizzle from long range as Alex O'Connell, Ryan Hawkins and Ryan Nembhard each connected. Creighton extended its advantage to double figures at 50-40, courtesy of a driving layup by Nembhard, the Bluejays largest lead of the game to that point.
Down 52-42, Villanova pulled a page from the Bluejays' playbook by getting the ball into the low block. The result was an 12-4 burst to make it a one possession game as Creighton clung to a 56-54 lead with 8:38 remaining. The Bluejays turned the tide by extending Villanova's defense, then taking advantage by driving the lane. Creighton converted five consecutive driving layups, then freshman Rati Andronikashvili punctuated a 13-1 run with a three-ball from seven feet beyond the arc as the shot clock was expiring to put the Bluejays up 69-55.
Creighton defense did the rest and CU scored the final eight points of the contest.
Hawkins led all scorers with 19 points, also collecting 11 rebounds to record his 33rd career double-double. Three other Bluejays finished in double figures, getting 14 points from Nembhard, 12 from O'Connell and a season-high 10 points from freshman Trey Alexander. CU made 54.4 percent of its shots from the floor (31-57) and hit 9-of-23 three-pointers (39.1 percent).
Villanova got a team-high 16 points from Collin Gillespie, while Eric Dixon finished with 15 points. and nine rebounds. The Wildcats shot just 21-of-63 from the field (33.3 percent) and were 4-of-23 from downtown (17.4 percent).
The Bluejays are scheduled to return to action on Monday, December 20 as Creighton travels to Chicago to face DePaul at 5:30 pm in Wintrust Arena.
NOTES: Friday's victory was Greg McDermott's 11th win over a Top-10 team since taking over the Creighton program 12 seasons ago, compared to a 5-31 mark before his arrival ... Creighton owns 26 wins under Greg McDermott vs. top-25 teams, compared to 18 by all other coaches in program history ... Since the beginning of the 2013-14 season, Villanova has lost a total of 49 games, with 12 coming by 15 points or more. Creighton has delivered five of those blowout losses ... Friday's loss marked the first time since 2012 that Villanova has been under .500 in BIG EAST play, when the Wildcats started BIG EAST play 4-5 in 2012 ... Ryan Hawkins' teams are now 168-11 at the college level, including 11-0 after a loss ... Creighton has beaten multiple ranked teams in each of the last seven seasons ... Creighton is 7-4 in its last 11 games vs. top-10 teams ... Creighton's six wins vs. Villanova since 2013-14 are the most by any team against the Wildcats ... Creighton is now 6-3 all-time in BIG EAST openers and 8-4 in league openers under Greg McDermott. Each of McDermott's first seven teams to win a league opener ended .500 or better in conference play ... No team has won a BIG EAST regular-season title after losing its league opener since Georgetown in 2012-13 ... Creighton has won 33 straight home games on Friday's, a streak that dates to Dec. 12, 1975 ... Creighton is now 21-19 since the start of 2016-17 vs. ranked teams ... Creighton is now 4-4 all-time against ranked Villanova teams in Omaha ... Ryan Hawkins had his 40th career game with double-figure rebounds ... Creighton avoided its first three-game losing streak at home since 2014-15 ... Ryan Hawkins 19 points tied Doug McDermott's 19 points in 2013-14 for the most by a Bluejay in their BIG EAST debut ... Creighton has made a three-pointer in 925 games in a row ... Creighton had five dunks and now owns 54 slams through 12 games ...Creighton's freshmen scored 36 points and its seven players making its BIG EAST debut combined to contribute 59 points.
Team Stats
VU
CU
FG%
.333
.544
3FG%
.174
.391
FT%
.813
.800
RB
29
41
TO
6
14
STL
6
3
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
19
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
4
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
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