Tuesday, February 1
Hartford, Conn.
5:30 PM
Creighton University
13-7,5-4Big East
59
at
55
Connecticut
15-5,6-3Big East
1
2
F
Creighton
32
27
59
UConn
22
33
55
Photo by: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
Men's Basketball Wins Nailbiter at #17 UConn, 59-55
2/1/2022 7:29:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Bluejays hold on after Kalkbrenner departs with injury
HARTFORD, Conn. -- Ryan Hawkins scored 23 points and Creighton survived an injury to center Ryan Kalkbrenner to post a 59-55 win at No. 17 UConn on Tuesday, Feb. 1 in Hartford, Conn.
Creighton's third top-25 win of the season improved the Bluejays to 13-7 overall and 5-4 in BIG EAST play, snapping a two-game losing streak. The Huskies dropped to 15-5 on the year and are 6-3 in league action.
Creighton forced a shot clock violation on the opening possession of the game and jumped out to an early 19-11 lead, paced by eight points from Hawkins and five rebounds by Alex O'Connell. Isaiah Whaley had 11 points in the first 13 minutes on 5-of-6 shooting, while the rest of the UConn team was 1-for-19 at that point. Creighton took a 29-17 lead on two free throws by Hawkins with 1:07 left before UConn answered on a traditional three-point play that Tyrese Martin converted with 54.9 to play, which was also CU's first foul of the game. Hawkins would get a friendly bounce off the back rim on a three-pointer at the halftime buzzer as the Jays took a 32-22 lead into the locker room.
Hawkins led all players with 13 points in the first half, adding six rebounds. Alex O'Connell added seven rebounds and Ryan Kalkbrenner added six boards before the break as the Jays owned the glass to the tune of 27-16. The Bluejays shot 40 percent for the half and held UConn to 28.6 percent shooting. Whaley had 11 points in the first half.
O'Connell scored his first points of the game to give CU another 12-point lead (34-22) before six quick points form UConn. Hawkins then banked in a three-pointer before Whaley answered, and a short time later Kalkbrenner was helped off the floor clutching his ankle with 15:07 to play. UConn took its first lead since 2-0 on a jump hook from Adama Sanogo to make it 41-39 with 10:08 remaining.
The Bluejays withstood the partisan crowd with poise from its seniors. A steal and breakaway dunk by O'Connell put CU in front 48-46 and Hawkins followed with a hoop from the paint to give CU a 50-46 lead with just over five minutes to play.
The Bluejays clung to a three-point lead until a free throw by Trey Alexander with 41.2 left gave CU a 54-49 lead. Four seconds later Tyrese Martin made a foul shot for UConn to trim CU's lead back to three, but Alexander sank two with 24.3 left to push the Bluejay lead to 55-50. R.J. Cole quickly brought the ball upcourt and hit a driving lay-up with 18.8 left to make it 55-52.
The Bluejays beat the press for an O'Connell slam with 12.1 left before UConn's Andrew Jackson drained a triple with 5.2 left to make it a two-point game. CU iced it on two free throws by Alexander with 2.5 left.
Creighton will stay on the road until its next game on Friday at Seton Hall, which tips at 6 p.m. Central and will be nationally televised on FS1.
NOTES: Ryan Hawkins made his 120th consecutive start and had his team-leading sixth double-double of the season … Creighton has made a three-pointer in 933 straight games … Creighton has made a three-pointer before halftime in 304 consecutive contests …Ryan Kalkbrenner had a blocked shot for the 18th straight game, the longest streak by a Bluejay since Benoit Benjamin ended his career in 1985 with a swat in 28 consecutive contests … Alex O'Connell grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds ... Creighton improved to 27-39 all-time vs. top-25 teams under Greg McDermott … Creighton improved to 3-4 this season vs. top-25 teams, tied for the eighth-most top-25 wins nationally … Creighton picked up its third top-25 win in a season for just the fifth time. Each of the first four occurrences have been since 2016-17 … Creighton improved to 10-4 in its last 14 BIG EAST games vs. top-25 teams at any site … Creighton picked up its fourth Quad 1 win of the season … Creighton picked up its eighth top-25 road win since the start of the 2016-17, tying Duke, Villanova, Kansas and Baylor for third-most nationally and just behind Michigan State (10) and Virginia (9) … Teams with Ryan Hawkins improved to 172-15 at the college level, and 97-10 in league play, as Hawkins avoided the first three-game losing streak in his six-year college career … Creighton avoided its first three-game losing skid since February of 2019 … Creighton extended its stretch of being .500 or better in league play to 28 games, the BIG EAST's only active streak longer than 11 … Creighton improved to 4-0 against UConn all-time, the only team to play UConn four or more times without a loss … Creighton has started 13-7 (or better) through 20 games for the 22nd time in the last 25 seasons.
Creighton's third top-25 win of the season improved the Bluejays to 13-7 overall and 5-4 in BIG EAST play, snapping a two-game losing streak. The Huskies dropped to 15-5 on the year and are 6-3 in league action.
Creighton forced a shot clock violation on the opening possession of the game and jumped out to an early 19-11 lead, paced by eight points from Hawkins and five rebounds by Alex O'Connell. Isaiah Whaley had 11 points in the first 13 minutes on 5-of-6 shooting, while the rest of the UConn team was 1-for-19 at that point. Creighton took a 29-17 lead on two free throws by Hawkins with 1:07 left before UConn answered on a traditional three-point play that Tyrese Martin converted with 54.9 to play, which was also CU's first foul of the game. Hawkins would get a friendly bounce off the back rim on a three-pointer at the halftime buzzer as the Jays took a 32-22 lead into the locker room.
Hawkins led all players with 13 points in the first half, adding six rebounds. Alex O'Connell added seven rebounds and Ryan Kalkbrenner added six boards before the break as the Jays owned the glass to the tune of 27-16. The Bluejays shot 40 percent for the half and held UConn to 28.6 percent shooting. Whaley had 11 points in the first half.
O'Connell scored his first points of the game to give CU another 12-point lead (34-22) before six quick points form UConn. Hawkins then banked in a three-pointer before Whaley answered, and a short time later Kalkbrenner was helped off the floor clutching his ankle with 15:07 to play. UConn took its first lead since 2-0 on a jump hook from Adama Sanogo to make it 41-39 with 10:08 remaining.
The Bluejays withstood the partisan crowd with poise from its seniors. A steal and breakaway dunk by O'Connell put CU in front 48-46 and Hawkins followed with a hoop from the paint to give CU a 50-46 lead with just over five minutes to play.
The Bluejays clung to a three-point lead until a free throw by Trey Alexander with 41.2 left gave CU a 54-49 lead. Four seconds later Tyrese Martin made a foul shot for UConn to trim CU's lead back to three, but Alexander sank two with 24.3 left to push the Bluejay lead to 55-50. R.J. Cole quickly brought the ball upcourt and hit a driving lay-up with 18.8 left to make it 55-52.
The Bluejays beat the press for an O'Connell slam with 12.1 left before UConn's Andrew Jackson drained a triple with 5.2 left to make it a two-point game. CU iced it on two free throws by Alexander with 2.5 left.
Creighton will stay on the road until its next game on Friday at Seton Hall, which tips at 6 p.m. Central and will be nationally televised on FS1.
NOTES: Ryan Hawkins made his 120th consecutive start and had his team-leading sixth double-double of the season … Creighton has made a three-pointer in 933 straight games … Creighton has made a three-pointer before halftime in 304 consecutive contests …Ryan Kalkbrenner had a blocked shot for the 18th straight game, the longest streak by a Bluejay since Benoit Benjamin ended his career in 1985 with a swat in 28 consecutive contests … Alex O'Connell grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds ... Creighton improved to 27-39 all-time vs. top-25 teams under Greg McDermott … Creighton improved to 3-4 this season vs. top-25 teams, tied for the eighth-most top-25 wins nationally … Creighton picked up its third top-25 win in a season for just the fifth time. Each of the first four occurrences have been since 2016-17 … Creighton improved to 10-4 in its last 14 BIG EAST games vs. top-25 teams at any site … Creighton picked up its fourth Quad 1 win of the season … Creighton picked up its eighth top-25 road win since the start of the 2016-17, tying Duke, Villanova, Kansas and Baylor for third-most nationally and just behind Michigan State (10) and Virginia (9) … Teams with Ryan Hawkins improved to 172-15 at the college level, and 97-10 in league play, as Hawkins avoided the first three-game losing streak in his six-year college career … Creighton avoided its first three-game losing skid since February of 2019 … Creighton extended its stretch of being .500 or better in league play to 28 games, the BIG EAST's only active streak longer than 11 … Creighton improved to 4-0 against UConn all-time, the only team to play UConn four or more times without a loss … Creighton has started 13-7 (or better) through 20 games for the 22nd time in the last 25 seasons.
Team Stats
CU
UConn
FG%
.393
.299
3FG%
.412
.238
FT%
.889
.714
RB
42
43
TO
14
9
STL
3
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
23
FGM
8
3FGM
4
FTM
3
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
C
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballMeet the Jays - MBB Blake Harper
Friday, August 15
Meet the Jays - MBB Austin Swartz
Friday, August 15
Meet the Jays - MBB Jasen Green
Friday, August 15
Meet the Jays - MBB Ty Davis
Friday, August 15
