Saturday, February 26
Providence, R.I.
7:30 PM
Creighton University
19-9,11-6BE
51
at
72
Providence
24-3,14-2BE
1
2
F
Creighton
26
25
51
#11 Providence
35
37
72
Photo by: Ryan Feeney
Men's Basketball Falls at #11 Providence as Friars Claim First Title
2/26/2022 9:22:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Bluejays return home for two games to end regular-season
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- No. 11 Providence clinched its first BIG EAST regular-season title in program history with a 72-51 win over visiting Creighton on Saturday, Feb. 26th.
Creighton had its six game win streak snapped while falling to 19-9 on the year and 11-6 in the BIG EAST. The Friars improved to 24-3 on the season and 14-2 in BIG EAST play with just one game remaining. The Friars are scheduled to play just 17 league games after contests in January against Creighton, Seton Hall and UConn were not rescheduled due to COVID-19 issues within the Friar program.
Providence took a 35-26 lead into the halftime break, led by four three-pointers from A.J. Reeves. Arthur Kaluma gave CU its lone lead at 2-0 before Reeves first basket of the night gave the Friars a lead it would not surrender. Trey Alexander led CU with nine points while Ryan Hawkins had six rebounds in the opening half. The Bluejays had just one assist in the opening half and made 1-of-11 three-pointers.
A dunk from Nate Watson on PC's opening possession of the second half moved the Friar lead into double-figures for the first time (37-26). The Friars scored on each of their first five trips after the break to stretch the margin to 46-33 and the lead reached 51-35 before a Bluejay timeout with 14:52 to play.
Providence used a 7-0 run over more than five minutes to go ahead 61-42 with 6:41 left, forcing another timeout, and the lead remained in double-figures the rest of the way.
The Friars were assessed an administrative technical foul with 54.1 left after throwing objects onto the floor following a basket by fan favorite Andrew Fonts.
Kalkbrenner had 13 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots for the Jays, O'Connell scored 12 points and while Ryan Hawkins had his league-high 11th double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Reeves paced the Friars with 23 points, sinking six three-pointers.
Creighton is scheduled to host a pair of home games next week, starting with Wednesday's 7:30 p.m. contest against No. 21 Connecticut. A special 90-minute beverage promotion will be available to early-arriving fans. Venue doors open at 6:00 pm, and the promotion, available from 6:00-7:30 pm, only, includes 12-ounce beers and soft drinks for $1.00 each in the Bud Light Zone area.
NOTES: Creighton was playing without six-time BIG EAST Freshman of the Week Ryan Nembhard, who will miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on his right wrist on Friday. Nembhard was injured in the second half of Wednesday's win at St. John's ... Ryan Kalkbrenner had a blocked shot for the 26th straight game, extending CU's longest streak since Benoit Benjamin streak of 28 in a row in 1984-85 ... Creighton has made a three-pointer in 941 straight games and a trey before halftime in 312 consecutive contests ... Ryan Kalkbrenner became the first player to reach 100 offensive rebounds in a season since Randall Crutcher in 1996-97 ... Creighton's six-game win streak in BIG EAST play was snapped ... Creighton fell to 44-156 all-time while losing its 200th game ever played against at top-25 opponent ... Creighton had won six straight games against top-25 teams played in the month of February ... Creighton's six game winning streak in games played on February 26th was snapped.
Creighton had its six game win streak snapped while falling to 19-9 on the year and 11-6 in the BIG EAST. The Friars improved to 24-3 on the season and 14-2 in BIG EAST play with just one game remaining. The Friars are scheduled to play just 17 league games after contests in January against Creighton, Seton Hall and UConn were not rescheduled due to COVID-19 issues within the Friar program.
Providence took a 35-26 lead into the halftime break, led by four three-pointers from A.J. Reeves. Arthur Kaluma gave CU its lone lead at 2-0 before Reeves first basket of the night gave the Friars a lead it would not surrender. Trey Alexander led CU with nine points while Ryan Hawkins had six rebounds in the opening half. The Bluejays had just one assist in the opening half and made 1-of-11 three-pointers.
A dunk from Nate Watson on PC's opening possession of the second half moved the Friar lead into double-figures for the first time (37-26). The Friars scored on each of their first five trips after the break to stretch the margin to 46-33 and the lead reached 51-35 before a Bluejay timeout with 14:52 to play.
Providence used a 7-0 run over more than five minutes to go ahead 61-42 with 6:41 left, forcing another timeout, and the lead remained in double-figures the rest of the way.
The Friars were assessed an administrative technical foul with 54.1 left after throwing objects onto the floor following a basket by fan favorite Andrew Fonts.
Kalkbrenner had 13 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots for the Jays, O'Connell scored 12 points and while Ryan Hawkins had his league-high 11th double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Reeves paced the Friars with 23 points, sinking six three-pointers.
Creighton is scheduled to host a pair of home games next week, starting with Wednesday's 7:30 p.m. contest against No. 21 Connecticut. A special 90-minute beverage promotion will be available to early-arriving fans. Venue doors open at 6:00 pm, and the promotion, available from 6:00-7:30 pm, only, includes 12-ounce beers and soft drinks for $1.00 each in the Bud Light Zone area.
NOTES: Creighton was playing without six-time BIG EAST Freshman of the Week Ryan Nembhard, who will miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on his right wrist on Friday. Nembhard was injured in the second half of Wednesday's win at St. John's ... Ryan Kalkbrenner had a blocked shot for the 26th straight game, extending CU's longest streak since Benoit Benjamin streak of 28 in a row in 1984-85 ... Creighton has made a three-pointer in 941 straight games and a trey before halftime in 312 consecutive contests ... Ryan Kalkbrenner became the first player to reach 100 offensive rebounds in a season since Randall Crutcher in 1996-97 ... Creighton's six-game win streak in BIG EAST play was snapped ... Creighton fell to 44-156 all-time while losing its 200th game ever played against at top-25 opponent ... Creighton had won six straight games against top-25 teams played in the month of February ... Creighton's six game winning streak in games played on February 26th was snapped.
Team Stats
CU
PC
FG%
.305
.475
3FG%
.192
.381
FT%
.667
.800
RB
34
40
TO
8
7
STL
1
3
Game Leaders
Pts
13
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
7
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballC
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballCreighton Men's Basketball Availability - 9/24/25
Wednesday, September 24
Meet 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
