Thursday, March 9
New York, N.Y. (Madison Square Garden)
8:30 PM
Creighton University
21-11
87
vs
74
Villanova
17-16
1
2
F
Villanova
23
51
74
#24 Creighton
32
55
87
Trey Alexander
Photo by: 2023 Porter Binks
Men's Basketball Handles Villanova in BIG EAST Tourney Quarterfinals
3/9/2023 10:51:00 PM | Men's Basketball
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Bluejays win rematch of 2022 BIG EAST Tournament title game
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- No. 24 Creighton saved one of its best games of the season for the World's Most Famous Arena as the third-seeded Bluejays defeated sixth-seeded Villanova, 87-74, on Thursday night in a rematch of the 2022 BIG EAST Tournament title game. The Bluejays never trailed in the win, its nation-leading eighth over the Wildcats in the past decade.
With the win, Creighton (21-11) advances to Friday night's 8 p.m. Central semifinal against No. 15 Xavier. The Musketeers defeated DePaul, 89-84, in the third quarterfinal of the day. No. 6 Marquette and No. 11 Connecticut will square off in the other semifinal
Creighton surged to a 15-6 lead in the opening seven minutes. Arthur Kaluma (5) and Ryan Kalkbrenner (4) combined to score CU's first nine points before back-to-back three-pointers by Trey Alexander pushed the CU lead to nine. Alexander's third triple of the game elevated the CU lead to double-figures at 18-7.
The Bluejay barrage continued with triples by Ryan Nembhard and Francisco Farabello, pushing the margin to 28-16. CU took a 32-23 lead into the half, paced by 10 points from Kalkbrenner on 5-of-7 shooting and nine points from Alexander. CU held the Wildcats to 33.3 percent shooting in the first half and had nine assists against just one turnover.
Nembhard had CU's first five points of the second half, including a corner three-pointer in transition that moved the CU lead to 37-23 and had much of the sellout crowd of 19,812 on its feet.
Though Nova scored five points to trim CU's advantage to nine, Baylor Scheierman embarked on a personal 9-0 run that included a four-point play, a traditional trey, and a breakaway lay-up to grow CU's lead to 46-28. It also extended his streak of games with a three-pointer to 42 in a row.
Creighton's lead got as large as 20 points in the second half (65-45) but the resilient Wildcats quickly scored the next 11 points and close within 65-56 with 4:43 to play. Kaluma hit a dagger three-pointer to return CU's lead into double-figures and CU's best free throw shooting team in school history made 18-of-20 foul shots after the intermission.
All five Bluejay starters scored in double-figures, led by 21 from Kalkbrenner, 18 by Kaluma and 17 by Nembhard. Nembhard also added five assists and five rebounds. Scheierman had a huge second half and ended his Madison Square Garden debut with 12 points, 12 rebounds and a season-high nine assists to finish one helper shy of a triple-double. Creighton made half of its 56 shots, including 12-of-25 three-pointers, and also drained 19-of-22 free throws. The Jays dished 22 assists on its 28 baskets and had just eight turnovers in the game.
Villanova was paced by 20 points from Eric Dixon and 17 each by Caleb Daniels and Brandon Slater. The Wildcats shots 41.9 percent in the contest.
NOTES: Creighton has made a three-pointer in 980 straight games .. Ryan Kalkbrenner (1,069) moved into 38th place on Creighton's all-time scoring chart, passing Reggie Morris (1,050) ... Baylor Scheierman has made a three-pointer in 42 straight games, including all 32 games he's played in as a Bluejay ... The 32 in a row is one behind Ty-Shon Alexander's school-record ... Creighton is 1-14 all-time when making eight three-pointers or less against Villanova, but 7-4 when making nine or more treys ...Baylor Scheierman's 13 double-doubles are the most by a Bluejay since Bob Harstad had 13 in 1988-89 ... Creighton's eight wins over Villanova in the past 10 seasons lead the nation ... Creighton improved to 1-2 all-time against Villanova at the BIG EAST Tournament, having lost to the Wildcats in the 2017 and 2022 title games ... Creighton is now 17-2 this season against unranked teams when Ryan Kalkbrenner plays (0-3 when he doesn't) ... Creighton improved to 10-8 all-time in the BIG EAST Tournament, including a 5-4 mark in the quarterfinal round ... Creighton is now 1-0 all-time as the No. 3 seed in the BIG EAST Tournament, and 5-1 in all league tourneys as the No. 3 seed ... Creighton improved to 10-0 all-time on March 9th, including a 4-0 mark under Greg McDermott and a 2-0 record at the BIG EAST Tournament ... Greg McDermott's 10 BIG EAST Tournament victories leads all active league coaches.
With the win, Creighton (21-11) advances to Friday night's 8 p.m. Central semifinal against No. 15 Xavier. The Musketeers defeated DePaul, 89-84, in the third quarterfinal of the day. No. 6 Marquette and No. 11 Connecticut will square off in the other semifinal
Creighton surged to a 15-6 lead in the opening seven minutes. Arthur Kaluma (5) and Ryan Kalkbrenner (4) combined to score CU's first nine points before back-to-back three-pointers by Trey Alexander pushed the CU lead to nine. Alexander's third triple of the game elevated the CU lead to double-figures at 18-7.
The Bluejay barrage continued with triples by Ryan Nembhard and Francisco Farabello, pushing the margin to 28-16. CU took a 32-23 lead into the half, paced by 10 points from Kalkbrenner on 5-of-7 shooting and nine points from Alexander. CU held the Wildcats to 33.3 percent shooting in the first half and had nine assists against just one turnover.
Nembhard had CU's first five points of the second half, including a corner three-pointer in transition that moved the CU lead to 37-23 and had much of the sellout crowd of 19,812 on its feet.
Though Nova scored five points to trim CU's advantage to nine, Baylor Scheierman embarked on a personal 9-0 run that included a four-point play, a traditional trey, and a breakaway lay-up to grow CU's lead to 46-28. It also extended his streak of games with a three-pointer to 42 in a row.
Creighton's lead got as large as 20 points in the second half (65-45) but the resilient Wildcats quickly scored the next 11 points and close within 65-56 with 4:43 to play. Kaluma hit a dagger three-pointer to return CU's lead into double-figures and CU's best free throw shooting team in school history made 18-of-20 foul shots after the intermission.
All five Bluejay starters scored in double-figures, led by 21 from Kalkbrenner, 18 by Kaluma and 17 by Nembhard. Nembhard also added five assists and five rebounds. Scheierman had a huge second half and ended his Madison Square Garden debut with 12 points, 12 rebounds and a season-high nine assists to finish one helper shy of a triple-double. Creighton made half of its 56 shots, including 12-of-25 three-pointers, and also drained 19-of-22 free throws. The Jays dished 22 assists on its 28 baskets and had just eight turnovers in the game.
Villanova was paced by 20 points from Eric Dixon and 17 each by Caleb Daniels and Brandon Slater. The Wildcats shots 41.9 percent in the contest.
NOTES: Creighton has made a three-pointer in 980 straight games .. Ryan Kalkbrenner (1,069) moved into 38th place on Creighton's all-time scoring chart, passing Reggie Morris (1,050) ... Baylor Scheierman has made a three-pointer in 42 straight games, including all 32 games he's played in as a Bluejay ... The 32 in a row is one behind Ty-Shon Alexander's school-record ... Creighton is 1-14 all-time when making eight three-pointers or less against Villanova, but 7-4 when making nine or more treys ...Baylor Scheierman's 13 double-doubles are the most by a Bluejay since Bob Harstad had 13 in 1988-89 ... Creighton's eight wins over Villanova in the past 10 seasons lead the nation ... Creighton improved to 1-2 all-time against Villanova at the BIG EAST Tournament, having lost to the Wildcats in the 2017 and 2022 title games ... Creighton is now 17-2 this season against unranked teams when Ryan Kalkbrenner plays (0-3 when he doesn't) ... Creighton improved to 10-8 all-time in the BIG EAST Tournament, including a 5-4 mark in the quarterfinal round ... Creighton is now 1-0 all-time as the No. 3 seed in the BIG EAST Tournament, and 5-1 in all league tourneys as the No. 3 seed ... Creighton improved to 10-0 all-time on March 9th, including a 4-0 mark under Greg McDermott and a 2-0 record at the BIG EAST Tournament ... Greg McDermott's 10 BIG EAST Tournament victories leads all active league coaches.
One Down#GoJays pic.twitter.com/X3gUoVu5V4
— Creighton Men's Basketball (@BluejayMBB) March 10, 2023
Team Stats
VU
CU
FG%
.419
.500
3FG%
.433
.480
FT%
.750
.864
RB
30
36
TO
7
8
STL
4
2
Game Leaders
Pts
21
FGM
9
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
18
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
6
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
13
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's BasketballCreighton Men's Basketball Availability - 9/24/25
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