No. 1 Kansas took its first loss of the season Wednesday as unranked Creighton secured a 76-63 home win over the Jayhawks and shook off its recent funk with force. The Bluejays never trailed in the battle of the birds and turned it into a blowout late behind Pop Isaacs’ 27-point night.
Kansas shot just 35.7% from the field on the night, got blasted on the boards and struggled to keep up with Creighton’s offensive explosion. All-American big man Hunter Dickinson finished with just six points for the Jayhawks and the team made just 35.7% of its field-goal attempts in the loss.
The win for Creighton was its second-ever vs. a No. 1-ranked team and its second in as many years after defeating No. 1 UConn 85-66 last season in Omaha, Nebraska. It also marked Creighton’s first win vs. Kansas since 1949, ending a six-game skid that began in 1950.
KU opened the season ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25 and has maintained its standing atop the rankings each of the first five weeks powered by wins over North Carolina, Michigan State and Duke.
Here are five takeaways from the win.
Don’t mess with the Bluejays in their cage
In big games with high stakes played inside the CHI Health Center, few teams seem more ready to embrace its role as an underdog than Creighton under Greg McDermott. Last year it beat No. 1 UConn and No. 5 Marquette at home. The year before that, No. 13 Xavier and No. 21 UConn were among those who stumbled on the Bluejays home floor. And the year prior, four ranked teams — including No. 9 Villanova — lost at Creighton. This season is still young, and Creighton has already lost at home to Nebraska, but a win over No. 1 Kansas sets a nice tone for the remainder of 2024-25.
Kalkbrenner wins battle between bigs
A lower body injury for Creighton big man Ryan Kalkbrenner had his status all the way up to tipoff up in the air after missing a game earlier in the week vs. Notre Dame. Then he went out and performed as if he hasn’t been battling anything at all. Against a fellow 7-footer who has All-American credentials in Hunter Dickinson, he finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds, and in the process held Dickinson to just six points.
KU backcourt falls flat
A thin backcourt doomed preseason No. 1 Kansas last season — yet even a deeper backcourt this season has not totally solved its problems for a team that seemingly addressed its biggest deficiency. That was evident in the loss where Dajuan Harris missed 15 of his 21 shot attempts, AJ Storr went 4 of 13 and Zeke Mayo finished 5-of-13. Rylan Griffen’s absence with the flu was felt — and perhaps a combination of his absence and an off shooting night helps explain things — but it was a disappointing showing overall from the remade backcourt of the Jayhawks.
Isaacs’ scoring pop the difference
Steven Ashworth and Kalkbrenner each had 17 points, but Isaacs’ scoring punch was the difference in this one. He was a fearless shot-taker and in this one, a shot-maker, finishing 10-of-15 shots from the floor and nailing six of his nine 3-point attempts. Just the threat of him shooting it opened up Creighton’s offense in a way that we haven’t seen much of late. He played 39 huge minutes and ran through heat check after heat check to help hold KU at arm’s length.
Creighton shakes off Vegas trip
After an ugly home loss to Nebraska in November, Creighton lost two-straight in Vegas before bouncing back Saturday with a win over Notre Dame to salvage a 1-2 trip to Sin City. The defense looked defunct, Kalkbrenner didn’t look himself and the offense sputtered. Winning cures all, of course, but a win of this caliber could help reinvigorate a team that’s looked lifeless at times the last few weeks.
