Creighton came within a few seconds of the Final Four last spring and has the type of roster that could make another deep run this season. After a solid start to the season, the Bluejays have hit a few bumps in the road, losing two of their past three games to plummet down the AP Top 25. No. 22 Creighton gets a big chance to get back on track Saturday at home against No. 10 Marquette.
Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner returned to the eighth-ranked Bluejays’ game against Alabama at the start of the second half after injuring his right ankle. Kalkbrenner turned his ankle while running back on defense seven minutes into the game. The 7-foot-1 Kalkbrenner is the Bluejays' second-leading scorer, two-time Big East defensive player of the year and one of the country’s premier rim protectors.
Word out of the locker room while Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner was getting treatment for an ankle sprain was that it was questionable whether he would return for the second half against Alabama. Kalkbrenner had no doubt he would. Kalkbrenner scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half to lead No. 8 Creighton to an 85-82 victory on Saturday night.
Creighton’s Baylor Scheierman grew up 75 miles from Lincoln, in Aurora, so he has a deep understanding of the importance of Bluejays' annual game against Nebraska. Scheierman scored 20 of his 24 points in the first half as the No. 15 Bluejays built a 15-point halftime lead on their way to an 89-60 win on Sunday. “I started off my first four shots and then I kind of got hot a little bit,” Scheierman said.
“It was great,” Alexander said. Steven Ashworth scored 17 points and went 4 of 5 on 3-pointers, while Ryan Kalkbrenner had 16 points and 12 rebounds. The Bluejays (6-1) shot 53% from the field and outrebounded the Cowboys 38-30 in a Big East-Big 12 Battle game that was tied 23-all after 11 minutes.