Creighton deals top-ranked Kansas first loss of season, 76-63

Shreyas Laddha, The Kansas City Star on Dec 4, 2024

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OMAHA, Neb. — Late into the second half of No. 1 Kansas basketball’s matchup against Creighton on Wednesday night, the Bluejays faithful chanted for their squad, as “C-U” boomed throughout CHI Health Center.

It was fitting, as a chant of ‘see you’ could have applied, since the game was all but over.

The Kansas men’s basketball team, which was down a rotation player, never looked the part of its ranking on Wednesday night. Instead, the Jayhawks looked at times lethargic and at other points shell-shocked by Creighton’s onslaught.

The Jayhawks never led in a 76-63 defeat. KU guard Dajuan Harris had 15 points, but he took 21 shots. Transfer guards Zeke Mayo and AJ Storr added 12 points apiece.

KU’s Rylan Griffen missed the game due to the flu. He is averaging 8.1 points on 34.5% 3-point shooting this season.

The Bluejays (6-3) led 41-31 at half after shooting a blistering 50% on 3-pointers. Kansas (7-1) cut the lead to one point (41-40) early in the second half, but Creighton responded with a 10-0 run.

After a few calls that didn’t go the Jayhawks’ way, Kansas coach Bill Self protested and was hit with a technical foul. KU would never recover, trailing by as many as 17 points.

Up next: The Jayhawks travel to Columbia to face rival Missouri on Sunday.

Until then, here are three takeaways from Wednesday night’s game…

Kansas struggles with Creighton’s 3-point shooting

Before Wednesday’s game, Self proclaimed Creighton was a much better shooting team than the percentages would’ve shown.

The Bluejays were shooting 31.4% on 3-pointers before the matchup against Kansas.

Well, Self was spot on.

Creighton shot 50% (7 for 14) on 3-pointers in the first half. By comparison, KU shot 5 for 14 (35.7%) from deep.

It felt like no matter how good KU’s defense was, the ball was going through the net for the Bluejays. Creighton ended the night shooting 41.4% from deep. Meanwhile, KU shot 34.8% on 3-pointers.

Dickinson loses battle of the bigs

The most anticipated matchup in this game was between big men Hunter Dickinson and Ryan Kalkbrenner.

It wasn’t much of a contest in the first half. Kalkbrenner dominated the Jayhawks.

He had nine points and five rebounds. And, notably, Dickinson appeared tentative in attacking the fellow 7-footer.

The three-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year is an imposing presence down low and it certainly appeared to affect Dickinson. Dickinson had two points on 1-for-2 shooting in the first half. He wasn’t much better in the second.

He finished with six points on four shots and had eight rebounds. Meanwhile, Kalkbrenner had 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Up-and-down days for Mayo, Harris

KU’s offense left a lot to be desired.

That said, Mayo was a bright spot — at least in the first half.

He was one of the few Jayhawks who could score against Creighton. On top of that, he and Harris were the only starters who were not tentative on offense.

Unfortunately for Kansas, Harris shot a dismal 6 for 21 (28.6%). Creighton strategized to sag off Harris defensively, and he was unable to make the Bluejays pay.

Mayo was pivotal in keeping the game within striking distance for Kansas. He finished with 12 points and two assists, but all of his points came in the first half.

Still, it wasn’t enough. Kansas shot 35.7% from the floor for the game.