College Basketball

No. 15 Creighton Upsets No. 1 UConn, Halts 14-Game Win Streak

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James Foglio
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James Foglio Sports Editor

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Updated21 Feb 2024

No. 15 Creighton Bluejays Upset No. 1 UConn, Halts 14-Game Win Streak

The No. 15 Creighton Bluejays achieved the impossible on Tuesday night, upsetting the No. 1 UConn Huskies 85-66 at CHI Health Center Omaha, the Bluejays’ home arena, having lost all six of their previous meetings with No. 1-ranked teams and never coming closer than 10 points.

Seven times was the charm. The Bluejays built a double-digit lead in the first half and led 43-29 at halftime. Steven Ashworth led Creighton in scoring with 20 points on 6-of-14 (42.9%) shooting from the floor and five 3-pointers. Creighton finished 29-of-53 (54.7%) shooting from the field and 14-of-28 (50%) from deep.

“We played a really good game and we beat an incredible team, a team that has a legitimate chance to win a national championship,” Creighton coach Greg McDermott said. “But we’re pretty good as well.”


Creighton (20-7, 10-6 Big East) led by 23 points with 10 minutes left. Although the Bluejays’ lead was cut to 10, they went on to hold the defending national champs scoreless on five straight possessions to secure the win.

Ashworth scored 16 of his 20 points in the first half. “When you’re in your home gym, there’s a feeling of confidence, and the fans were a huge part of that,” he said. “Definitely a home-court advantage, and in that first half we got on a little bit of a heater.”

Trey Alexander finished with 16 points and Ryan Kalkbrenner added 15. Baylor Scheierman ended his outing with 12 points, seven rebounds, and five made free throws.

Furthermore, UConn (24-3, 14-2) had its 14-game win streak snapped three days after it beat then-No. 4 Marquette by 28 points — and one day after it was voted as the first unanimous No. 1 this season in the AP poll.

“It kind of felt like we just ran into a buzz saw there,” UConn coach Danny Hurley said after the upset loss.

No. 15 Creighton held No. 1 UConn to three 3-pointers on 16 attempts, led by as many as 23 points

Although UConn outscored Creighton 40-18 in the paint, the Bluejays’ perimeter defense helped carry them to victory. The Huskies shot only 3-of-16 (18.8%) from beyond the arc. Creighton was just 6-of-26 (23.1%) on 3s in its 62-48 loss at UConn last month.

“When I watched that Marquette-UConn game, I’ve got to admit I wasn’t feeling warm and fuzzy about our chances,” McDermott said.

It was the perfect storm for the Huskies. The Bluejays were coming off consecutive 22-point wins over Georgetown and Butler. Creighton also had momentum after winning three straight.


Meanwhile, the Huskies were playing their third game in seven days. A loss at some point was imminent. Coach Hurley felt his team wasn’t as prepared to keep up with the Bluejays in Omaha.

“We’ve had a great run, but it just kind of felt like today we ran into them playing great and us not playing as well as we need to here in Omaha,” Hurley said. “We were definitely stunned. We knew this was a dangerous game. One of the better teams in the country. But we didn’t expect this to happen.”

UConn’s Tristen Newton scored 17 of his 27 points in the second half. The senior guard put up 10 during an 18-5 run that helped pull the Huskies within 74-64. UConn’s season-low three 3s on 16 attempts was arguably its biggest contributing factor in what led to its upset loss.

It was UConn’s most lopsided loss since Houston defeated it 84-45 in the American Athletic Conference Tournament on March 15, 2019. The Huskies entered on a Big East-record three straight wins by at least 25 points.

Plus, the Huskies have now lost 21 in a row on the road against Top 25 opponents. They haven’t defeated a ranked team as a visitor since Jan. 16, 2014, at Memphis.

UConn will have the chance to bounce back from its upset loss at St John’s on Sunday, Feb. 25.