Kalkbrenner Leads Creighton To March Madness
By Shara Talia Taylor
The Creighton Bluejays will go to the Big Dance, but not with the Big East Championship ticket after an 82-66 loss to the St. John’s Red Storm Saturday evening at Madison Square Garden.
Creighton started strong and soared through the first half of the game, but their 5th return to the championship match, since joining the conference in the 2013-14 season, would not be successful. The Bluejays were unable to fully defend the Red Storm in the second half of the game as they picked up their pace after halftime, and although Creighton increased their shots, they were limited by St. John’s defense.
“I think we got off to a good start and then they started to crank up the pressure with the pressing and all that and I think that’s when we started to feel it,” said Center Ryan Kalkbrenner about pressure from St. John’s defense.
The Bluejays made 40% of their field goals in the first half of the game out-scoring the Red Storm 28-25. They made 38 shots after halftime, landing 46.7% of their field goals. Kalkbrenner, standing at 7’1” led his team with 15 total points, seven rebounds and an assist.
Creighton led 10-2 at the first timeout, 19-15 at the third timeout of the game and was ahead 28-25 by half time. St. John’s guard RJ Luis Jr. said Head Coach Rick Pitino told them not to be intimidated by Kalkbrenner‘s size. “The conversation was not to let up,” Luis said about the locker room at halftime. “Just sticking to the principles and knowing that basketball obviously is a game of runs. The other team is going to go on their runs. So we just try our best to stick to our defensive principles and win the game.”
Luis had a game high 29 points and had 10 rebounds, an assist and a steal. A 3-pointer by Luis tied the game at 38 after halftime and a jumper by teammate by center Vince Iwuchukwu pushed the Red Storm ahead 43-41. 14 field goals from St. John’s pushed them further ahead.
“When you allow them to score 14 straight possessions that’s not a rock fight anymore,” Kalkbrenner said.
Kadary Richmond added 12 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and two steals for St. John’s in the game.
“It felt amazing being a kid from Brooklyn, you always see people do big things in this building during this time, so it was special,” Richmond said after winning the tournament MSG. “I’m just thankful for the moments and everything that God put in front of me.”
Jamiya Neal added 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists for Creighton.
“I see why people say this is the best arena in the world,” Neal said about playing at MSG, adding the cheers were distracting. “Definitely was an away game. Never going to make excuses though. That’s a great team and they played great and they showed why they won the regular season.”
Creighton was optimistic about what’s ahead for the NCAA Tournament. “We’ll flip the page to preparation and get ready for whoever that opponent is,” said Head Coach Greg McDermott about planning for the NCAA Tournament. “This team has had a great regular season, a great run in this tournament and we’re very capable of making noise in the NCAA tournament.”
Creighton will face the Louisville Cardinals on March 20 for the first round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
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