No. 14 Creighton routs Houston Christian 78-43, Greg McDermott becomes Bluejays' career wins leader
Creighton head coach Greg McDermott claps from the bench during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Houston Christian Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, in Omaha, Neb. Credit: AP/Bonnie Ryan
OMAHA, Neb. — Ryan Kalkbrenner scored 16 points, Steven Ashworth added 13 and No. 14 Creighton blew out Houston Christian 78-43 on Wednesday night to make Greg McDermott the Bluejays' all-time coaching wins leader.
McDermott has won 328 games at Creighton since taking over for Dana Altman in 2010. Altman, now at Oregon, won 327 games from 1994-2010.
The Bluejays (3-0) held Houston Christian (1-2) to 25% shooting and the lowest point total against them since 2017.
The 7-foot-1 Kalkbrenner continued his torrid shooting, going 6 of 6 from the field to put him at 35 of 38 through three games for a nation-leading 92.1%.
The Bluejays came out sluggish, scoring only three points through the first 5 1/2 minutes. They turned up their transition offense, Kalkbrenner began asserting himself in the post and the rout was on after a 16-0 run gave them a double-digit lead that kept growing.
D'Aundre Samuels led the Huskies with eight points.
Takeaways
Houston Christian: The Huskies, picked last in the 12-team Southland Conference, dropped to 0-16 all-time against ranked opponents.
Houston Christian guard D'Aundre Samuels (5) drives against Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner (11) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, in Omaha, Neb. Credit: AP/Bonnie Ryan
Creighton: The Bluejays got off to a slow start for a third straight game, missing seven of their first eight shots. They have gotten away with it against three overmatched opponents but won't be able to once the competition gets stiffer.
Key moment
Creighton outscored the Huskies 36-5 over the last 16 minutes of the first half, holding them without a point over an eight-minute span.
Key stat
Houston Christian shot 15.2% from the field (5 of 33) the first 20 minutes and only scored 12 first-half points, the lowest by a Division I team this season.
Up next
Houston Christian hosts Division III Rockford on Saturday, the same day Creighton hosts Kansas City.
