Creighton upset No. 14 UConn 68-63 on the road at Gampel Pavilion, snapping the Huskies 28-game home winning streak. It’s the first home loss since Jan. 25, 2023, for the back-to-back national champions.
The Bluejays, who led by as many as nine with seven minutes left in the second half, held on for the victory despite a late push by UConn. Up three and with a foul to give in the final seconds, Creighton’s Steven Ashworth reached in and fouled UConn’s Hassan Diarra, who appeared to be in a shooting motion beyond the 3-point line when the contact occurred. But the foul was called on the floor. UConn’s Alex Karaban subsequently missed a game-tying attempt and Creighton converted its free throws on the other end.
It was another moment of mortality for the Huskies (13-5, 5-2 Big East), who suffered their second Big East loss in the past three games and fifth defeat of the season, including three straight at the Maui Invitational in November. The program’s last loss at Gampel came against Xavier nearly two years ago, after which UConn went on a run to the first of two straight national titles.
Creighton (12-6, 5-2 Big East) won its third straight game on Saturday, led by 24 points from Jamiya Neal and a 16-and-10 double-double by Ryan Kalkbrenner. The Huskies — still without star freshman Liam McNeeley, sidelined by an ankle injury — were led by 15 points from both Diarra and Solo Ball. Karaban, the team’s leading scorer, was held to eight points on 3 of 12 shooting. The Bluejays outpaced UConn 28 to 25 on the glass and held a significant advantage at the free throw line, converting 14 of 15 compared to 5 of 5 for the Huskies.
The two teams are tied for third in the Big East standings as of early Saturday afternoon, behind St. John’s and first-place Marquette. The win will be a nice boost for Creighton’s NCAA Tournament resume, on top of a recent win over the Johnnies and a nonconference home win over Kansas. The Huskies will look to start a new streak at home against Butler on Tuesday.
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(Photo of Jimaya Neal: Joe Buglewicz / Getty Images)
