No. 15 Creighton received a record-breaking performance from Ryan Kalkbrenner in its season opener.
When Fairleigh Dickinson visits the Bluejays on Sunday afternoon in Omaha, Neb., Kalkbrenner will try to follow his career high 49-point outburst where he set a school record with 20 made field goals in 22 attempts in a 99-86 win Wednesday against Texas Rio Grande Valley.
It was a shooting performance that rivals all time NCAA records and the fact that it came from a three-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year winner shows just how well-rounded Kalkbrenner’s game has become.
The last time a player converted 20 field goals and shot over 90 percent was in 1973, when the late Bill Walton did it at UCLA. The 49 points also broke Doug McDermott’s CHI Health Center Omaha arena record of 45 points set in 2014.
Kalkbrenner’s previous scoring high was 31 points set in the first round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament against North Carolina State.
“We wanted to make a concerted effort to get me established in the post,” Kalkbrenner said. “I saw a few go in and kept it going from there. I didn’t even realize how much I had. We were in a close game and not executing what we wanted to on defense. I was thinking more about that than what I was doing on offense.”
A tight first half led to a two-possession game in the second half as Rio Grande Valley connected on 14 of 35 shots from 3-point range and had 15 offensive rebounds. Creighton coach Greg McDermott said the effort from the scrappy Vaqueros provided plenty of teaching moments the Bluejays will review in a film session and at practice.
“We’ll have a spirited practice to try and get ourselves some better habits on the defensive end,” McDermott said. “I’m happy to get the win, but disappointed in what we are doing defensively.”
Steven Ashworth added 25 points, on 17-of-17 shooting from the free-throw line, with seven rebounds and seven assists. He was just 3 of 10 from the floor.
“It was incredible,” McDermott said of Kalkbrenner’s performance. “His teammates did a great job of finding him, of realizing what he had going. He’s one of the best players to ever play here and there have been some really good players that have played here.”
Last season, Fairleigh Dickinson led the Northeast Conference with 92.0 points per game. The Knights are in search of an offense that is more motion oriented this season and after they dropped their season opener 113-72 at Miami (Fla.) on Monday, they nearly flipped the score with a 112-72 win against Division III Purchase in their home opener Thursday.
Terrence Brown scored a game high 24 points for FDU and Jo’el Emanuel added 16 points.
“We want to be up tempo and play free,” FDU coach Jack Castleberry said. “Basketball is about making shots at the end of the day. We try to make this (game) all about execution and process.”
