Creighton notches significant resume-building win with road upset at UConn

Creighton bolstered its NCAA Tournament resume with a significant conference win against UConn on Saturday.

The Bluejays defeated the Huskies, 68-63, in Storrs, marking UConn's first home Big East loss since Jan. 25, 2023.

Per Joe Lunardi's most recent men's Bracketology update for ESPN on Friday, Creighton, which has advanced to the second weekend of men's NCAA Tournament in each of the past two seasons, was one of the last four teams in the field, requiring it up to play in the round of 68.

The win over Associated Press No. 14 UConn (13-5, 5-2 in Big East) could propel it to one of the last four opening-round byes in the next update.

The Bluejays entered Saturday ranked 42nd in KenPom (it jumped five spots with the win) and 51st in NET rankings. They notched their third Quad 1 win after beating Associated Press No. 9 Kansas (12-4, 3-2 in Big 12) and St. John's (15-3, 6-1 in Big East) earlier this season.

Creighton's win wasn't without controversy. Late in the game, Creighton had a foul to give. Senior guard Steven Ashworth (No. 1) used it on UConn fifth-year senior guard Hassan Diarra (No. 10), who appeared to have already begun his shooting motion from beyond the arc, which should have given him three free throws and a chance to tie the game.

Referees didn't see it that way and called it a common foul. UConn junior forward Alex Karaban missed a three-pointer off the inbound pass, and Creighton senior center Ryan Kalkbrenner drained two free throws to ice the game.