Creighton men take down No. 1 again as Jayhawks fall in Omaha

OMAHA — No. 1 Kansas was upset 76-63 by unranked Creighton on Wednesday night, the Bluejays’ second win over top-ranked opposition in less than a year.

Pop Isaacs led the scoring for Creighton with a game-high 27 points, while seven-foot-one Ryan Kalkbrenner contributed 17 points and 10 rebounds on his return from injury.

After losing its first six games against No. 1 teams, Creighton has now won two in a row against top-ranked teams having downed the UConn Huskies last season. Wednesday’s victory was coach Greg McDermott’s 15th win over a top-10 team in his tenure with the Bluejays.

“It was going to take a special effort on our part on both ends of the floor. Guys are beat up, guys are sick, and they found a way. I’m really proud of my team,” McDermott told Fox Sports. “We beat not just a great team, a great program.

“This is the building No. 1 teams go to die, evidently.”

Creighton never trailed during the game, surging into the lead in the first half before a 9-0 run by Kansas to start the second half cut the Bluejays’ lead to 41-40 with 17:31 left.

But the unranked team responded with a 10-0 run, punctuated by two three-pointers from Isaacs, and when Steven Ashworth sunk his own three-pointer with 9:26 remaining to make it 65-53, the Jayhawks would never make it back to within single digits. It is Kansas’ first loss of the season.

“I haven’t quite had a moment like that in college,” Isaacs said, per the Associated Press, after students had poured onto the court at the end. “I haven’t played against the No. 1 team in the country. I’ve played against No. 2 and No. 3. It was hyped. The students showed up and it was electric out there.

“That wasn’t the first court storming I’ve been in. It was the biggest one.”

No. 2 Auburn also

falls at No. 9 Duke

Cooper Flagg, the favorite to be the No. 1 overall pick in the next NBA Draft, picked up a game-high 22 points and 11 rebounds as No. 9 Duke overcame No. 2 Auburn 84-78 in the SEC/ACC Challenge.

“They’re a great team,” Flagg said of Auburn afterwards. “They’re one of the best teams in the country, for sure. So for us to be able to go out and compete how we did, and put on the physicality and the toughness that we played with, I think it was huge for us.”

The teenage sensation’s double-double was complemented by a remarkable six three-pointers from Isaiah Evans off the bench in the first half and double-digit scores from Tyrese Proctor (12) and Caleb Foster (11).

The Tigers were Maui Invitational champs.