By Sam Federman
When you think of Ryan Kalkbrenner, you think of dominant defense. You think of a player that is going to keep you out of the paint at all costs. You think of a player that gets the ball in the low post, and backs you down. You think of a player that is going to block your shot.
You do not think of a scorer who takes over the game on the offensive end.
On Wednesday night, in Creighton's season opener, the three-time reigning Big East Defensive Player of the Year had a performance to remember against UTRGV.
The Vaqueros didn't have any starter over 6 foot 8, and the Bluejays just continued to feed the ball to Kalkbrenner in the low post, and he continued to put the ball in the basket.
20, 22, 24, 26, 28....
With 38 points, Kalkbrenner drained a three from the left wing to give him the first 40 point performance by a Creighton player since Doug McDermott.
He finished with 49 points on 20-22 from the field, grabbing 11 rebounds, as Creighton escaped with a close victory.
It was the best performance of anybody throughout the first three days of the season.
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UConn raised banner number six last night, getting a huge win over Sacred Heart to open up the quest for a three-peat.
Alex Karaban, now the team's most visible star, had a statline you'd expect from Kalkbrenner.
20 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, and 7 blocks!
The Huskies enveloped Sacred Heart on drives, and rejected 13 Pioneer shots, draining 13 threes on the offensive end. UConn played a complete game on both ends.
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Tonight's Games to Watch
Milwaukee @ Northern Iowa, 8 p.m., ESPN+
Chattanooga @ Saint Mary's, 10 p.m., ESPN+