Creighton star big man Ryan Kalkbrenner has missed just three field-goal attempts in three games.
The nearly perfect Kalkbrenner will aim to continue his early-season run when No. 14 Creighton battles Kansas City on Saturday night in Omaha, Neb.
Kalkbrenner has been hotter than lava by making 35 of 38 shots, and his 92.1 field-goal percentage ranks third in the nation. He rates second nationally with a 29.7 scoring average, and also is contributing 7.3 rebounds and 3.0 blocks while helping the Bluejays (3-0) get off to a strong start.
Kalkbrenner made all six of his field-goal attempts on Monday when Creighton rolled to a 78-43 win over Houston Christian. He had 16 points and five rebounds in 22 minutes.
But the 7-foot-1 center was more impressed with a different number — 328.
That’s how many wins at Creighton that coach Greg McDermott has recorded, as the victory over Houston Christian set the school mark. He surpassed Dana Altman (327 from 1994-2010), the coach he replaced.
“It’s awesome that I’ve been able to be a part of it and having Mac as my coach for so long has been such a blessing in my life,” Kalkbrenner said. “To see that accomplishment for him is so awesome. To be a part of that, it’s amazing.”
McDermott said it is all the people and players who have been part of the program that made the milestone meaningful.
McDermott already was more infatuated by how Creighton can be better defensively when it faces Kansas City. Interesting because the Bluejays have limited opponents to 34.9 percent from the field through the three games.
“We’re trying to grow defensively,” McDermott said. “That’s been a big focus of ours since our first game and we took a step in the right direction. …”
“Sooner or later, the defense and offense have to show up on the same night. Hopefully that’s Saturday.”
Steven Ashworth also is off to a solid start with averages of 17.7 points and a team-leading 7.3 assists. He has made 10 of 20 3-pointers.
Kansas City (2-1) is coming off an 82-56 loss at No. 7 Iowa State on Monday.
Jamar Brown scored 20 points against the Cyclones to raise his team-best average to 18.3 per game.
Roos coach Marvin Menzies didn’t think the losing margin would be as big as it was.
“You’re always disappointed when you lose a game but there were really, really valuable lessons in this game,” Menzies said. “I thought it would’ve been nice to make it a little closer and make it more of a fight. I just felt like we didn’t handle the ball pressure well.”
Kansas City shot just 33.3 percent from the field against Iowa State.
“Lots of stuff to shore up and we don’t have much time to lick our wounds,” Menzies said. “We have Creighton on Saturday.”
Kansas City has been pressuring the ball well and is averaging 11.7 steals per game. Brown has a team-high eight.
It has been nearly 29 years since the Roos beat Creighton. That was a 72-70 overtime victory on Dec. 28, 1995.
In the most recent meeting, the Bluejays rolled to an 89-53 victory on Dec. 27, 2018. That was Creighton’s sixth straight win over the Roos.
–Field Level Media
