Kalkbrenner's 23 points and Scheierman's 20 lead No. 12 Creighton in 85-64 rout of Seton Hall

OMAHA, Neb. -- — Creighton won a three-overtime thriller in its first meeting of the season with Seton Hall.

The second meeting was anything but dramatic.

Ryan Kalkbrenner scored 23 points and Baylor Scheierman added 20 as the 12th-ranked Bluejays routed the Pirates 85-64 on Wednesday night.

“You never come in to a game against a good team like them counting on winning by as much,” Kalkbrenner said. “When we execute to our capabilities, we're a really good team.”

Kalkbrenner made all 10 of his shots from the field, including six dunks, and all six of Scheierman's field goals were 3-pointers.

Scheierman also had 11 rebounds for his 13th double-double of the season, tied for most in the Big East. Trey Alexander also had a double-double with 15 points and 10 assists.

The Bluejays (21-8, 12-6 Big East) moved into third place in the conference, a half-game ahead of Seton Hall (18-10, 11-6).

Seton Hall got 18 points from Dre Davis, 15 from Kadary Richmond and 13 from Al-Amir Dawes.

The Pirates shot just 32.3% in the first half and 41.7% for the game, were outrebounded 35-28, had six shots blocked and had the ball stolen on 10 of their 13 turnovers.

“I'm very sour right now,” Pirates coach Shaheen Holloway said. “I can’t believe we came out and played the way we did for such an important game.”

Creighton won the season's first meeting 97-94 in three overtimes on Jan. 20 but never trailed in the rematch.

“Good old-fashioned ass whooping,” Holloway said, adding that his team seemed flat in practices the previous two days and a number of players were sick. “I tried everything to get us going in practice. I told them (Creighton) is a different team at home, 15 to 20 points better at home. We just didn't come out like I thought we would have or should have.”

A 19-5 Creighton spurt broke open what was a close game for the first 10 minutes. Reserve Isaac Traudt hit back-to-back 3s, Kalkbrenner backed down Jaden Bediako on the baseline, spun and dunked and Alexander finished it with a steal and layup to make it 33-16.

“Isaac has been ready over the course of the year whether his number has been called or not,” Alexander said. “When the opportunity presented itself, he was ready and gave us that boost we needed tonight.”

The Bluejays led 38-22 at the break, the fewest first-half points allowed by Creighton this season and tied for fewest by Seton Hall.

Creighton’s lead ballooned to 27 points in the second half.

“Defensively, that first half we were really locked in to our plan,” Creighton coach Greg McDermott said. “The start of the second half was just beautiful basketball offensively, the way the ball moved. We turned good shots into great shots.”

BIG PICTURE

Seton Hall: The Pirates, who sit squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble, failed to capitalize on an opportunity against a Quad 1 opponent. They had come in off wins in three straight games and five of their last six.

Creighton: The Bluejays beat the Pirates for the fourth straight time and for the eighth time in 10 meetings. They've swept the season series four of the last five seasons.

UP NEXT

Seton Hall: Visits No. 3 UConn on Sunday. The Pirates opened Big East play with a 75-60 home win over the Huskies on Dec. 20.

Creighton: Hosts No. 5 Marquette on Saturday. The Bluejays lost 72-67 in Milwaukee on Dec. 30.

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