No. 9 Creighton’s overtime win over No. 8 San Diego State in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament was exciting for the program but came at an expense.
The Bluejays lost their starting center, Ryan Kalkbrenner, in the extra period after he went down (without contact) and grabbed at his knee. The injury, as it turns out, isn’t as bad as it appeared to be.
Creighton head coach Greg McDermott reported on Twitter Friday afternoon that the sophomore center’s knee injury is “not as significant as originally thought,” but that he’ll be sidelined for the rest of the tourney.
While Big Ryan will be out the rest of the tournament, his knee injury was not as significant as originally thought. We expect a full recovery in the next 2-3 months. Our 🙏 were answered! #RDJ
— Coach McDermott (@cucoachmac) March 18, 2022
While the news is encouraging for both the player’s and the team’s long-term future, it makes the Bluejays’ road to a consecutive Sweet Sixteen appearance even tougher. Creighton will face the region’s No. 1 seed Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday for a chance to make back-to-back appearances in the Sweet Sixteen.
And while the young and inexperienced Bluejays are maybe a year ahead of schedule after losing five starters from a season ago, the Jayhawks are where everyone expected them to be.
Kansas is one of the best college basketball teams in the nation — as shown all season long. The Jayhawks look to be in peak form after winning its last six games while scoring a Big 12 Tournament championship, and a dominant 83-56 first-round win over Texas Southern in the NCAA Tournament along the way.
Kansas opens Saturday’s matchup with Creighton as an 11.5-point favorite at Tipico Sportsbook.
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