STORRS, Conn. — Jamiya Neal had a career-high 24 points to lead Creighton to a 68-63 victory over No. 14 UConn on Saturday, snapping the Huskies’ 28-game home winning streak.
Ryan Kalkbrenner had 16 points and Steven Ashworth scored 12 for the Bluejays (12-6, 5-2 Big East). Hassan Diarra and Solo Ball each had 15 points for UConn (13-5, 5-2).
The 14th-ranked Huskies hadn’t lost at home since an 82-79 loss on Jan. 25, 2023, to then-No. 13 Xavier.
Saturday’s loss is UConn’s fifth to an unranked AP opponent this season. They’d only lost four such games over the last two seasons combined, according to ESPN Research.
When asked if he can still coach urgency into his team at this early point in the season, UConn coach Dan Hurley said his players are “great guys” but that a flip needs to be switched on the court.
“When you take the court, a switch has to flip and you have to become a maniacal, ruthless, relentless warrior, competitor, life-or-death urgency to rebound the ball and win loose balls,” Hurley said.
Four consecutive points from Alex Karaban capped a 12-2 run early in the second half to put the Huskies up 43-41. Creighton answered with a pair of dunks in a 6-0 run to regain the lead.
After missing its first three 3-pointers, Creighton hit four in a row with Isaac Traudt giving the Bluejays their first lead midway through the first half. The Huskies regained the lead twice in the first, but Creighton scored 10 of the last 12 points of the half to take a 35-28 lead into the locker room.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
