UC Santa Barbara was in a great spot to get the 12/5 upset on Creighton. But in the end, the 5 seed Bluejays held on for the win as the Gauchos missed a late close range bucket.
It was a tale of two halves as UC Santa Barbara led early but by the second half, Creighton had caught up and were extending the lead to as high as 10 points. UC Santa Barbara came back and when Miles Norris hit three straight free throws, the Gauchos were on a roll. The three’s were raining and UC Santa Barbara suddenly found themselves up six with less than six minutes left.
That’s when Creighton came back and for the rest of the game, it was a barnburner with the lead changing three times. Free throws wound up being pivotal in the final minute. While up one, Creighton committed a foul to send Amadou Sow to the line. After Sow converted both shots, UC Santa Barbara was up one. Then as Creighton got an offensive rebound, Christian Bishop was fouled. So when he made his free throws, Creighton was up one. Despite being behind, the situation set up UC Santa Barbara with possession and time to get the final shot. Sow drove in but missed the layup and when Creighton got the rebound, it was just about over.
UCSB was sooooooo close. pic.twitter.com/Et2XC6W2vC
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) March 20, 2021
Creighton gave UC Santa Barbara a lifeline when Shereef Mitchell missed the first of a one-and-one, but with less than two seconds left, the best they could do was a half court heave and that was that.
Now, Creighton gets to sit back and watch the 4/13 matchup between Virginia and Ohio to see who their next round opponent is.
