It’s been a strange men’s college basketball season.
Some of the nation’s top teams have taken big losses of late.
The Purdue Boilermakers, ranked second in the AP Poll at the time, lost 73-69 to the Ohio State Buckeyes over the weekend. The seventh-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels lost 86-79 to the Syracuse Orange on Feb. 13. The list goes on and on.
Tuesday night, it was time for the top-ranked UConn Huskies to take a loss, their first since Dec. 20 against the Seton Hall Pirates.
UConn headed to Omaha to take on the No. 15 Creighton Bluejays, and Creighton came away with an impressive 85-66 victory.
Guard Steven Ashworth led Creighton with 20 points, including a deep three-pointer in the first half to help extend the lead.
Steven Ashworth from WAY downtown! 🔥🔥🔥
No. 15 Creighton has a 29-23 lead over No. 1 UConn. 🏀pic.twitter.com/EO91kM3LyD
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) February 21, 2024
Creighton’s three-point shooting played a pivotal role in the upset victory. The Bluejays went 50% (14-for-28) from long-range and never let the visitors get comfortable. Ainsworth made five three-pointers on his own, while UConn, as a team, made just three long-distance shots in the entire game.
Incredibly, as CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander points out, this is Creighton’s first win over a top-ranked team in school history. It also is UConn’s 21st straight road loss to a ranked opponent.
No. 15 Creighton 85, No. 1 UConn 66. Final.
—It's the Bluejays' first win over a No. 1 team in school history
—It's Creighton's second win ever vs. a reigning national champ
—UConn is 0-21 in its last 21 games on the road vs. ranked competition— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) February 21, 2024
The upset took many on social media by surprise, even though college basketball has been rife with upsets this season.
Incredible performance from Creighton!!!!
— Nick Bahe (@NickBahe) February 21, 2024
UConn's 19-point loss to Creighton is the biggest loss by a AP No. 1 team since Virginia lost 74-54 to UMBC in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament.
— Katie Sharp (@ktsharp) February 21, 2024
Actual serious tweet: Creighton is a good team with a good coach and a good home court and they shot the absolute piss out of the ball tonight. Hat tip.
— No Escalators (@NoEscalators) February 21, 2024
Creighton was on 🔥 tonight! Great W!!! https://t.co/jVLiUoeQPo
— Agave Papi (@KingLsENE) February 21, 2024
