Akron’s Enrique Freeman gave Creighton all it could handle in the first half, but an offensive onslaught to begin the second half by the Bluejays’ big three of Ryan Kalkbrenner, Trey Alexander and Baylor Scheierman quickly put the game out of reach.
Up just five at the break after a back-and-forth, physical first half headlined by Freeman and Creighton center Kalkbrenner, the No. 3 seed Bluejays made 9 of their first 13 shots in the second half to pull away from a scrappy No. 14 Akron and win by a final score of 77-60 in the first round of the NCAA tournament Thursday afternoon at PPG Paints Arena.
The first half, though, was a good, old-fashioned battle of the big men between Freeman and Kalkbrenner. Freeman opened his account by banking in a 3-pointer to give the Zips an early advantage, and Kalkbrenner answered with seven points of his own. By the end of the first half, Freeman, the Mid-American Conference Player of the Year who led the country in total rebounds this season, had 15 points and eight rebounds, while Kalkbrenner, a 7-foot center and three-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year, countered with 11 points.
Behind Freeman, Akron took a 34-31 lead with 2:44 remaining in the opening stanza, but an 8-0 run by the Bluejays, which Zips coach John Groce called “the most important juncture of the game,” resulted in a 39-34 Creighton lead at the break.
“I was not surprised they came at us the way that they did,” Creighton coach Greg McDermott said. “We had some mental mistakes that allowed them to kind of get going, and Freeman banks in his first 3. That’s a nervy shot for a guy who doesn’t shoot a lot. But if the first one doesn’t go in with the bank, maybe he’s not as comfortable ... So we had to adjust, obviously, as the game went on.”
Whatever adjustments McDermott made worked. Freeman struggled in the second half, missing both of his 3-pointers and making 3 of 9 shots from the field with a plus/minus rating of minus-15.
And with Freeman and Kalkbrenner keeping each other occupied down low, Creighton’s supporting cast outclassed Akron’s. Though Kalkbrenner’s 23 points paced the Bluejays, they also got 19 points from Alexander; 15 points and 13 rebounds from all-Big East first-teamer Scheierman; and 10 points and a plus-25 rating from Mason Miller.
“As we got that lead, we made it a point to play through Kalkbrenner,” McDermott said. “I thought the guys did a good job of picking their spots. ... So to do what we did offensively against what I consider a very good defensive team is really a credit to our team.”
Creighton (24-9) then opened the second half on an offensive tear. The seven turnovers that plagued them in the first half disappeared, allowing the team’s efficient shooting percentage to carry it. For the game, the Bluejays made 26 of 46 (56.5%) shots from the field, 10 of 17 (58.9%) from 3-point range and 15 of 20 (75%) from the free-throw line.
By contrast, Akron made 38% from the field and just 21% from beyond the arc.
“I do think if you can rebound and take care of the ball and defend, you’re always going to have a chance,” Groce said. “But this was a little unique today. [Creighton’s] offense was just prolific. Saw it on film coming into the game, felt that way during the game ... They’ve got size at the rim and a guy that can score in the post. They’ve got multiple playmakers, great passers, and they shoot the ball from 3 very well. You’re not going to find very many nights where you’ve got all four or five of those guys that shoot 3’s, for them to all be off in the same night. They run good stuff, so I knew it was going to be a challenge to stop them.”
Creighton moves on to play Saturday against the winner of Thursday afternoon’s contest between No. 6 seed South Carolina and No. 11 seed Oregon. A matchup with Oregon would create an interesting coaching matchup, as McDermott would go against his predecessor, Dana Altman. Altman accrued a 327-176 record in 16 seasons coaching the Bluejays.
For Akron (24-11), it’s the end of the season, and for Freeman, the end of a career.
Freeman, who started his career as a walk-on and ended as an honorable-mention All-American, finished with 21 points and 14 rebounds. Freeman reflected on his career in the postgame press conference before Groce, holding back tears, sang the senior forward’s praises.
“Some games, you get outshot, simple as that,” Freeman said. “I don’t think any of our guys quit. None of our guys stopped playing hard. Everybody gave their best efforts until the shot clock went off. So all we can do is take a look at the drawing board, and hopefully, these freshmen, juniors and sophomores come in next season and see that and use that as an opportunity to learn.”
First Published: March 21, 2024, 9:30 p.m.
Updated: March 21, 2024, 9:35 p.m.
