OMAHA, Neb. — Big East preseason player of the year Ryan Kalkbrenner scored a career-high 49 points, and 15th-ranked Creighton needed just about every one of them in a season-opening 99-86 win over UT-Rio Grande Valley on Wednesday night.
The 7-foot-1 Kalkbrenner, a fifth-year center, was 20 of 22 from the field, including 2 for 2 on 3-pointers, and he made 7 of 8 free throws. He also grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked three shots.
“We kind of went into this game trying to make a concerted effort to establish me in the post,” Kalkbrenner told Fox Sports 1 after the game. “I saw a few go in, and it just kept going from there.”
The eye-opening stat line put him at or toward the top of a number of records, including:
• It was the fifth-most points ever in a game in Big East history
• It was the second-most points in Creighton history behind Bob Portman’s 51 against UW-Milwaukee in 1967
• It was the second-most points by a player in a season opener in the last 25 years (Arkansas’ Rotnei Clarke had 51 in a win over Alcorn State in 2009)
• The 20 made field goals tied the single-game Big East record (Providence’s MarShon Brooks against Notre Dame in 2011)
• The 91% shooting from the floor was the highest field goal percentage in a 45-point game by any Division 1 player in the last 25 seasons and the highest by a player to attempt 20 or more shots in a game over the last 25 years
“To go to work like he did in the offseason and then the first time you’re under the lights for real to do something superhuman, it’s pretty special,” Bluejays coach Greg McDermott said. “And he deserves it. There’s not a person on the planet that deserves success more than Ryan Kalkbrenner because of the way he’s approached everything on a daily basis.
Even with Kalkbrenner’s effort, Creighton, a Sweet 16 team three of the last four seasons, couldn’t shake off the Vaqueros of the Southland Conference until the final two minutes.
Hasan Abdul Hakim had 24 points and Cliff Davis and DK Thorn added 17 apiece for the Vaqueros (0-2), who were within 87-82 when Howie Fleming Jr. made a fifth-chance basket with 2:37 left.
Steven Ashworth scored 25 points for the Bluejays.
Information from ESPN Research and The Associated Press was used in this report.