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Neal's Career-High Carries Men's Basketball Past Louisville in NCAA Opener

By: Rob Anderson

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- A 12-0 run midway through the first half helped ninth-seeded Creighton open up a 20 point lead and the Bluejays never looked back in a 89-75 victory over eighth-seeded and 10th-ranked Louisville on Thursday morning in NCAA Tournament First Round action at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky.

Creighton (25-10) advanced to a Second Round contest on Saturday at Rupp Arena against top-seeded and fourth-ranked Auburn, which defeated Alabama State 83-63. Saturday's tip time and television coverage will be announced much later tonight.

Jamiya Neal led Creighton with a career-high 29 points, a career-high tying 12 rebounds and six assists, becoming the first player to record at least 25 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists on 65% shooting in an NCAA Tournament game since Marquette's Dwyane Wade in the 2003 Elite Eight. Steven Ashworth added in 22 points of his own, while Kalkbrenner added in 14 points, six rebounds and four blocks. CU shot 57.1 percent from the field and made 11-of-24 three-point shots (45.8 percent).

Chucky Hepburn led Louisville with a team-high 22 points and six assists, with Terrence Edwards Jr.contributing 21 points and four rebounds. The Cardinals finished the contest shooting 42.9 percent (30-of-70) from the field and 27.6 percent (8-of-29) from three-point range. The Bluejays won the board battle 37-32, while Louisville held a 38-36 edge in points in the paint.

The first half featured eight lead changes before a 12-0 run when Creighton made four consecutive three-pointers to push the lead to 40-25. Ashworth and Jackson McAndrew each made two triples in the flurry. After a Louisville basket, McAndrew and Neal made consecutive treys to grow the Bluejay advantage to 47-27. Louisville's Hepburn, an Omaha native, scored the final five points of the half to trim the Bluejay lead to 49-34 at the break.

Ashworth (13), Neal (12) and McAndrew (11) all scored in double-figures in the first half for a Bluejay attack that shot 56.7 percent from the field and made 9-of-16 three-pointers. CU won the rebound battle 20-14 in the opening 20 minutes. Hepburn had 18 points for Louisville before the break.

CU's lead hovered between 13 and 19 points for the first 12 minutes of the second half as they held a 71-57 lead at the under-8 timeout. Neal would score eight of the Bluejays next 10 points to open up an 18-point (81-63) advantage.

Louisville used a a 10-2 run over the next 69 seconds to cut the deficit to 83-73, before a pair of dunks from Green and two free throws from Ashworth sealed the 89-75 victory. 

NOTES: Creighton tied a school-record by appearing in its fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament (also 1999-2003) ... Creighton is one of 13 schools to appear in each of the last five NCAA Tournaments ... Greg McDermott is the third person to lead a Creighton program to 10 or more NCAA Tournaments, joining Kirsten Bernthal Booth (14 Volleyball) and Bob Warming (11 Men's Soccer) ...  Ryan Kalkbrenner had his 20th straight game with a blocked shot and his 27th straight game with 10 or more points ... Creighton's 49 points were its most ever for the first half of an NCAA Tournament game ... Jackson McAndrew (65) moved past Ryan Sears (63) and Kyle Korver (63) and now trails only Ethan Wragge (68) for three-pointers by a CU freshman ... Jamiya Neal is the first player to record at least 25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists on 65 percent shooting in an NCAA Tournament game since Marquette's Dwyane Wade in the 2003 Elite Eight ... Jamiya Neal and Steven Ashworth became just the second pair of teammates to each post at least 20 points, five rebounds and five assists in an NCAA Tournament game in the last 20 years, joining Colorado's KJ Simpson and Eddie Lampkin who also did in the last year's Round of 64 ...  Creighton is now 3-1 all-time against Louisville, with those wins taking place in the NCAA Tournament in 1974, 1999 and 2025 ... Louisville is the first program that Creighton has played three times in the NCAA Tournament ... The win was Greg McDermott's 350th at Creighton ... Creighton picked up its second Top 10 win and fourth Top 25 win of the season ... Creighton is now 1-10 against Top 10 competition and 5-19 all-time against Top 25 teams in the NCAA Tournament ... This is the first time Creighton has played six games against Top 10 teams in the same season ... Creighton is now 21-26 all-time in the NCAA Tournament in 26 appearances, and 12-9 under Greg McDermott ... Today's win clinched Creighton's eighth season of 25 or more wins, six of which have come under Greg McDermott ... Creighton is now 2-0 all-time against No. 8 seeds ... Creighton has won at least one game in 14 of its last 16 postseason appearances ... Creighton has won an NCAA Tournament game in five straight seasons. Entering this year, the only schools with a streak as long were Baylor, Gonzaga, Houston and Kansas.