No. 3 Creighton and No. 11 Oregon delivered the game of March Madness so far.
In a hard-fought contest between two teams that didn’t deserve to lose, the higher-seeded Bluejays edged the Ducks in double overtime. The 86-73 final score did not do justice to the relentless battle that occurred in Pittsburgh.
The two teams traded body shots all game and started throwing haymakers in the final moments. Before Creighton ran away with it in double overtime, neither team led by more than six points the entire night.
The Ducks were in command for most of the game but the Bluejays always had an answer. Oregon’s duo of Jermaine Couisnard and N’Faly Dante were unstoppable, but Creighton’s trio of Trey Alexander, Baylor Scheierman and Ryan Kalkbrenner were too much to handle.
Couisnard was a warrior. The senior wing had a game-high 32 points, hitting big shot after big shot. Dante was an immovable force in the paint, chasing every rebound and throwing down thunderous dunks to tally 28 points, 20 rebounds, two blocks and two steals. It was like watching an NBA Jam duo.
But with starting point guard Jackson Shelstad on the bench with a knee injury, Couisnard and Dante were asked to do everything. And they ran out of gas as Creighton’s depth prevailed behind 20 points from Alexander, a double-double with five blocks from Kalkbrenner, and some clutch shot-making from Scheierman and Steve Ashworth.
The Ducks simply ran out of gas, and the Bluejays are moving on to the Sweet 16.
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Four highlights that made Creighton’s double overtime win over Oregon the best game of March Madness 2024
N’Faly Dante’s alley-oop
Remember that thing I said about Couisnard and Dante being an NBA jam duo? Yeah, that is the only way you can describe a play like this.
The game was tied at 58 with just over two minutes on the clock. Couisnard and Dante were the center of attention for Creighton’s defense, and the Bluejays still had no answer. The tandem ran a pick and roll and because of Couisnard’s scorching hot hand, Creighton kept two on the ball.
Dante crashed hard toward the rim and Couisnard threw a pin-point lob as the big fella nearly tore the rim off the backboard.
“DANTE’S INFERNO” 🔥
N’FALY DANTE PUTS OREGON UP TWO WITH AUTHORITY 😳#MarchMadness @OregonMBB pic.twitter.com/qmwCixBc5v
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 24, 2024
Baylor Scheierman’s game-tying shot to force overtime
Fast forward to a 62-60 Oregon lead with 27 seconds on the clock. Dante stepped to the free throw line for a 1-and-1 opportunity to put the game away. The big man — who shot 60.4 percent from the charity stripe on the season — missed the front end, leaving the door open for Creighton.
And Scheierman delivered on a smooth one-legged fadeaway to send the game into OT.
BAYLOR SCHEIERMAN TIES THE GAME WITH SECONDS REMAINING 🤯#MarchMadness @BluejayMBB pic.twitter.com/QxrMchg0qr
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 24, 2024
Jermaine Couisnard’s game-tying 3-pointer to force double-overtime
In the first OT, it became clear that the Ducks were running on fumes and Couisnard had little gas left in the tank.
Oregon trailed 71-68 with 28 seconds to play, in desperate need of a 3 to tie the game. Creighton tried face-guarding Couisnard to prevent the only true perimeter scoring threat from getting a look … but it did not matter.
Couisnard rose over Scheierman’s tight contest and buried a tough triple to eventually force a second overtime.
“COUISNARD WITH STONES IN PITTSBURGH!”
MASSIVE SHOT TO TIE THE GAME 🤯#MarchMadness @OregonMBB pic.twitter.com/wKAkYrGrvY
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 24, 2024
Ryan Kalkbrenner’s back-breaking 3-pointer in double-overtime
Once the game went into a second overtime, you could see Oregon’s legs were shot and it would struggle to keep up with Creighton. The Bluejays took an early three-point lead on a triple from Ashworth, then Couisnard air-balled a jumper on the other end as he showed signs of fatigue.
Creighton calmly brought the ball up the floor and got into its set, but Dante sagged too far off Kalkbrenner. The 7-foot center might not look like a shooter, but he did have 15 made 3s this season.
Kalkbrenner made Oregon pay for the lazy defense, burying a back-breaking 3 to give the Bluejays a lead they wouldn’t surrender.
KALKBRENNER FROM DISTANCE ‼️#MarchMadness @BluejayMBB pic.twitter.com/RG7yoK9dde
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 24, 2024
Creighton ended up outscoring Oregon 24-11 in the second overtime, leading to the lopsided 86-73 final score.
Creighton vs. Oregon by the numbers
50
Creighton’s Alexander and Scheierman each played all 50 minutes of the double-overtime thriller. Kalkbrenner registered 49 of 50 available minutes played.
60
Couisnard (32) and Dante (28) combined for 60 of Oregon’s 73 points.
7
The total number of bench points scored between Creighton and Oregon. The Ducks did not have a single bench point in the contest.
