LINCOLN, Neb. (AP)—Creighton coach Dana Altman gave a blunt assessment after Nebraska beat his 20th-ranked Bluejays 73-61 Saturday night.
“Fortunately for us, it’s only November 18th and we have some time,” Altman said. “We’re a bad basketball team right now.”
Freshman Ryan Anderson scored 19 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer, to lead the Cornhuskers (2-0).
The Huskers, who shot 27 percent in a 70-44 loss to the Bluejays last season, hit 67.6 percent (25-of-37) from the field while ending a seven-game losing streak in regular-season games against their in-state rival.
Anderson had the hottest hand, making his first six shots and finishing 7-for-8.
“Some nights you’re really on; some nights you’re really off,” he said. “Fortunately, tonight I was really on.”
Aleks Maric scored 17 points, Jamel White added 13 and Charles Richardson Jr. 11 for the Huskers, picked to finish 10th in the Big 12.
“I said at the beginning of the season that this was one of my goals,” said Richardson, a senior. “We’ve never beaten them at home since I’ve been here. This gives the program a lot of confidence as we go on into the season.”
Nate Funk scored 28 points to lead Missouri Valley Conference favorite Creighton (1-1), which shot 37.5 percent (21-of-56).
Anderson’s 3-pointer with 12:57 left broke a 42-all tie and Nebraska never trailed again.
White’s two free throws gave Nebraska a 58-51 lead with 4:16 left. Funk hit one of his seven 3s to pull Creighton to 58-54, but White made a 3 with one second on the shot clock to make it a seven-point game with 3:30 left.
Nebraska scored on each of its last 13 possessions to keep the Bluejays at bay.
“Our guys read the paper and watch TV, and they saw that not very many people thought we had a chance to win this game,” said first-year Nebraska coach Doc Sadler. “When you hear that all weeklong, you can either get scared with four or five minutes left or you can gut it up. Our guys had no doubts, and they gutted it out for the win.”
The Bluejays were hamstrung because 6-foot-9 center Anthony Tolliver, their best matchup against the 6-11 Maric, got into early foul trouble and picked up his fourth with 9:05 left.
Nebraska, down 31-28 at half, opened the second half with a 12-2 run to take a 40-33 lead. Creighton responded with its own 9-2 run as Funk and Isacc Miles hit back-to-back 3s to tie it at 42.
Anderson responded with a 3 to give the Huskers the lead for good.
“Nebraska played with a lot of emotion and intensity, and their players stepped up and hit big shots,” Altman said. “With that being said, it shows how far we have to go as a basketball team. Defensively, any time anybody shoots 67 percent, it shows your deficiences there. Offensively, we have no rhythm at all.”
Creighton had won eight of 10 meetings since 1997-98, including three straight in Lincoln.
Nebraska leads the series 23-17.
Altman pulled a surprise when he put point guard Josh Dotzler into the game with 2:56 left in the half. Dotzler suffered a season-ending injury to his right knee last February, and the Bluejays lost four of their last seven games without him in the lineup.
Dotzler had surgery in May and wasn’t expected to return until next month. He played eight minutes against the Huskers, committing two turnovers and two fouls.
“He’s been conditioning hard and has been diligent on his rehab,” Altman said. “He’s probably a month away from being 100 percent. But we’ve got to start getting him five, six, seven minutes to build that endurance up.”
