Ryan Kalkbrenner stats today: Creighton center puts himself on Player of the Year watch with 49-point double-double | Sporting News
Published 7 November 2024
It's rare a basketball player of any capacity scores more points in a game than minutes played.
Creighton's Ryan Kalkbrenner did just that, putting up 49 points over 34 minutes in the No. 15 Bluejays' Wednesday night win over UT Rio Grande Valley. Oh, and he made it a double-double with 11 boards as well.
That being said, Creighton was a 30-point favorite that UTRGV took down to the wire despite the 99-86 win. That didn't stop Kalkbrenner from receiving a standing ovation as he exited the court with 7.9 seconds remaining in regulation.
The senior center set a program record for most points scored in a season opener, good for second most in a single game all-time after Bob Portman's 51 against UW-Milwaukee in 1967.
If Creighton wasn't already a serious contender for the Big East title, Kalkbrenner's stunning efficiency — shooting over 90 percent from the field — only makes the Bluejays more threatening.
Here's everything to know about Kalkbrenner's stats tonight, including how the center flirted with a record and put himself on Player of the Year watch with a historic double-double.
Ryan Kalkbrenner stats today
Kalkbrenner scored 49 points while making 20 field goals on 22 shots. It's the most shots made in a single game in the school's history.
He scored the team's first eight points of the game, finishing with 20 in the first half. He nearly put up 30 more after the break, helping the Bluejays to their 30th straight home opener — a streak that began in 1995.