Tyler Brown went off for 27 points Saturday night to lead the Illinois State Redbirds to a 75-72 upset win over the No. 16 Creighton Bluejays. The loss was the fourth of the Missouri Valley season for Creighton and the Bluejays' second in a row.
No. 16 Creighton vs. Illinois State final score: Bluejays drop one in the Valley, 75-72
The Missouri Valley has been a bit tougher than Creighton probably expected at the start of the year. Saturday night the Bluejays dropped their fourth conference game, a 75-72 decision to Illinois State.
Player of the Year candidate Doug McDermott had his typical monstrous game with 24 points and a game-high 13 rebounds in the loss. Despite his gaudy numbers, McDermott missed all five of his three-point attempts, but made up for it with 10 points from the free-throw line.
Brown, however, scored 25-plus points for the second straight game and has emerged as one of the league’s elite players. He was 10-18 overall and hit two critical threes early in the second half to put his team up after trailing by three at the break. That was part of a stretch in which he scored ten consecutive points for Illinois State.
Johnny Hill had 19 points and Jackie Carmichael had 16 for the Redbirds to back Brown up.
Creighton fought back in the final minute, pulling to within three on a triple from Grant Gibbs with 41 seconds left. The Bluejays wouldn't draw any closer, however, as Hill then made a pair of free throws to put the game out of reach.
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