Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner will not return to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament after suffering a knee injury during the Bluejays’ first-round win over San Diego State on Thursday.
Early in overtime of the 72-69 victory, Kalkbrenner went down and grimaced after posting up the Aztecs’ Aguek Arop. The 7-foot-1 sophomore got up, tried to take a couple of steps and went back down, holding his left knee.
Kalkbrenner had 16 points and 10 rebounds before leaving Thursday’s win. He is the Bluejays’ No. 2 scorer this season at 13.1 points per game.
The ninth-seeded Bluejays (23-11) will face top-seeded Kansas on Saturday.
9% of 63Games picked Creighton to upset Kansas. That once brilliant pick might be dull by 3pm today.
