No. 2 Longhorns vs. No. 7 Creighton: Live In-Game Updates
AUSTIN -- The No. 2 Texas Longhorns have cruised to a 5-0 record early in the season.
But on Thursday night at Moody Center, the Longhorns will look to pass a test to see if they're truly for real, as the No. 7 Creighton Bluejays march in Austin for a pivotal early-season non-conference bout in the Big East-Big 12 Battle.
Creighton (6-1) have played like a championship contender early in the season, as the Bluejays have secured quality wins over the Texas Tech Red Raiders and Arkansas Razorbacks before suffering their first loss in a 81-79 nail-bitter against the Arizona Wildcats on Nov. 23 at the Maui Jim Maui Invitational.
Texas is coming off a 91-54 win over the UTRGV Vaqueros on Saturday, marking the team's fifth straight double-digit win to begin the year. The Longhorns' early-season success has been highlighted by their dominant 93-74 win over the then-No. 2 Gonzaga Bulldogs on Nov. 16.
But Texas has a chance to snag an even more impressive win over a Creighton team that is loaded with offensive talent.
Live updates will appear below at tip-off.
Starters for Texas:
- Tyrese Hunter
- Marcus Carr
- Timmy Allen
- Dylan Disu
- Dillon Mitchell
Starters for Creighton:
- Ryan Nembhard
- Trey Alexander
- Baylor Scheierman
- Arthur Kaluma
- Ryan Kalkbrenner
Under-16
Kalkbrenner gets the scoring started with a hook-shot in the paint, but Disu answers with a reverse dunk on the other end. Carr added a midrange jumper a few possessions later before Nembhard got a running layup to fall.
A put-back from Mitchell gave the Horns a 6-4 lead at the 16-minute mark.
Under-12
Disu got another open dunk before Kaluma nailed a face-up 3 to give the Bluejays an 11-10 lead. Kalkbrenner then found himself on the scoring end of an alley-oop from Nembhard.
The fast-paced scoring continued as Allen nailed a corner 3 to give Texas a 14-13 lead. Allen then hit a running bank-shot coming out of the timeout.
Under-8
Bishop got himself free underneath the hoop with a pump-fake before nailing a soft floater to give the Longhorns an 18-17 lead. Hunter then got his first points of the game on a pull-up jumper before getting a transition layup off a steal on the next play. Texas led 22-17 at the eight-minute mark.
Under-4
The Bluejays got going on a 6-0 sparked by four points from Kaluma, as Creighton took a 25-24 lead at the 4:20 mark. After a brief scoring drought from both teams, Hunter got a left-hand layup to fall to put Texas back in front 26-25.
Carr then broke away in transition for an and-one layup, as the free throw extended Texas' lead to 29-25 in the final minute. Nembhard got a layup to drop before Hunter answered with a hit from deep.
HALFTIME: Texas 32, Creighton 27
Under-16
Carr nailed a wide-open 3 to begin the half before Kalkbrenner added three straight points of his own. Kaluma got free for a thunderous slam before connecting with Kalkbrenner for an alley-oop dunk. Texas still led 37-34 at the 16-minute mark.
Under-12
Rice nailed an open corner 3 to extend Texas' lead before Carr got in on the deep-ball action as well to give the Horns a 43-36 lead. Allen capped a 10-0 run with a layup in transition.
Under-8
Mitchell added two points after falling his jumper for an open layup. Carr got free for a jumper from the free throw line before Nembhard got eight straight points for Creighton before the eight-minute mark after toying with Christian Bishop on the perimeter. But Texas led 55-46.
Under-4
Rice broke down Scheierman on a spin move that led into a jumper before the Creighton sharpshooter finally nailed his first field goal of the game on a deep hit from beyond the arc. The Longhorns led 62-57 with 3:18 to play,
FINAL: Texas 72, Creighton 67
You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7
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