OMAHA, Neb. — Owen Freeman scored 19 points to lead five Creighton players in double figures, and the No. 23 Bluejays started the season with a 92-76 victory over South Dakota on Wednesday night.
The win was Greg McDermott’s 500th in 25 seasons as a Division I head coach and the Bluejays’ 16th straight in an opener.
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Freeman showed no lingering effects from his July knee surgery. The 6-foot-10, 240-pound Iowa transfer often was out front leading the Bluejays in transition and scored mostly uncontested baskets. He shot 9 of 11 from the field and had four rebounds and a steal in 19 minutes. Four of his first six baskets were dunks.
Charlotte transfer Nik Graves scored 15 points, Jackson McAndrew added 13, Iowa transfer Josh Dix had 11 and Isaac Traudt finished with 10 for the Bluejays. Of the 12 Creighton players who got minutes, 11 scored.
Isaac Bruns scored 16 points and Jordan Crawford had 14 for the Coyotes (0-2), who opened with an 81-79 overtime loss to Utah Tech on Monday.
The Bluejays have a new look after losing the top three scorers from their 25-win NCAA Tournament team. Four-time Big East defensive player of the year Ryan Kalkbrenner is now with the Charlotte Hornets, Steven Ashworth in the G League and Jamiya Neal playing overseas.
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Nine new players are on the roster, including three in the starting lineup, and the 29.5-point-underdog from the Summit League hung around for the first 10 minutes. The Bluejays outscored South Dakota 27-14 over the last 10 minutes of the half and led 48-35 at the break.
Creighton scored 29 second-chance points and 19 off South Dakota’s 13 turnovers.
Up next
South Dakota hosts Ozarks Christian College on Sunday.
Creighton visits No. 21 Gonzaga on Tuesday.
