The 24th-ranked Creighton basketball team fell to the ninth-ranked St. John's Red Storm on Sunday afternoon, 79-73, in a battle between the top two teams in the Big East. All Creighton fans were holding their breath as their center, Ryan Kalkbrenner, suffered a scary foot injury about halfway through the second half. After being helped to the locker room and evaluated by the training staff, Kalkbrenner returned with a little under 4:00 left in the game; he attempted only two shots after his return and finished with 12 points.

Creighton basketball head coach Greg McDermott addressed Kalkbrenner's status after the game.

“He tweaked it pretty good, but obviously he came back,” said Bluejays coach Greg McDermott. “They taped it up, and I think he's gonna be sore for a few days.”

With their loss to St. John's, the Bluejays are 11-4 in conference play and are in second place in the Big East. St. John's leads the conference with a 13-2 record. The Bluejays have five games remaining on their schedule, and a healthy Kalkbrenner is crucial if Creighton is going to claw their way back to the top of the Big East.

The 7-foot-1 senior center Kalkbrenner was a preseason All-American, and he is putting quite the bow on his five-year college career. Kalkbrenner has started every game for the Bluejays this season — as he has done since 2021 — and is averaging a career-high 19 points per game. The Creighton big guy is averaging 8.5 rebounds, also a personal best, with a .669 field-goal percentage.

Back in early November, Creighton's Kalkbrenner put up a whopping 49 points and shot 20-for-22 in a win over UT Rio Grande. The Bluejays center was first NCAA player in more than 50 years to make 20 field goals with a shooting percentage of greater than 90%.

Perhaps a few days of rest will do the 23-year-old Kalkbrenner some good. The Bluejays won't be back in action until next Sunday, Feb. 23, when they host Georgetown. The Big East tournament is set to begin on March 12.