OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Creighton has played eight No. 1 teams in its basketball history, and the first six of those games weren't close. All were losses.

The last two? Bluejays blowouts at the CHI Health Center.

Creighton took down top-ranked Kansas 76-63 on Wednesday night in a game the unranked Bluejays never trailed and led by 17 points.

Ten months ago, they knocked off a No. 1 Connecticut 85-66. That was UConn's last loss before winning 13 in a row the way to its second straight national championship.

Five of the Creighton players on the court against the Jayhawks also played against the Huskies, including 7-foot-1 center Ryan Kalkbrenner. The Big East preseason player of the year came back from injury to score 17 points and outperform Kansas big man Hunter Dickinson. Kalkbrenner had 15 points against UConn last February.

“Both feel great, obviously," Kalkbrenner said. "Both those teams, UConn and Kansas, are elite, high-level programs. We were able to execute the game plan in both games and played at a high level. You feel good about those wins.”

A raucous crowd was involved from the opening tip against KU, the noise level increasing every time Pop Isaacs swished one of his six 3-pointers and Kalkbrenner flushed lob passes for dunks. At the final buzzer, students poured out of the end zone seats onto the court as flames shot out of the goal standards.

“I haven’t quite had a moment like that in college,” Isaacs said. “I haven't played against the No. 1 team in the country. I've played against No. 2 and No. 3. It was hyped. The students showed up and it was electric out there. That wasn't the first court storming I've been in. It was the biggest one."

Isaacs was well familiar with the way Kansas plays defense from the two seasons he played at Texas Tech, and he said that was an advantage. He scored a season-high 27 points.

“I saw the ball go through the basket,” he said. “First shot went in. It felt good coming off my hands. I felt I had some really good looks tonight. Like Coach says, I'm a really good shooter when I take the right shots, and I took the right shots tonight for the most part.”

Isaacs and point guard Steven Ashworth missed practice time with illness this week, Ashworth was still dealing with soreness from an ankle sprain two weeks ago, and Kalkbrenner had missed the Bluejays' win against Notre Dame on Saturday with a lower-body injury.

Asked if he thought his team would be up to the task against the Jayhawks, coach Greg McDermott mentioned that he had called his 90-year-old father before the game for some words of wisdom.

“He said pack your bags and go home,” McDermott said. “He wasn't very confident having watched us play and having watched Kansas play."

McDermott indicated that beating Kansas meant a little more to him than beating UConn even though the Huskies are a Big East opponent. McDermott grew up in Iowa paying attention to the Jayhawks, and he coached four seasons at Iowa State and never could beat Bill Self and the Jayhawks. In fact, he was 0-10 against KU before Wednesday.

“I've been watching Kansas basketball forever," McDermott said. "Back to coach Williams and then coach Self, they're one of the best. We had some close calls at Hilton when I was at Iowa State where we walked out of Hilton (Coliseum) disappointed we couldn't get the job done against a good Kansas team. To finally beat them when they had a great team and they're ranked No. 1 in the country, it's great for our guys and great for our fans.”

Walker scores 17 as Montana State defeats Omaha 76-65

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Brandon Walker had 17 points in Montana State's 76-65 victory against Omaha on Wednesday night.

Walker shot 7 of 11 from the field and 3 for 5 from the line for the Bobcats (4-5). Agbonkpolo added 13 points while shooting 5 for 9, including 3 for 6 from beyond the arc while he also had seven rebounds and four steals. Patrick McMahon had 11 points and shot 3 of 4 from the field and 4 of 5 from the free-throw line.

Marquel Sutton led the way for the Mavericks (3-7) with 22 points and seven rebounds. Omaha also got 12 points from Tony Osburn. Isaac Ondekane finished with 11 points.

Clifford has 19 points, 17 rebounds and 6 assists to lead Colorado State over Loyola Marymount 83-54

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — Nique Clifford scored 19 points, grabbed 17 rebounds and had six assists as Colorado State beat Loyola Marymount 83-54 on Wednesday night.

Jalen Lake and Kyan Evans added 14 points apiece with each making four 3-pointers for the Rams (5-3).

Will Johnston led the Lions (3-4) in scoring, finishing with 12 points. Myron Amey Jr. added 10 points for Loyola Marymount. Jan Vide had nine points.

Colorado State took the lead with 15:29 left in the first half and did not give it up. The score was 46-20 at halftime, with Lake racking up 12 points. Clifford scoring a team-high nine points after halftime.

Akins scores 22, Denver downs Sacramento State 80-59

DENVER (AP) — Sebastian Akins scored 22 points as Denver beat Sacramento State 80-59 on Wednesday night.

Akins added six assists for the Pioneers (4-6). DeAndre Craig scored 18 points, shooting 7 for 10, including 3 for 4 from beyond the arc. Isaiah Addo-Ankrah shot 3 for 10, including 3 for 8 from beyond the arc to finish with nine points.

The Hornets (2-6) were led by Jacob Holt, who recorded 24 points and nine rebounds. Sacramento State also got 12 points from EJ Neal. Emil Skytta recorded nine points.

St. Thomas secures 87-75 win against Northern Colorado

GREELEY, Colo. (AP) — Miles Barnstable's 20 points helped St. Thomas defeat Northern Colorado 87-75 on Wednesday night.

Barnstable shot 8 for 9, including 2 for 3 from beyond the arc for the Tommies (6-4). Nolan Minessale scored 18 points, going 8 of 12 and 2 of 4 from the free-throw line. Drake Dobbs had 12 points and finished 5 of 7 from the field.

Isaiah Hawthorne finished with 20 points and six rebounds for the Bears (6-4). Langston Reynolds added 16 points and eight rebounds for Northern Colorado. Marcell McCreary finished with 13 points and six rebounds.

Martinez scores 17 of his 23 points in the 2nd half as Utah State downs Wyoming 70-67

LOGAN, Utah (AP) — Ian Martinez scored 17 of his 23 points in the second half to help Utah State defeat Wyoming 70-67 on Wednesday night.

Mason Falslev's layup with 35 seconds left stretched Utah State's lead to 70-64. Kobe Newton's 3-pointer for Wyoming capped the scoring with eight seconds to go.

Martinez added five rebounds for the Aggies (8-0, 1-0 Mountain West Conference). Falslev added 19 points while shooting 8 for 15 (0 for 3 from 3-point range) and 3 of 5 from the free-throw line and added six rebounds and three steals. Karson Templin finished with 11 points for the Aggies, who picked up their eighth straight victory.

The Cowboys (5-3, 0-1) were led in scoring by Obi Agbim, who finished with 17 points and 10 assists. Newton also added 17 points for Wyoming. Jordan Nesbitt had 13 points, nine rebounds and four steals.

Dexter Akanno put up nine points in the first half for Utah State, who led 32-29 at halftime.