NEW YORK – Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner avoided a serious right foot injury on Sunday, but coach Greg McDermott warned the Bluejays’ leading scorer to expect some soreness.
With 9:45 left in the second half of Creighton’s 79-73 loss to No. 9 St. John’s, Kalkbrenner competed with Zuby Ejiofor and RJ Luis Jr. for a defensive rebound following a missed 3-pointer. He appeared to collide with Luis, falling to the ground and clutching the top of his right foot.
After a few minutes of lying down, Kalkbrenner was assisted to the locker room for further evaluation. He returned with 3:47 remaining and Creighton trailing 68-62.
“He tweaked it pretty good, but he obviously came back,” McDermott said. “They taped it up and I think he is going to be sore for a few days.”
Kalkbrenner made two shots after returning, finishing with 12 points, his second-lowest total in a conference game.
Creighton trails St. John’s by two games in the Big East, and the injury occurred at an advantageous time in the schedule. The Bluejays will not play again until next Sunday against Georgetown.
Kalkbrenner, the Big East Preseason Player of the Year, entered Sunday as the conference’s third-leading scorer, with 18.7 points per game, trailing only Marquette’s Kam Jones and Villanova’s Eric Dixon.
