Bryant scores 17, leads No. 8 Illinois to first March Madness win in 25 years over No. 9 Creighton

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Genesis Bryant scored 17 points and No. 8 Illinois earned its first NCAA Tournament victory in 25 years Saturday night with a 66-57 win over No. 9 Creighton.

Illinois’ tough defense frustrated Creighton’s outside shooters as the Illini also dominated on the boards. Kendall Bostic added 12 points and 17 rebounds for Illinois (22-9), which advances to the second round on Monday against the winner of No. 1 Texas (31-3) against No. 16 William & Mary.

Morgan Maly led Creighton (26-6) with 18 points and Lauren Jensen scored 17. But the Bluejays’ top scorers all season — both scored more than 2,000 points in their careers — were mostly contained on a tough shooting night. Creighton shot just 36% against a stifling Illinois defense and was just 6 of 22 on 3-pointers.

Illinois led 51-41 early in the fourth quarter before Creighton pulled within 58-54 on Jensen’s tough layup through the lane with 2:08 to play.

The rally ended when Bryant missed two free throws for the Illini on the next possession but Berry Wallace grabbed the rebound over two Creighton defenders for an easy putback basket.

Takeaways

Illinois: Bostic and Berry muscled their way over Creighton defenders time and again as Illinois won the rebounding 42-32 and second-chance scoring 32-22. Illinois came into the NCAA Tournament on a four-game losing skid and hadn’t won a game since Feb. 16.

Creighton: The Bluejays brought an experienced team with four senior starters who were playing in their fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament. The Bluejays had not advanced past the second round since 2022 and were clearly expecting a deeper run than a first-round exit.

Key moment

Creighton rallied from an early 12-point deficit to quickly get within two early in the third quarter. But Illinois answered with consecutive 3-pointers from Bryn Shoup-Hill, a 26% 3-point shooter on the season.