NCAA

Ryan Nembhard career-high 30 points leads Creighton Bluejays to Sweet 16

Ryan Nembhard delivered one of the best scoring performances by a Canadian in the NCAA tournament history to lead the Creighton Bluejays to the Sweet 16.

Ryan nembhard career high 30 points leads creighton blue jays to march madnes sweet 16

Canadian point guard Ryan Nembhard scored a career-high 30 points to lead the Creighton Bluejays to an 85-76 upset win over the No. 3 Baylor Bears to advance to the Sweet 16 of the 2023 NCAA men’s March Madness tournament.

Nembhard connected on 8-of-13 field-goal attempts, tied a career-high with four made three-pointers, and was a perfect 10-for-10 from the foul line in the win over the 2021 NCAA champions.

Nembhard’s impressive performance puts him in a select group of only five other Canadian players who have scored 30 or more points in a NCAA tournament game. The others to have accomplished this feat, including Bob Houbregs, Brandon Clarke MacCulloch and Bennedict Mathurin.

A late season right wrist injury prevented the sophomore guard playing in the 2022 March Madness as Creighton bowed out in the second round to eventual champions Kansas Jayhawks.

The 2022 Big East freshman of the year was locked in from the start, “super prepared, I work all year, I work every day to make sure I’m ready for moments like this. I’m ready for the moment, I’m super happy we got the dub.” said Nembhard during the post-game interview.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.
Canadian Ryan Nembhard, career-high 30 points, leads Creighton Blue Jays to Sweet 16 of the 2023 NCAA March Madness tournament
Canadian Ryan Nembhard, career-high 30 points, leads Creighton Blue Jays to Sweet 16 of the 2023 NCAA March Madness tournament – Photo: Michael Ciaglo-USA TODAY Sports

Asked if the win over Baylor was bittersweet, as the Bears defeated Gonzaga in the 2021 title game, denying Ryan’s older brother a national championship.

“A little bit payback, but we are different players, it’s a big win for our program, we are looking forward to the sweet sixteen, we are not done yet, so we got a lot more to prove.”

Head coach Greg McDermott also had high praise for his star guard and reminiced on the time him came across Nembhard, “I remember the first the time I saw him play in Vegas in a side gym. We were watching somebody else and I said who is that little guy from Canada.”

“I fell in love with him the first time I watched him play,” McDermott said. “His expression never changes. He has the type of demeanour that you want the rest of the team to look to because he’s never going to be rattled. He is never going to get too high when things are going well, and is never going to get too low if he is struggling.”

Creighton will play the Cinderella and upset-minded No. 15 Princeton Tigers in the Sweet 16. The Tigers stunned the No. 2 Arizona Wildcats 77-70 in the opening round and knocked-off No.7 Missouri Tigers 78-65 to reach the sweet 16 for the first time in the school history.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

 

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

BUZZING

FIBA

A strong second-half defensive performance propelled Canada to a crucial 93-83 victory over Australia at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

FIBA

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jamal Murray, and Andrew Wiggins headline Canada's loaded 20-man training camp roster for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

NCAA

21 Canadians secure spots in the 2024 NCAA March Madness tournament, highlighting their impact on college basketball's grand stage.

NCAA

Gonzaga point guard Ryan Nembhard has firmly cemented his name in Canadian NCAA basketball history by shattering the single-season assists record that stood for...

NCAA

In a historic game honoring their greatest player, Steve Nash, the Santa Clara Broncos stunned No. 21 Gonzaga with a one-point victory.

NCAA

Get ready for an intense and exciting 2023-24 NCAA men's college basketball season with 135 Canadian players, top recruits, and potential NBA Draft picks.!

NBA

Track, compare, analyze and visualize all the Canadians in the NBA with the 2023-24 BasketballBuzz Canadian NBA stats tracker.

NBA

A record 28 Canadians are on 2023-24 NBA opening day rosters. Breakdown the complete list with interactive charts and cool facts.

Copyright © 2008-2024 BasketballBuzz Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Exit mobile version