Traudt drops career-high 18 off bench, No. 10 Creighton romps Central Michigan

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Isaac Traudt set career highs with five 3-pointers and 18 points off the bench, and five other Creighton players scored in double figures as the No. 10 Bluejays routed Central Michigan 109-64 on Saturday.

Creighton (8-1), which shot a season-best 65%, scored its most points against a Division I opponent in six years and has won three straight blowouts since getting upset by Colorado State on Thanksgiving.

Mason Miller had career highs with 17 points and four 3s and Ryan Kalkbrenner and Trey Alexander had 15 points apiece. Fredrick King had 14 points and Baylor Scheierman had 13 points and matched his career-high with nine assists.

Derrick Butler led the Chippewas (3-6) with a career-high 28 points and Anthony Pritchard scored 22. It was their most lopsided loss since a 107-54 defeat to Gonzaga two years ago.

Traudt, a 6-foot-10 Virginia transfer, made all three of his 3s and had a dunk in eight minutes in the first half. His first 3 of the second half gave Creighton a 30-point lead, and his second was a fall-away shot from the top of the key that drew oohs from the crowd.

Creighton led 56-34 at the break to match its season high for first-half points. Miller, Traudt and Alexander combined for 10 of the Bluejays' 11 3s the first 20 minutes.

The teams’ only previous meeting came in the first round of the 2003 NCAA Tournament in Salt Lake City, where Central Michigan won 79-73 as an 11-seed.

BIG PICTURE:

Central Michigan: The Chippewas, picked last in the Mid-American Conference preseason coaches’ poll, have lost four games against opponents from the Power Five and Big East by a combined 129 points. They have dropped nine straight against Top 25 opponents since they upset Notre Dame 20 years ago.

Creighton: The Bluejays improved to 100-9 under Greg McDermott in nonconference home games.

UP NEXT

Central Michigan hosts Division II Davenport on Tuesday.

Creighton plays UNLV on Wednesday in the Jack Jones Classic in Henderson, Nevada.

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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball