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The best time of the year has arrived for college basketball fans as the 2023 NCAA tournament is here. The Sweet 16 is set to begin on Thursday, March 24. All 16 teams are vying for a shot at the Elite 8. There is always a Cinderella or two looking to crash the party, but for the most part, if you make it here, you have an elite player or two. Those players normally step up in these moments and lead their team to victory.
The Creighton Blue Jays finished with the third-best record in the Big East this season and have had two pretty nice victories thus far throughout the tournament. If they want to play for the right to play in the Final Four, they will need to beat a pesky upset-minded Princeton Tigers team. Let’s take a look a some of the guys who helped Creighton make it this far.
Creighton roster breakdown
Ryan Kalkbrenner, C
Kalkbrenner returned to school this year and has taken his game to another level. He was the Big East player of the year and has anchored a strong defensive unit for two consecutive years. Kalkbrenner is averaging 15.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per contest this season. He carried the load against NC State with 31 points, seven rebounds, and three blocks.
The big man will probably return to school for his senior season because traditional centers are valued much in the game anymore. He does shoot 33 percent from deep and will need to keep improving on that to have a chance at the next level. The other thing that helps is his defensive prowess, but he will need to be able to switch on to guards and other players on the perimeter at the next level.
Ryan Nembhard, G
The sophomore guard helps to set the pace for Creighton. The 2022 Big East Freshman of the Year improved his game this year, averaging 12.4 points, four rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game. He poured in 30 points in the team’s upset over Baylor in the round of 32. He will likely see an even larger role should he return next season. He may want to try his hand at the draft to get some feedback on areas to improve, but he likely has at least one more year left in college.
Creighton roster
| Player | # | Class | Pos | Height | Weight | Hometown | High School | RSCI Top 100 | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | # | Class | Pos | Height | Weight | Hometown | High School | RSCI Top 100 | Summary |
| Ryan Kalkbrenner | 11 | JR | C | 7-0 | 235 | St. Louis, MO | Trinity Catholic HS | 15.7 Pts, 6.2 Reb, 1.2 Ast | |
| Trey Alexander | 23 | SO | G | 6-4 | 185 | Oklahoma City, OK | Heritage HS | 70 (2021) | 13.6 Pts, 4.2 Reb, 2.6 Ast |
| Baylor Scheierman | 55 | JR | G | 6-6 | 180 | Aurora, NE | Aurora HS | 12.5 Pts, 8.2 Reb, 3.2 Ast | |
| Ryan Nembhard | 2 | SO | G | 6-0 | 167 | Aurora, Canada | Montverde Academy (Fla.) | 68 (2021) | 12.4 Pts, 4.0 Reb, 4.8 Ast |
| Arthur Kaluma | 24 | SO | F | 6-7 | 220 | Boston, MA | Dream City Christian (AZ) | 42 (2021) | 11.8 Pts, 6.0 Reb, 1.7 Ast |
| Fredrick King | 33 | FR | C | 6-10 | 234 | Mangrove Cay, Bahamas | NBA Academy Latin America | 3.5 Pts, 2.5 Reb, 0.1 Ast | |
| Francisco Farabello | 5 | SR | G | 6-4 | 183 | Cañada de Gómez, Argentina | NBA Global Academy | 3.1 Pts, 1.2 Reb, 0.9 Ast | |
| Mason Miller | 13 | FR | F | 6-8 | 187 | Germantown, TN | Houston HS | 71 (2021) | 2.4 Pts, 1.6 Reb, 0.2 Ast |
| Shereef Mitchell | 4 | JR | G | 6-0 | 170 | Omaha, NE | Sunrise Christian Academy | 1.9 Pts, 0.6 Reb, 0.6 Ast | |
| Ben Shtolzberg | 1 | FR | G | 6-4 | 200 | Northridge, CA | Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (CA) | 1.6 Pts, 0.9 Reb, 0.7 Ast | |
| Zander Yates | 10 | FR | F | 6-7 | 206 | Germantown, TN | Houston HS | 1.7 Pts, 0.6 Reb, 0.4 Ast | |
| Sami Osmani | 14 | JR | G | 6-4 | 205 | Oak Lawn, IL | Oak Lawn Community HS | 0.9 Pts, 0.8 Reb, 0.4 Ast | |
| Evan Young | 21 | FR | G | 5-11 | 160 | Alpine, UT | American Fork (UT) | 0.6 Pts, 0.0 Reb, 0.3 Ast | |
| John Christofilis | 15 | SO | G | 6-3 | |||||
| Devin Davis | 22 | JR | G | 6-0 | |||||
| Jasen Green | 0 | FR | F | 6-8 |