It was early exit for the eighth-seeded Louisville Cardinals, who lost to No. 9 Creighton, 89-75, in their home state of Kentucky in March Madness Thursday.
In the game’s final moments, frustrations boiled over.
Louisville head coach Pat Kelsey was called for a technical foul after screaming at an official, but that was the least worrisome incident.
As both teams huddled due to the foul, a fan threw a water bottle on the court toward the Creighton bench, prompting a minor delay.
“That was a full bottle of water. That was very dangerous, and it went right over the Creighton bench,” play-by-play announcer Brian Anderson said. “I’ll tell ya, whoever did that should never be allowed to come into this arena again.”
Creighton head coach Greg McDermott used a towel to wipe up the water.
Jamiya Neal scored a career-high 29 points and had 12 rebounds, while Steven Ashworth connected from well beyond the arc on the way to 22 points.
McDermott’s Bluejays (25-10) won their fifth consecutive March Madness opener and beat a team ranked in the top 10 for the second time this season. Louisville (27-8), despite its unimpressive seeding, entered at No. 10 in the AP Top 25.
Chucky Hepburn scored 22 points, and Terrence Edwards Jr. had 21 for Louisville (27-8), which improved its record by 19 wins over last season with a transfer-heavy roster under Kelsey, a first-year head coach. It was the Cardinals’ first March Madness appearance since 2019, and they ran into a Creighton team with plenty of postseason experience.
“They played well today. They were the better team,” Kelsey said.
The Bluejays face No. 1 Auburn in the Round of 32 Saturday. An upset would earn Creighton it’s fourth Sweet 16 appearance in the last five tournaments.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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