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BYU Guard- Alex Barcello (13) attempts a layup against Creighton during an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021, in Sioux Falls, S.D. (AP Photo/Josh Jurgens)

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BYU Forward Seneca Knight (24) shoots during an NCAA college basketball game against Creighton, Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021, in Sioux Falls, S.D. (AP Photo/Josh Jurgens)

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Creighton Guard Alex O'Connell (5) shoots a 3-pointer over the BYU's Trevin Knell (21) during an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021, in Sioux Falls, S.D. (AP Photo/Josh Jurgens)

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Creighton Forward Ryan Hawkins (44) shoot over a BYU defender during an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021, in Sioux Falls, S.D. (AP Photo/Josh Jurgens)

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Creighton Forward Arthur Kaluma (24) shoots over the BYU defender Caleb Lohner (33) during an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021, in Sioux Falls, S.D. (AP Photo/Josh Jurgens)

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The highs and lows of a college basketball season can be extreme.

Just before Thanksgiving, BYU earned the No. 12 ranking in the Associated Press poll by routing Oregon and was considered a lock for a single-digit seed at the NCAA Tournament in March.

Not two weeks into December, the No. 24 Cougars are going to fall out of the Top 25 after a disappointing 83-71 loss to Creighton on Saturday at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Don’t let the 12-point margin fool you. The Bluejays (8-2) dominated this game, leading by 20 points in the first half. BYU never made a serious run at making the score truly competitive.

Injuries, illness and a very difficult schedule aside – Creighton was BYU’s sixth preseason opponent that made the NCAA Tournament last season – the Cougars were beaten soundly on Saturday.

“They have a good team and they played well,” BYU coach Mark Pope said. “They were really physical and we didn’t respond to that very well. We’re super disappointed with the outcome.”

Alex Barcello scored a season-high 28 points, hitting some difficult shots as BYU labored to get back into the game. Seneca Knight’s 13 points was a season high for him, but the Cougars were dismal elsewhere on offense with 15 turnovers against 13 assists. BYU was good from the 3-point line (12 of 23, 52%) but awful on two-point shots, making just 15 of 46 (33%). Without Barcello’s contribution, the rest of the team was 9 of 33 (28%) inside the arc.

Ryan Hawkins, who led Northwest Missouri State to four Division II NCAA title before transferring to Creighton, had 25 points for the Bluejays, 19 in the first half. Freshman Ryan Nembhard added 17 but the player with probably the most impact on the game was 7-foot-1 Ryan Kalkbrenner, who finished with 14 points, nine rebounds and five blocks while affected dozens of other shots, especially in the first half.

“Traditionally we’re a great 2s team,” Pope said. “We thrive on 2-point field goals. I felt like we were rushing on offense. When you face a shot blocker like that who is willing to leave his man and come away from the rim, our back side didn’t take advantage of it. It just got to a point where we were so rushed. We’re preaching pace, but our decision making downhill was really poor.”

BYU came in as the experienced, ranked team while Creighton is young and pretty much rebuilding from last year’s Sweet 16 appearance. But the Bluejays went on several big runs to put BYU behind them early. The score was 10-2, then 24-14 when Hawkins made a 3-pointer midway through the half. A 10-0 spurt pushed Creighton’s lead to 36-19 with 6:03 to go. Hawkins later went on a personal 8-0 run to make it a 46-26 lead. Nembhard scooted unchallenged for a layup at the end of the half and the Bluejays led 48-30 at the break.

BYU managed to cut the Creighton lead to 10, 61-51, with 8:05 to play on a tip-in by Gideon George. But the Cougars could never challenge the Bluejays, who didn’t have nearly as much patience or discipline on offense in the second half. At one point, Creighton missed 12 of 14 shots. But BYU had dug itself too deep a hole and couldn’t get the deficit below double digits.

“This is why we’re playing this difficult schedule right now, to learn from it,” Pope said. “Getting exposed is painful. Our goal is to become a great team at the end of the season and this certainly was important step for us.”

BYU (8-2) will face a good Weber State team in Ogden next Saturday.