Jamiya Neal scored a career-high 29 points and had 12 rebounds, Steven Ashworth connected from well beyond the arc on the way to 22 points, and ninth-seeded Creighton beat No. 8 seed Louisville 89-75 on Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Coach Greg 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.

Seeking its fourth Sweet 16 appearance in five years, Creighton will play either No. 1 overall seed Auburn or 16th-seeded Alabama State in the second round of the South Region on Saturday. That game ended too late for this edition.

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 first-year coach Pat Kelsey.

It was the Cardinals’ first March Madness appearance since 2019.

After a cold start by the Bluejays in Lexington, Kentucky, Ashworth and Jackson McAndrew (11 points) got hot from the perimeter, with each making two 3s in a 12-0 run.

Ashworth’s 3 near the March Madness logo made it 31-25. McAndrew connected from deep after an offensive rebound, Ashworth converted again, and then McAndrew drained a transition 3 to make it 40-25. Creighton ultimately surged to a 20-point lead late in the first half and cruised from there.

Ashburn finished 4 of 8 from 3 as Creighton made 11 of 24 from 3 and 32 of 56 overall (58%).

Neal scored 17 points after halftime to top his previous best of 24 against UConn on Jan. 18. Fifth-year senior Ryan Kalkbrenner added 14 points as he seeks to return to the Sweet 16 for the fourth time of a career that began in 2020-21.

Fight for respect: On one side of the court, it’s Seth Trimble and UNC. On the other, it’s Jaemyn Brakefield and Ole Miss.

Two motivated teams facing off in the South Region on Friday.

North Carolina was a controversial tournament selection when it received an at-large bid on Sunday. But the 11th-seeded Tar Heels posted a dominant 95-68 victory against San Diego State in the First Four on Tuesday night.

Next up is sixth-seeded Ole Miss in Milwaukee.

The Rebels also have faced criticism. Despite going 22-11, including a 10-8 record in the rugged SEC, a veteran college basketball analyst labeled Mississippi a “fraud” while predicting a first-round loss.

That didn’t sit well with coach Chris Beard in his second season at Ole Miss.

“Was the guy doing us a favor and giving us some locker room material? We don’t need that,” Beard said. “If I had a younger team, I would have called him and thanked him for saying that because it’s great motivation. But with this older team, we have experienced guys.

“We spent zero seconds talking about it.”