Creighton was moments removed from a 74-63 loss to in-state rival Nebraska in front of a sold-out home crowd. Kalkbrenner, the No. 14 Bluejays’ fifth-year center, had little to show for his night on the paper in front of him.

The national player of the year candidate was clamped from wire to wire on Friday. The frustration was visible, audible.

“I think that what this team has shown so far is not what its ceiling is,” Kalkbrenner said, nearly mumbling. “I know we have a lot more in us than what we’ve shown.”

Kalkbrenner finished Friday with four points — all from the free-throw line — in 38 minutes for his lowest scoring output since a blowout win over DePaul on Christmas two years ago. His only field goal attempt against the Huskers was a 3-pointer.

It was a stark different from CU’s first four games, especially a historic 49-point performance on opening night against Texas Rio Grande Valley. Kalkbrenner had been a lifeline for the Jays, who entered this season with a retooled roster.

But Nebraska made sure Creighton’s iron chef never cooked.

They crashed down on Kalkbrenner when he’d catch it on the block, and even that was rare. His first paint touch — and slightly open look at the rim — didn’t come until two minutes before halftime.

“Great defensive plan to keep the ball out of the paint,” Jays coach Greg McDermott said. “When they do that, we’ve gotta take advantage and make some 3-point shots, and obviously we didn’t shoot it very well.”

Anytime Kalkbrenner had one of seldom touches in the post, forcing the Huskers to double, he’d kick it to an open shooter on the perimeter.

The problem: CU went 17 of 52 (32.7%) from the field, including 12 of 42 (28.6%) from outside. The Bluejays took 42 3s compared to 10 2s.

Friday mirrored the same thing that happened two years ago when NU came to Omaha and upset a highly-ranked CU squad. It’s been coach Fred Hoiberg’s plan every time the Huskers have had to play Kalkbrenner.

Kalkbrenner will now end his college career having never scored more than 13 points or taken more than nine shots against Nebraska.

Creighton anticipated that would be NU’s plan, and it was. The kickouts came, and the Jays never made the Huskers pay for open looks that painted a Big Red target on the rim.

“That’s all you can really ask for out of those post-ups, is you get an open 3. Some nights they just don’t fall,” Kalkbrenner said. “They just kept committing a lot of people to the paint.”

Nebraska was the first team to aptly turn Kalkbrenner into a nonfactor for 40 minutes after the Bluejays opened the season with four straight undersized mid-major opponents.

The Huskers won’t be the last, though, especially as Creighton’s nonconference schedule, featuring San Diego State, Texas A&M, Kansas and Alabama, ramps up over the next couple of weeks.

Then the Jays will have to hit shots they didn’t — couldn’t — in their second straight home loss to their in-state rival.

“If you’re getting open shots, you live with it,” Kalkbrenner said. “I mean, they can commit five people to me. If they’re giving up wide-open 3s, I don’t care if I shoot the ball.

“We’ve just gotta knock ’em next time, and we will.”