No. 15 Creighton (13-4, 9-3 BIG EAST) looks to extend its three-game winning streak on Wednesday, February 3rd, when it hosts Georgetown (4-8, 2-5 BIG EAST). Tip-off is set for 8 p.m., on First National Bank Court at CHI Health Center Omaha in Omaha, Neb. The game will be the Bluejays’ annual Pink Out.
Creighton is ranked 15th nationally in the AP poll after a 13-4 start that includes a 9-3 BIG EAST mark and a 5-2 road record. CU’s four losses have come by a combined 14 points, with each coming by five points or less.
The Bluejays return four starters and five of its top six scorers from last season’s team that finished 24-7 and won a share of its first BIG EAST regular-season title. CU’s 2019-20 team was ranked No. 7 in the year-end Associated Press poll, while this year’s club was 11th in the preseason AP poll. Both were program bests for a preseason or postseason poll.
Senior wing Denzel Mahoney (15.2 ppg.) won the BIG EAST’s Sixth Man Award last season, while junior forward Christian Bishop (11.0 ppg., 5.0 rpg.) has shot 68.2 percent from the field to lead the league.
Point guard Marcus Zegarowski (14.9 ppg., 4.4 apg.) was named Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year and is a Preseason All-American by nearly every outlet after averaging 16.1 points and 5.1 assists per game last season.
CU’s most consistent player in recent weeks has been Damien Jefferson (12.5 ppg., 4.9 rpg., 2.5 apg.), who forced overtime with a jumper in the final second of regulation at UConn. He has scored in double-figures in 14 of the last 16 games.
Creighton leads the BIG EAST with 80.2 points per game and field goal percentage (.485), and is second in field goal percentage defense (.401).
Georgetown is 4-8 overall and 2-5 in BIG EAST play, with all the wins coming on its home floor. The Hoyas snapped a five-game losing streak on Saturday when they overcame an early 15-point deficit to defeat Providence 73-72, their first win since December 13th.
Jahvon Blair (17.3 ppg., 4.0 apg.) leads the Hoyas in both points per game and assists per game. He’s joined in double-figures by Qudus Wahab (11.8 ppg., 7.8 rpg., 2.3 bpg.) and Jamorko Pickett (11.6 ppg., 8.5 rpg.).
The Hoyas average 71.6 points per game while shooting 41.8 percent from the field, 34.7 percent from three-point range and 73.2 percent at the line. GU out-rebounds foes by six caroms per contest and surrenders 73.6 points per game.
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