Preview: Creighton vs. DePaul
UPDATED 2:10 PM EDT Mar 10, 2015
Two teams that endured a disappointing run through the Big East regular season square off Wednesday at Madison Square Garden in the opening round of the conference tournament. DePaul, the seventh seed, enters having lost seven straight games and has only one victory since Jan. 22. Tenth-seeded Creighton has lost three straight contests, although those defeats came by a total of six points.The last win for the Bluejays came on DePaul's home court on Feb. 24, when they posted a 75-62 triumph behind James Milliken's 18 points. That served as a measure of revenge for Creighton, which lost at home to the Blue Demons on Jan. 7. Forrest Robinson scored a career-high 20 points for the Blue Demons that night as they improved to 3-0 in the Big East, although it was essentially all downhill from there. TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1
Two teams that endured a disappointing run through the Big East regular season square off Wednesday at Madison Square Garden in the opening round of the conference tournament. DePaul, the seventh seed, enters having lost seven straight games and has only one victory since Jan. 22. Tenth-seeded Creighton has lost three straight contests, although those defeats came by a total of six points.The last win for the Bluejays came on DePaul's home court on Feb. 24, when they posted a 75-62 triumph behind James Milliken's 18 points. That served as a measure of revenge for Creighton, which lost at home to the Blue Demons on Jan. 7. Forrest Robinson scored a career-high 20 points for the Blue Demons that night as they improved to 3-0 in the Big East, although it was essentially all downhill from there. TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1
ABOUT CREIGHTON (13-18):
Austin Chatman (18 points) and Milliken (17) each enjoyed a productive game against Xavier on Saturday, but the Bluejays' issues included a 20-of-32 showing from the foul line and a 34-22 disadvantage on the boards. "We're not getting beat bad," guard Rick Kreklow told reporters after the 74-73 setback. "We're right there in almost every game with almost every team we played. That's why we have to go and play and see what happens. We could get hot and make a good run." In order to make a run in New York City, Creighton will need to improve upon a 41.7 field-goal percentage that ranks 271st nationally, one season after the Bluejays made 49.9 percent of their shots - tied for third in the country.
ABOUT DEPAUL (12-19):
The Blue Demons ended their regular season with a 58-48 loss at Marquette, shooting 32.8 percent from the floor, 3-of-18 from behind the arc and a paltry 3-of-6 from the foul line, not to mention a dozen turnovers. "We did miss some easy shots near the basket and in the lane," DePaul coach Oliver Purnell told reporters. "In a game like that, you need that. Couple that with a few turnovers that we had versus their 2-2-1 or wide and high zone, that was our undoing." Four players average between 10 and 12.4 points for DePaul, although top scorer Billy Garrett Jr. is averaging 6.3 points on 25 percent shooting in his last four outings.
TIP-INS1.
The winner of this game will return to the court Thursday against second-seeded Georgetown. 2. Eight of the top nine scorers for DePaul made at least 15 3-pointers this season, led by Robinson (45). 3. Creighton's top rebounder is 6-2 G Devin Brooks (4.8) and the Bluejays have been outrebounded by 28 during their current three-game slide.
PREDICTION: Creighton 68, DePaul 64
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