The Creighton men's basketball team is looking to continue its comeback tour after winning two-straight without senior point guard Maurice Watson Jr. The Jays are coming off of a 76-67 road win over Butler and sit just one game back of Villanova for the top spot in the BIG EAST.
Xavier (16-6, 6-3 BIG EAST) has won three of its last four games and is making a run of its own for the No. 1 spot in the conference. However, the Musketeers suffered their own loss after losing point guard Edmond Sumner to a season-ending knee injury.
A win Saturday would be a major victory for either team's NCAA tournament and BIG EAST conference title hopes.
The key for Creighton will be to stop the Musketeers offensive leader in Trevon Bluiett who averages 18.7 ppg. Bluiett had a 40-point effort in Xavier's 86-78 loss to No. 19 Cincinnati and has scored over 20 in each of his last four games.
Justin Patton will need to have a big game on the glass as Xavier has out-rebounded its opponents by 7.2 rebounds per game this season. Patton averages 6.4 rebounds per game.
The Musketeers have won 12 of 23 matchups with Creighton, but the Jays have a 4-3 advantage in Omaha. Creighton became the first program to beat Xavier three times in the Cintas Center.
The matchup between No. 22 Creighton and Xavier tips of Saturday at 2 p.m. at the CenturyLink Center. The game will be broadcasted live on FOX.
