After they celebrated New Year’s Eve with victories, two of the top teams in the Big East will go at it in Milwaukee when No. 8 Marquette hosts Creighton on Friday night.
Marquette (12-2, 3-0 Big East) took care of Providence on the road on Tuesday, dominating 78-50. It was the Golden Eagles’ first win at Providence in six seasons.
Kam Jones led the way with 18 points and 10 assists with his former backcourt mate and now New York Knicks rookie Tyler Kolek watching from the stands.
“He’s a willing passer, that’s the most important thing,” Marquette coach Shaka Smart said. “You saw Tyler sitting there, anytime you have an elite passer like him, it’s contagious. Kam is passing the ball similar to the way he did but it’s important he stays aggressive with his scoring.”
Creighton (9-5, 2-1) had to sweat it out against St. John’s at home on Tuesday, claiming the 57-56 victory in a defensive battle.
The Bluejays won despite committing 19 turnovers, including 10 alone from Steven Ashworth, who also led the team in scoring with 18 on 6-for-18 shooting from the floor.
“Some days you just don’t have your stuff and have to find a way,” Creighton coach Greg McDermott said. “We went on a 10-12-minute stretch where we didn’t turn it over and were able to settle in.”
Ryan Kalkbrenner and Ashworth lead Creighton with 17.2 and 17.1 points per game, respectively. Ashworth dishes 6.2 assists and Kalkbrenner grabs 7.8 rebounds per game.
Jones leads Marquette and is second in the Big East in both points (20.1) and assists (6.6) per game.
Offensively these teams are comparable, with Marquette averaging 80.5 and Creighton averaging 75.4 points per game. However, Creighton has been much less consistent.
After scoring at least 73 in five straight games, the Bluejays have scored 57 in two of their last three. They also scored just 53 in a loss to San Diego State in late November.
The primary issue for Creighton is turnovers, as the Bluejays average just shy of 14 and have committed fewer than 10 only once this year, when they beat Villanova on Dec. 21 (seven).
Marquette, on the other hand, forces an average of 16.4 turnovers defensively and commits just 8.9, averaging 20.1 points off turnovers as well.
Where Creighton may find an advantage is down low, where they consistently outrebound opponents while Marquette is right about even, without a true big man to match up with Kalkbrenner.
The all-time matchup between these teams dates back to 1923, with Marquette leading 59-40.
The series has swung back and forth as of late. Marquette had won three in a row prior to the last matchup in March, when Creighton won 89-75 at home.
Without Kolek or Oso Ighodaro able to play, Jones scored 23 while David Joplin added 21 for Marquette. Kalkbrenner scored 19 with six boards for the Bluejays.
The injury report is clean for both teams. Marquette still awaits the return of reserve point guard Sean Jones, who is expected back soon following ACL surgery last season. He has already been given clearance to return to full practice with the team.
–Field Level Media
