Preview: Creighton at Georgetown

Game 15: Creighton Bluejays (12-3, 2-1) at Georgetown Hoyas (11-3, 1-2)

Series: Hoyas lead 6-4

Where/When: Capital One Arena/Saturday 12pm

TV: Fox Sports Regional Networks - MASN2 in the DC Area

KenPom: 84-79 Creighton, 68 percent

Line: Creighton -4.5

After picking up their first BIG EAST win during the week against DePaul, the Hoyas return home to play Creighton on Saturday afternoon.

Coach Ewing’s Hoyas once again followed their blueprint for success as Jessie Govan and Marcus Derrickson carried most of the load with 25 and 24 points respectively. Jahvon Blair returned as the main scorer off the bench with 15 points while Kaleb Johnson added 12 points and provided excellent defense on the Blue Demon’s leading scorer.

Georgetown held strong on the road after having a double-digit lead shrink all the way down to a singe point but the most factor of the night was the Hoyas cutting down on their turnover total.

After racking up 46 turnovers in their first two conference games the Hoyas committed just 15 in Chicago. While that’s still a number that Ewing would like to see go down, it was enough for Georgetown to get on the board in the BIG EAST with a 90-81 win.

Unfortunately, Georgetown’s first crack at a ranked opponent will have to wait at least another week. The Bluejays dropped out of the AP Top 25 after losing to Seton Hall in their BIG EAST opener on Dec 28 although they still remain No. 24 in the Coaches Poll.

The Hoyas have had their way with Creighton at home since the Bluejays traded the Missouri Valley for the BIG EAST in 2013.

Georgetown has won all four of the meetings in DC with three of those victories coming by double figures. The other Hoyas win in that stretch was easily the most memorable as Georgetown had to overcome an 11-point deficit in the final minutes to secure a 74-73 victory in 2016. Last season Georgetown routed No. 16 Creighton 71-51.

Scouting Creighton: Greg McDermott once again has one of the most efficient offenses in not just the BIG EAST but the country. Senior Marcus Foster leads the team with 19.4 points per game and scored 25 in the Bluejays win over St. John’s during the week. Joining Foster in the backcourt is Khyri Thomas averages 15 points per game and is one of the better defenders in the league. Sophomore Martin Krampelj is averaging 12.7 points and 8 rebounds per game while senior Toby Hegner comes in with 8.6 points per game and shoots 35 percent from long range as a 6-foot-10 center.

The Bluejays have some impressive wins away from home this season. Creighton has victories at Northwestern and over UCLA in Kansas City.

Prediction: Creighton 87, Georgetown 81