After one of its worst losses of the season, Creighton looks to get back in the groove when it travels to face Seton Hall on Tuesday in Newark, N.J.
The Bluejays (20-9, 13-5 Big East) were hammered by Xavier 83-61 on Saturday, suffering their second-biggest margin of defeat this season.
“We haven’t been beaten like this in a long time,” Creighton coach Greg McDermott said. “Nobody has really done that to our defense all year.”
Creighton is tied with No. 20 Marquette for second place in the Big East, but the schedule favors the Bluejays in the final week of the regular season — Marquette has to play No. 6St. John’s and UConn.
Creighton overwhelmed Seton Hall 79-54 on Jan. 25, holding the Pirates to only 20 second-half points. Bluejays big man Ryan Kalkbrenner was unstoppable in that meeting, finishing 9-10 from the floor for 23 points. Creighton sharpshooter Steven Ashworth had 17 points in the contest, including five 3-pointers, and nine assists.
Seton Hall (7-22, 2-16) has lost four in a row and 13 of its last 14. The Pirates are tied with DePaul for last in the conference.
Injuries and inexperience have doomed the Pirates this season. Seton Hall ranks third to last in the nation in scoring a feeble 62.2 points a game.
“We never really had a full roster where the guys could play together — someone was always out,” Pirates coach Shaheen Holloway said after the Pirates’ 71-61 loss Saturday to St. John’s. “I’m just upset that we didn’t have a chance to really jell like we could have. I think we could have had a better season than what we’re having right now.”
Sophomore Isaiah Coleman leads the Pirates scoring 15.4 points per game, and senior Dylan Addae-Wusu is Seton Hall’s only other active player averaging double figures with 10.5. Chaunce Jenkins has missed the last 11 games for Seton Hall with a knee injury.
After winning nine in a row, Creighton has now lost three of its last five, but it’s still in line for an NCAA Tournament bid.
Kalkbrenner has scored at least 10 points and had a blocked shot for 14 straight games, the nation’s longest active streak. Creighton has also made a three in 1,049 consecutive games.
–Field Level Media
