Oral Roberts @ Creighton preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 17, 2016 ) Oral Roberts 65, Creighton 66

Marcus Zegarowski entered the season viewed as a complementary piece to preseason All-Big East selection Ty-Shon Alexander in Creighton's backcourt, but he has quickly made it clear he is much more than that. Coming off easily their most impressive victory of the season, the Bluejays hope their sophomore point guard can help them avoid a letdown Tuesday when they host Oral Roberts.

Creighton offered little hint of an impending upset on Thanksgiving Day at the Las Vegas Invitational, as Zegarowski and Alexander combined for 15 points on 6-for-27 shooting while the Bluejays fell behind by as many as 36 points in an 83-52 loss to San Diego State. The duo completely flipped the script one night later, totaling 50 points on 17-of-33 from the floor - including a career-high 32 points on 12-for-18 shooting from Zegarowski - en route to an 83-76 overtime victory over No. 12 Texas Tech. “Marcus and Ty-Shon were the engines tonight. That’s what leaders need to do,” coach Greg McDermott said in his postgame radio interview. Two of the Golden Eagles' three wins are against non-Division I opponents, but their four losses have all come on the road by an average of 8.5 points against the likes of undefeated Oklahoma State and one-loss Wichita State.

TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1

ABOUT ORAL ROBERTS (3-4): All nine players that saw the court for the Golden Eagles in their Nov. 25 win over NAIA foe Southwestern Christian scored at least six points and seven of them hit at least one 3-pointer as Oral Roberts buried a season-high 12 triples in the 99-45 rout. Freshman guard Max Abmas (14.4 points) was one of four players to reach double figures with a game-high 18 points despite a 2-for-10 effort beyond the arc, while Deondre Burns (13.0) added 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field. The Golden Eagles have played the last three games without leading scorer and preseason All-Summit League first-team selection Emmanuel Nzekwesi (14.5 points, 7.8 rebounds) for undisclosed reasons.

ABOUT CREIGHTON (5-2): Zegarowski (team-high 18.4 points, team-high 21 3-pointers) topped his previous career high by 12 points against the Red Raiders and has scored at least 17 points in six of seven contests after doing so only twice in 32 games as a freshman. Alexander (16.1 points, team-high 5.6 rebounds), who posted his first career double-double with 18 points and 12 boards Friday, is one of three Bluejays with at least 19 3-pointers who is also shooting at least 40 percent beyond the arc (team-high 47.5). Mitch Ballock (12.7 points, 5.4 rebounds) failed to reach double figures for the first time in six games Friday; the junior guard has made more 3-pointers over the course of his 75-game career (158) than he has attempted 2-pointers (154).

TIP-INS

1. Creighton is only the second team since the beginning of last season to score at least 80 points against Texas Tech.

2. After averaging 15.4 turnovers over their first five contests, the Golden Eagles have totaled 15 over their last two.

3. The Bluejays have won all three meetings in the last 20 seasons, but two of them have been decided by one point.

PREDICTION: Creighton 79, Oral Roberts 71