Georgetown @ Creighton preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 15, 2020 ) Creighton 80, Georgetown 83

Creighton won't sleep on Georgetown when it comes to town Wednesday for a Big East Conference game. The No. 14 Bluejays weren't prepared for a 3-point barrage by struggling St. John's on Sunday, suffering a 91-71 defeat that left them needing to beat the Hoyas and No. 7 Seton Hall to have a chance at sharing the Big East regular season title.

The Bluejays opted to pack the paint and force St. John's, which was the worst 3-point shooting team in the conference (29.5 percent) entering the game, to shoot it from outside, which it did to the tune of 63.6 percent - the third-best rate in a game in the Big East this season. "You have to be ready and on point every time you play in the Big East or you are going to get beat," Creighton coach Greg McDermott, whose team had won five straight and nine of its previous 10 games, told the media. "It doesn't matter who you play." The loss eliminated any chance of Creighton winning its first outright Big East regular season title, but it can still share the title if the Bluejays win their final two games and the Pirates drop their final two, including Wednesday against No. 12 Villanova. Jahvon Blair and the Hoyas pushed NCAA Tournament-bound Xavier to the final seconds before succumbing to a 3-pointer and suffering a fourth straight defeat, their longest slide of the season.

TIME: 8 p.m. ET. TV: FSN

ABOUT GEORGETOWN (15-14, 5-11 Big East): With only a few more games left in his college career, Jagan Mosely is attempting to pass as many Georgetown greats as he can in career assists. The Marlboro, N.J. native, who had seven against Xavier to bring his career total to 340 - good for 14th place, has already put Allen Iverson, Jeff Green and Reggie Williams in his rearview mirror and has a chance to catch Eric "Sleepy" Floyd (355) and David Wingate (364). Kevin Braswell (1998-2002) is the leader with 695 assists for the Hoyas.

ABOUT CREIGHTON (22-7, 11-5): The Bluejays are a group that lives and dies by the 3-pointer having attempted 721 treys and against St. John's they died by going 4-of-27, including a combined 4-of-21 from their stars Ty-Shon Alexander, Marcus Zegarowski and Mitch Ballock. Six of their seven losses can be partially attributed to poor shooting from beyond the arc as they have combined to make 21 percent in those games. The lone exception for the Bluejays, who have won a school-record five games against Top 25 teams this season - surpassing the 2016-17 and 2017-18 squads, is the first meeting at Georgetown, which Creighton lost 84-80 despite making 13-of-32 from deep.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Creighton has won its last 12 games following a loss of 20 or more points, including seven against Big East competition.

2. The Hoyas need to win one of their remaining two games to avoid their fourth season of .500 or worse in the last five campaigns, something the program hasn't experienced since the early 70s.

3. The Bluejays, who are 8-1 when scoring 74 or more points against Georgetown, have put up 80 or more in each of the last six games in the series, winning five to increase their lead to 8-7.

PREDICTION: Creighton 86, Georgetown 72