Creighton @ Marquette preview
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Last Meeting ( Dec 14, 2020 ) Marquette 89, Creighton 84
Fifteen turnovers and a slew of defensive lapses added up to a frustrating defeat for No. 15 Creighton on Wednesday.
Bluejays coach Greg McDermott said "we self-destructed" after Creighton lost 86-79 to visiting Georgetown. Creighton senior Mitch Ballock agreed, especially where turnovers were concerned.
"It's just being man enough to look yourself in the mirror and say you messed up," Ballock said. "We've been talking about it. At the end of the day, we've got to do something about it. We've got to fix it."
The Bluejays (13-5, 9-4 Big East) will next get that chance Saturday when they visit Marquette in Milwaukee.
The Golden Eagles lead the all-time series 56-35 after edging the Bluejays 89-84 when the teams met in Omaha, Neb., on Dec. 14. Five Marquette players scored in double figures in that contest, led by D.J. Carton with 20 points and Koby McEwen with 18. Ballock scored 26 for Creighton.
Marquette (9-9, 5-7) snapped a three-game losing streak Tuesday with a 70-67 home victory against Butler.
While the Golden Eagles never trailed and led by as many as 18 points in the second half, Butler nonetheless rallied to make Marquette squirm in the closing minutes.
"We had some defensive breakdowns that cost us," Golden Eagles coach Steve Wojciechowski said. "Things that we had prepared for but didn't execute with the level that I believe we're capable of. That being said, our guys made enough plays to win this game, and our guys fought through a lot of adversity."
Things were especially thin for Marquette in the frontcourt, as Justin Lewis missed his second successive game with an injured right ankle and Dawson Garcia and Theo John navigated foul trouble.
While Carton and McEwen shouldered much of the scoring load with 18 points each, the team also received a boost from freshman Oso Ighodaro, who contributed two points and one steal in 10 minutes.
Creighton fell into an early hole against Georgetown, which started 11-for-14 from the floor, including 5-for-5 from beyond the arc. The Bluejays rallied to within six points down the stretch before the Hoyas created distance again.
Despite placing four scorers in double figures -- paced by Denzel Mahoney (22) and Ballock (16) -- Creighton shot below 50 percent for the fifth time in six games.
Marquette is optimistic about having a fragment of partisan spectators in attendance Saturday. The school this week announced it is working with the city of Milwaukee to allow families of Golden Eagles players to attend games.
"I love our fans. I hope our fans are allowed back in," Wojciechowski said. "For our guys, more than anything, I want their families to be here.
"I'm not sure any of us can grasp what exactly we're asking these guys to do because of COVID. If you think of parents watching their kids play basketball, most of our parents have watched in person the vast majority of games that their kids have played. And their kids have been able to experience that with their folks."
--Field Level Media