Villanova @ Creighton preview

Villanova at Creighton

Last Meeting ( Feb 1, 2020 ) Creighton 76, Villanova 61

No. 5 Villanova is one of the most dangerous teams in the country for many reasons.

Offensive balance is at the top of the list.

The Wildcats (13-2, 8-1 Big East) will look to continue their winning ways with a difficult challenge Saturday at No. 19 Creighton.

One game after Jermaine Samuels led the way with a career-high 32 points, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl followed with an impressive effort and a season-high 27 points in a 96-64 rout of Marquette on Wednesday.

Robinson-Earl was 10 of 11 from the field and 5 of 5 from beyond the arc while also adding eight rebounds and three steals.

"Jeremiah is so valuable to any team because he always does the little things to help you win -- rebounding, screening, great team defensive player," Villanova head coach Jay Wright said. "Now, he's really developing as an offensive player. He's really been working on his game. You don't expect this every night, but he's been more consistent every night he steps on the court.

"He never, ever has a poor game defensively or on the glass," Wright added. "Sometimes he doesn't get a lot of rebounds, but he keeps the opponents' best rebounder from rebounding."

All five Villanova starters reached double figures in scoring and Collin Gillespie recorded his third career double-double with 16 points and 11 assists.

The Wildcats scored 56 points in the second half on 70 percent shooting. But like usual, their suffocating defense frustrated Marquette. To win their third in a row overall at Creighton, they'll need a similar defensive effort.

"Defense is such a big part of what we do and it's probably where we're being affected the most by everything going on this season," Wright said. "I think we're behind where we'd like to be but we stepped up a little bit in the second half."

Creighton will also be looking for its third straight win on Saturday following victories over Marquette and Georgetown.

The Bluejays improved to 15-5 overall and 11-4 in the Big East after their 63-48 win Tuesday at Georgetown. Creighton is also 7-1 on the road in conference action.

Creighton recorded a program-best 19 steals against the Hoyas. In addition, the 48 points allowed were the fewest to a Power 5 or Big East team since giving up 42 to Nebraska when it was a member of the Missouri Valley Conference in 2012.

Christian Bishop scored 17 points and Mitch Ballock added 14 for the Bluejays.

Creighton's defensive effort was particularly appealing to the coaching staff.

"Our activity defensively spoke for itself," head coach Greg McDermott said. "We got in there, knocked balls loose and made most of their looks pretty challenging."

After falling to Georgetown in their first meeting, the Bluejays flipped the script with one of their best games of the season. They'll need a repeat effort to upend the Wildcats.

"Just playing our tails off," Bishop said. "Being able to give 100 percent the entire time you're out there is going to make the difference. The effort plays will change the game."

It wasn't all perfect as the Bluejays committed 17 turnovers.

But?

"I think we've got a little bit more grit to us now," Bishop said.

--Field Level Media