Alcorn St. @ Creighton preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 8, 2013 ) Alcorn St. 61, Creighton 107

Marcus Foster and Khyri Thomas each received All-Big East recognition in the preseason and proved why they were worthy in Creighton's season-opening victory over Yale. The impressive backcourt duo will try to put together another impressive showing Sunday when the Bluejays host Alcorn State.

Foster averaged 18.2 points last season - the second-highest mark in the conference - en route to receiving a first-team Big East nod in October, while Thomas landed on the preseason honorable mention All-Big East squad after tallying 12.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists as a sophomore. They combined for 45 points on 19-of-25 from the field versus the Bulldogs, helping Creighton shoot 58.8 percent for the game and build its lead to as many as 27 points before settling for a 92-76 win. The effort was par for the course for the Bluejays, who ranked 19th in the country in scoring offense and second in field-goal percentage last season. The Braves, who finished second in the Southwestern Athletic Conference and posted their first winning campaign since 2001-02 under second-year coach Montez Robinson last year, began their grueling season-opening road trip of five games in 10 days Friday by getting routed 99-59 at LSU.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1

ABOUT ALCORN STATE (0-1): The Braves are led by preseason conference player of the year Reginal Johnson, who tallied 12 points against LSU and has reached double figures in 31 of the last 32 games. Senior guard A.J. Mosby, who was named to the preseason All-SWAC second team, poured in a team-high 15 points and was the only other Alcorn State player to score more than seven points versus the Tigers. The Braves also boast SWAC Preseason Co-Defensive Player of the Year Yalen Reed - a 6-7 forward who shot 55.8 percent from the field last year but is expected to take on a much larger role in 2017-18 after averaging only 2.2 points and 1.9 rebounds in 8.4 minutes as a freshman.

ABOUT CREIGHTON (1-0): While big games from Foster (23 points) and Thomas (22) didn't exactly come as a surprise Friday, 6-9 sophomore Martin Krampelj complemented the pair nicely with 12 points and nine boards in his first career start. The Bluejays' emphasis on pushing the pace and creating easy opportunities under eighth-year coach Greg McDermott was also on display in the opener, as Creighton enjoyed a 23-6 advantage in transition points and recorded assists on 20 of its 40 made baskets. "A lot of times, (pushing the pace) doesn’t show its face the entire game, but it’s one of those stretches where you go on a 10-2 run or an 8-0 run - and you just take a game that’s close and you create some separation," McDermott told the Omaha World-Herald.

TIP-INS

1. Sunday will mark McDermott's 250th game at the school (167-82).

2. The Braves have not won a non-league game against a Division I school in five years.

3. Foster has produced at least 10 points in 19 straight games - the longest such streak by a Bluejay since Doug McDermott closed his career with 28 in a row in 2014.

PREDICTION: Creighton 95, Alcorn State 64