Georgetown @ Creighton preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 21, 2019 ) Creighton 91, Georgetown 87

Georgetown's chances of make the NCAA Tournament are, for the moment, alive but that can change in an instant with a loss Saturday in a Big East game at Creighton. The Hoyas, who have dropped four straight to the Bluejays, played their best game of the season Wednesday in beating No. 16 Villanova and can help their cause by winning at least four of their last five games.

"We have to build on this, it can't be just a one-game thing," coach Patrick Ewing told the media after Jessie Govan and Mac McClung scored 21 points each to lead the Hoyas against Villanova, which hadn't lost back-to-back Big East games since 2013. "We have five more games to go and our dreams and our goals are to make the NCAA Tournament. The Hoyas have a favorable schedule with two games against DePaul and one against Seton Hall prior to closing the regular season at Marquette but solving the riddle that is Creighton comes first. The Hoyas won six of the first eight meetings with the Bluejays as Big East foes but have been unable to contain them offensively since, allowing 85 or more points in each game during the losing streak. The Bluejays snapped a four-game slide by winning at DePaul on Wednesday as sophomore Ty-Shon Alexander had 16 points, six assists and five rebounds.

TV: 2:30 p.m. ET, FOX

ABOUT GEORGETOWN (16-10, 6-7 Big East): Govan broke a string of six straight games without a double-double, his longest in more than a year, but more importantly, atoned for his scoreless game in the first meeting with Villanova on Feb. 3. The 6-10 center from Queens, N.Y., has been a model of consistency, scoring in double figures in 33 of the last 35 games dating back to last season for the Hoyas, whose last NCAA Tournament appearance was in 2015. Govan, who has recorded 25 career doubles-doubles, moved past Allen Iverson (1994-96) into 14th place on Georgetown's all-time scoring list with 1,559 points.

ABOUT CREIGHTON (14-13, 5-9): If Alexander can make a 3-pointer against the Hoyas - he had six and 26 points in the first meeting this season - it will mark his 30th consecutive game with at least one 3, which would tie him with Booker Woodfox for the longest streak in school history. The Bluejays, who are first in the Big East in 3-point shooting (40.1 percent) and last in 3-point defense (45.9), have averaged 10.93 made 3s this season, the highest amount in school history, surpassing last season's 10.39 3-pointers per game. Marcus Zegarowski leads the conference in 3-point shooting (45.5) while Mitch Ballock (41.1) is ninth.

TIP-INS

1. Alexander has improved his scoring by 11 points per game over last season, the largest increase in the Big East by more than two points per contest.

2. Georgetown improved to 13-2 when scoring 80 or more points, but one of those losses was to Creighton, which prevailed 91-87 in Washington, D.C.

3. The top three freshman scorers in the Big East will be on the floor as Georgetown's McClung (13.5) and James Akinjo (13.0) battle Zegarowski (10.8).

PREDICTION: Georgetown 87, Creighton 80