Butler @ Creighton preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 5, 2019 ) Creighton 69, Butler 84

Only one-half game separates third place from last in the 10-team Big East, but time is quickly running out for teams such as Creighton and Butler to make their move to rise above the logjam. The Bulldogs attempt to reach .500 in league action Friday when they visit the Bluejays in hopes to complete a regular-season sweep.

Butler began conference play by dropping three of four - its only victory coming in an 84-69 home win against Creighton on Jan. 5 - before defeating two of the five teams (DePaul and St. John's) it shares third place with at the moment. The Bulldogs were unable to improve their situation at home Tuesday, getting outscored 16-3 at the foul line en route to an 80-72 defeat to surging No. 18 Villanova. Creighton's loss to Butler was the first of four straight losses for the Bluejays - their longest such skid since the 1999-2000 season - before picking up a 91-87 road win at Georgetown on Monday. “They’ve come hungry, ready to practice. They’re not pointing fingers at me, I’m not pointing fingers at them, they’re not pointing fingers at each other. They’re committed to just trying to get better every day. I think when you commit to that, you have nights like (Monday) where good things happen," coach Greg McDermott said during a postgame radio show.

TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1

ABOUT BUTLER (12-8, 3-4 Big East): Sophomore guard Aaron Thompson (6.7 points, team-high 4.2 assists) bounced back from a scoreless, foul-plagued 16-minute effort Saturday against St. John's with club-best marks of 15 points (6-of-9 shooting) and four assists in 31 minutes versus the Wildcats. Kamar Baldwin ranks eighth in the league in scoring (17.4 points) and assists (3.9) but cooled off dramatically Tuesday, finishing with only 11 points on 5-for-14 shooting following a three-game stretch in which he averaged 21.7 points on 24-of-41 from the field. Joey Brunk averaged 14.7 points and seven boards over his first three career starts, but the 6-11 sophomore hasn't topped eight points or six rebounds in any of his four outings since.

ABOUT CREIGHTON (11-8, 2-4): Sophomore guard Ty-Shon Alexander (17.5 points) knocked down six 3-pointers for the second time in three contests Monday, extending his consecutive games streak with at least one triple to a Big East-best 23. Three of Davion Mintz's four best scoring efforts of the season have occurred over the last four games as the junior guard, who averages 10.3 points, has topped 16 three times over that span while committing a total of nine turnovers during conference play. Martin Krampelj (11.1 points, 6.3 rebounds) failed to score at least 10 points for the first time in nine outings at Georgetown but has collected at least eight rebounds in seven straight after reaching that mark only once in his first 12 tries.

TIP-INS

1. Butler has committed fewer than 10 turnovers six times and ranked 18th in the country at 10.8 through Wednesday's games.

2. The Bluejays were one of seven teams nationally making at least 40 percent of their 3-point attempts (43.1) and shoot at least 40 percent of their field-goal attempts beyond the arc (47.4 percent).

3. The Bulldogs have buried at least 11 3-pointers in three straight games and four times overall during Big East action, matching their number during non-conference play.

PREDICTION: Butler 81, Creighton 79