Creighton @ Seton Hall preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 17, 2018 ) Seton Hall 63, Creighton 80

Seton Hall returns to action for a first time in a week when it hosts Creighton on Saturday night in a Big East game between teams tied for fifth place in the standings. The Pirates have lost five of their last six and the Bluejays are in the midst of a three-game road trip that started with a 66-59 overtime loss Wednesday night at No. 13 Villanova.

Creighton had won three of four before losing on the road to Big East-leading Villanova. The Bluejays rely on their outside shooting, ranking fourth nationally in 3-pointers made at 11.3 per game, but were 5-for-17 against the Wildcats. Seton Hall is hoping the one-week break since a loss last Saturday at Butler will rejuvenate the team. The Pirates allowed the Bulldogs to shoot 65 percent in the first half while falling behind and a similar start won't bode well against a sharpshooting team in the Bluejays.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network

ABOUT CREIGHTON (13-10, 4-6 Big East): Martin Krampelj is averaging 15.5 points and 7.9 rebounds in the last 13 games after scoring a career-high 23 points Sunday against Xavier. He's averaging 12.0 points and a team-high 6.4 rebounds per game for the season, trailing only Ty-Shon Alexander (17.0 points) in scoring. Two other Bluejays are scoring in double figures - Marcus Zegarowski (11.7), Mitch Ballock (11.4) and Davion Mintz (10.3) with Zegarowski (46.2) and Ballock (45.4) shooting better than 45 percent from 3-point range.

ABOUT SETON HALL (13-9, 4-6): The Pirates are 8-3 in the Big East since 2014 when they've had five days to prepare for a game. Myles Powell is the unquestioned catalyst for Seton Hall, averaging 21.6 points per game overall and 24.3 in the team's 13 wins this season. One of the keys to success for the Pirates is to get secondary scoring from Quincy McKnight (10.1 points) and Myles Cale (9.4), who scored 13 points apiece against Butler.

TIP-INS

1. A sure sign of success for Seton Hall this season is that when Powell scores 25 or more points as the Pirates are 8-0.

2. Mintz played all 45 minutes in the overtime loss to Villanova, becoming the first Blue Jays player in three years to never leave the floor during a game.

3. The Seton Hall-Creighton matchup is the first of two in nine days as they'll meet again Feb. 17 in Omaha, Neb.

PREDICTION: Creighton 77, Seton Hall 71