Creighton swept Marquette on Sunday afternoon for its last big win in Big East play in recent weeks. (AP/Rebecca S. Gratz)
The Bluejays proved once again on Saturday afternoon that they are among the best in the Big East.
No. 12 Creighton flew past No. 5 Marquette late thanks to a late charge from Baylor Scheierman to claim an 89-75 victory at CHI Health Center on Saturday. It was the Bluejays' last major win in conference play and moved them just a half-game out of second place in the standings heading into the upcoming Big East Tournament. For the first time in program history, they have now beaten two top-five opponents in the same season.
After a tough early start, Marquette – which was missing two of its best players on Saturday – closed the first half with a quick 6-0 win, cutting the deficit to just two points. Kam Jones then opened the second half with a layup to tie the game, and David Joplin also threw a wild dunk over Creighton 7-footer Ryan Kalkbrenner early in the second half.
Despite shooting a brutal 1 of 11 from behind the arc to start the second half, Creighton somehow managed to keep Marquette at bay. It wasn't until Baylor Scheierman finally hit a 3-pointer right in the 4th minute that the Bluejays finally started to pull away.
Francisco Farabello then hit a 3-pointer of his own and Scheierman hit two more, leading to a mini 12-2 run that gave them a 12-point lead. From there, Creighton just held on and took the 14-point win.
Marquette was missing both guard Tyler Kolek and forward Oso Ighodaro on Saturday. Kolek was struggling with an oblique injury and Ighodaro was battling an illness. Kam Jones led the Golden Eagles with 23 points, and Joplin added 21 points and had five rebounds.
Marquette will next host No. 3 UConn on Wednesday night, representing a great chance for redemption for the Golden Eagles. UConn stunned them last month with a stunning 28-point win that highlighted who the dominant force was in the Big East. Marquette will then conclude its season next weekend against Xavier.
Scheierman led Creighton with 26 points and 16 rebounds while shooting 6 of 12 from the 3-point line. Kalkbrenner added 19 points and four rebounds and Trey Alexander finished the game with 18 points and 11 assists.
Creighton, which handed UConn its first loss in two full months in February, now has a record of 22-8. Despite slipping up against St. John's immediately following their win over the Huskies, the Bluejays have now rattled off two straight wins following a 21-point win over Seton Hall earlier this week. They will close out the regular season next Saturday against Villanova.