Bluejays hand Villanova an upset at CHI Health Center

Photo courtesy Creighton Athletics

By Matt Kirkle, Contributor

No. 5 Villanova came into the CHI Health Center on Saturday afternoon off of their best performance of the season. In their Wednesday night win over Marquette, they set single-game season highs in five categories including total points (96), field goal percentage (63%), and 3-point field goal percentage (59%).

The No. 19 Bluejays took note of this—and chose to dish that same caliber of efficiency right back at the Wildcats.

Creighton shot a season-best 65% from the field in the first half and controlled the entire game with lights out shooting to take down Villanova, making it their seventh win in their last eight games against Top-25 teams.

The game began with both teams finding an early stride. Creighton found ways to score inside and out, and Villanova’s interior play gave them lots of second chance points in the first eight minutes. The Wildcats led at the first media timeout 11-9, with Justin Moore and Marcus Zegarowski dueling back-and-forth. Each player had seven points before the first media break.

Offensively, Creighton had as efficient of a game as they’ve had all season. Their actions on and off of the ball made it tough for Nova to adjust, and the Wildcats payed for it. Zegarowski was finding perimeter shooters and interior players rolling off of ball screens the entire half. He had a game-high 3 assists at the break, as well as 17 points. The Bluejays opened the first 15 minutes of the game making 15 of their first 20 shots as a team, going 5-of-7 from behind the arc.

Villanova weathered the shooting storm for most of the half. The Wildcats had eight offensive rebounds in the first eight minutes to give themselves a lot of extra possessions, and they operated very effectively in the paint. With 5:58 left in the half, Villanova only trailed by one despite seeing a lack of production from Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Collin Gillespie. The two combine for 30 points per game this season, but they had just six points at the half.

Creighton’s shooting took over in the latter part of the first half, and they put together a 12-3 run to take a 10-point advantage with 2:50 left. They would head into the break leading 42-36.

When a team shoots as well as Creighton did in the opening half, it’s uncommon to see that same level of efficiency carry over to the second half. The Bluejays clearly didn’t get that memo.

The Bluejays actually outdid their first half total of 65% through the first eight minutes of the final half. Mitch Ballock and Denzel Mahoney both struggled offensively early on, and decided to get in on the action after the intermission. Mahoney, who didn’t score at all in the opening half, had seven points in the first 3:30 of the second half. Ballock let loose from behind the arc, and tallied 12 quick points before the second media timeout on 4-of-4 from deep. He would finish the game with 20 points.

Creighton opened the second half shooting 9-of-13 from the floor, while Nova struggled to get shots to fall from any spot on the floor. The Bluejay defense that allowed eight offensive rebounds in the opening eight minutes of the game, would only give up five more for the remaining 32 minutes. The Bluejays took a 67-48 lead with 11:20 left.

Villanova would respond with an 7-1 run out of the second media timeout, but it didn’t create much momentum as it was kickstarted at the free throw line. Creighton would immediately counterpunch with a 10-3 run of their own to take their largest lead of the game at 78-58. They closed the door on the Wildcats with almost 5:00 left in the game. The Bluejay offense was too much for Villanova to overcome.

Creighton would cruise to an 86-70 win, making it their second-straight win against a Top-10 team at home. Zegarowski led the No. 19 Bluejays with 25 points, followed by Ballock with 20. Christian Bishop and Damien Jefferson also scored in double-figures for Creighton, with 16 and 10 respectively. Justin Moore led the No. 5 Wildcats with 21 points. Creighton will host DePaul on February 24th at 8 p.m. as the Big East Tournament is now less than a month away.