Sunday, March 5
Milwaukee, Wis.
12:00 PM
Creighton University
vs
No. 10 Butler
Photo by: Steve Branscombe
Second Seeded Women's Basketball Kicks Off BIG EAST Tournament on Sunday
3/3/2017 10:59:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Bluejays to face either No. 10 Butler or No. 7 Xavier
Omaha, Neb. -- Fresh from earning a share of the BIG EAST Championship last weekend, the second-seeded Creighton women's basketball team will battle either No. 10 Butler or No. 7 Xavier in the Quarterfinal of the BIG EAST Tournament on Sunday, Match 5 at 12:00 pm. The Bluejays defeated both the Bulldogs and the Musketeers last weekend in road contest to wrap up the regular season crown.
Download the complete preview (PDF)
Bird Seeds
Creighton leads the overall series with Butler, 6-3. The first meeting between the two teams came as members of the BIG EAST in 2013-14.
Creighton has won the last five meetings, including a 65-53 battle in Indianapolis last Sunday. The Bluejays and Bulldogs met once in the BIG EAST Tournament, that coming in 2014. Entering as the No. 3 seed, Creighton downed the sixth-seeded Bulldogs, 61-52.
Scouting No. 10 Butler (5-24, 2-16 BIG EAST)
Creighton leads the overall series with Xavier, 6-2. The first meeting between the two teams came as members of the BIG EAST in 2013-14.
Creighton swept the season series with the Musketeers, including a 67-57 win in Cincinnati last Friday. The Bluejays have won four of the last five meetings with Xavier. The two squads have never met on a neutral floor.
Scouting No. 7 Xavier (12-17, 4-14 BIG EAST)
Keys to the Game w/Xavier
The haul of seniors Lauren Works (Sportsmanship) and Brianna Rollerson (Most Improved) followed in the
footsteps of the 2014-15 efforts of Marissa Janning (Sportsmanship) and Alexis Akin-Otiko (Most Improved) as the Bluejays claimed each of those BIG EAST Specialty Awards for the second time in the last three seasons.
Agnew Earns Sixth Freshman of the Year Honor in Bluejay History
Jaylyn Agnew became the Sixth Bluejay in Program history to earn a conference Freshman of the Year honor. Agnew need not look very far to find the last two Bluejays to do so as current teammate Marissa Janning was the MVC Freshman of the Year in 2012-13, while Video Coordinator Carli Tritz earned the MVC nod following the 2010-11 season.
Janning and Rollerson Bookend Careers with Championships
Fifth-year seniors Marissa Janning and Brianna Rollerson will end their Bluejay careers they way the duo started, as champions.
Janning and Rollerson joined the Creighton family as little birdies during the Bluejays run to a shared Missouri Valley Championship during the 2012-13 season. That season Creighton finished MVC play 16-2 to share the crown with Wichita State.
With victories over Xavier and Butler last weekend the Bluejays delivered another 16-2 conference record, this time as members of the BIG EAST to share the regular season title with DePaul.
Janning Walks the Bulldogs Down the Lane
Janning was challenged by Butler to beat them, the Minnesota native accepted the challenge and offered a season-high 27 points in response. Janning was 10-of-21 from the field, including 3-of-8 from long range. It was the 30th time in Janning's career that she has scored at least 20 points. Nine of those 30 have come against Bulldog teams (Drake, Georgetown or Butler)
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Download the complete preview (PDF)
BIG EAST Tournament
3/5: - 12:00 pm - No. 10 Butler (5-24) or No. 7 Xavier (12-17) vs. No. 2 Creighton (22-6)
Series History:
Creighton leads Butler, 6-3
Creighton leads Xavier, 6-2
Stats (Free): http://bigeast.statbroadcast.com
TV: Fox Sports 2 (FS2)
Online: http://foxsportsgo.com
3/5: - 12:00 pm - No. 10 Butler (5-24) or No. 7 Xavier (12-17) vs. No. 2 Creighton (22-6)
Series History:
Creighton leads Butler, 6-3
Creighton leads Xavier, 6-2
Stats (Free): http://bigeast.statbroadcast.com
TV: Fox Sports 2 (FS2)
Online: http://foxsportsgo.com
Bird Seeds
- The Bluejays will open the BIG EAST Tournament with an opponent they saw last weekend as Creighton defeated both Xavier (67-57) and Butler (65-53)Â in road contests to earn a share of the BIG EAST Championship.
- Creighton is 4-3 in the BIG EAST Tournament, including three victories last season as the No. 7 seed to reach the Championship game.
- Creighton and Butler met during the 2013-14 BIG EAST Tournament,
- collecting a 61-52 win over the Bulldogs in the quarterfinals. The Bluejays have yet to face Xavier in the Tournament.
- Coming into Sunday, the Bluejays have won eight straight and have posted victories in 18 of their last 20 games.
- In Creighton's three seasons as a member of the BIG EAST just once, DePaul in 2014, has the top seed claimed the conference tournament title.
- As the No. 2 seed, the Bluejays appear to be safely in the NCAA Tournament. Creighton, however, will be looking to earn their first conference tournament championship since 2011-12. That season the Bluejays claimed the MVC title as a No. 4 seed.
Creighton leads the overall series with Butler, 6-3. The first meeting between the two teams came as members of the BIG EAST in 2013-14.
Creighton has won the last five meetings, including a 65-53 battle in Indianapolis last Sunday. The Bluejays and Bulldogs met once in the BIG EAST Tournament, that coming in 2014. Entering as the No. 3 seed, Creighton downed the sixth-seeded Bulldogs, 61-52.
Scouting No. 10 Butler (5-24, 2-16 BIG EAST)
- Butler enters the BIG EAST Tournament having lost its last 13 straight games. Despite the unlucky streak, the Bulldogs boast one of the best players in the conference in All-BIG EAST Second Teamer Tori Schickel. The post player averaged 14.5 points and 11.8 rebounds per game this season. Those numbers rose to 15.0 ppg and 13.0 rpg in BIG EAST play.
- Butler plays a limited rotation, using just seven players for more than three minutes against the Bluejays on Sunday.
- One challenge for the Bulldogs this season has been ball security. Butler has committed 518 turnovers this season, just under 18 per game. Â
- Keep the battle in the paint close: Schickel will battle with Rollerson down low. If the Bluejays keep this area close, Creighton will neutralize the Bulldogs best scoring option.
- Outside Shooting: Butler shoots just 27.8% from long range in BIG EAST play, including 2-of-9 (22.2%) versus Creighton on Sunday.
- Taking advantage of turnovers: The Bulldogs propensity to give away the ball is an area Creighton must take advantage of.
Creighton leads the overall series with Xavier, 6-2. The first meeting between the two teams came as members of the BIG EAST in 2013-14.
Creighton swept the season series with the Musketeers, including a 67-57 win in Cincinnati last Friday. The Bluejays have won four of the last five meetings with Xavier. The two squads have never met on a neutral floor.
Scouting No. 7 Xavier (12-17, 4-14 BIG EAST)
- Xavier is a squad that has just two wins in its last 14 games entering the BIG EAST Tournament. The Musketeers, however, posted a win last Sunday to claim the No. 7 seed. Xavier finished tied with Seton Hall and Providence at 4-14 in conference, but the Musketeers were 3-1 against the Friars and Pirates.
- Raeshaun Gaffney is the lone Musketeer averaging double-figures this season at 13.6 ppg. In BIG EAST play she is at 14.1 ppg, while Maddison Blackwell is averaging 8.9 ppg on the season and 9.7 in conference action.
- Xavier has struggled from the field this season, shooting just 39.2% from the field as a team. Â
Keys to the Game w/Xavier
- Block out: Xavier was able to grab six second chance points in the first half last Friday. Creighton cleaned that up in the second half and were able to pull away.
- Pound the ball inside: In two games this season with Xavier, Creighton has hit a total of 12 three pointers, yet have 54 points in the paint. The Bluejays must allow their work down low create opportunities beyond the arc.
- Continue to frustrate the Musketeers defensively: Creighton has limited Xavier to 39.8% from the field in two meetings.
The haul of seniors Lauren Works (Sportsmanship) and Brianna Rollerson (Most Improved) followed in the
footsteps of the 2014-15 efforts of Marissa Janning (Sportsmanship) and Alexis Akin-Otiko (Most Improved) as the Bluejays claimed each of those BIG EAST Specialty Awards for the second time in the last three seasons.
Agnew Earns Sixth Freshman of the Year Honor in Bluejay History
Jaylyn Agnew became the Sixth Bluejay in Program history to earn a conference Freshman of the Year honor. Agnew need not look very far to find the last two Bluejays to do so as current teammate Marissa Janning was the MVC Freshman of the Year in 2012-13, while Video Coordinator Carli Tritz earned the MVC nod following the 2010-11 season.
Janning and Rollerson Bookend Careers with Championships
Fifth-year seniors Marissa Janning and Brianna Rollerson will end their Bluejay careers they way the duo started, as champions.
Janning and Rollerson joined the Creighton family as little birdies during the Bluejays run to a shared Missouri Valley Championship during the 2012-13 season. That season Creighton finished MVC play 16-2 to share the crown with Wichita State.
With victories over Xavier and Butler last weekend the Bluejays delivered another 16-2 conference record, this time as members of the BIG EAST to share the regular season title with DePaul.
Janning Walks the Bulldogs Down the Lane
Janning was challenged by Butler to beat them, the Minnesota native accepted the challenge and offered a season-high 27 points in response. Janning was 10-of-21 from the field, including 3-of-8 from long range. It was the 30th time in Janning's career that she has scored at least 20 points. Nine of those 30 have come against Bulldog teams (Drake, Georgetown or Butler)
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Players Mentioned
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