Photo by: Chelsea Nicholson
#13 Men's Basketball Cruises To 77-53 Win Over DePaul
2/24/2021 10:06:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Bluejays win 14th straight meeting with DePaul
OMAHA, Neb. -- A 42-14 run helped No. 13 Creighton complete a season sweep of DePaul as the Bluejays cruised to a 77-53 victory on Wednesday night in Omaha.
The win pushed the Bluejays to 17-5 on the season and 13-4 in BIG EAST action, while DePaul fell to 4-11 overall and 2-11 in conference play.
Creighton started slowly in its first game in since an 86-70 win vs. No. 5 Villanova 11 days earlier, falling behind 11-3 in the first four minutes. The Bluejays would assert themselves with a 14-2 run to take a 23-18 run, with Marcus Zegarowski scoring eight points during the surge.
DePaul attempted to stop Creighton's rhythm with its fifth trey of the first half, but it served only to spark the Bluejays on an 11-0 run to grab a 34-21 edge with 1:50 left in the frame. At the half the Bluejays held a 34-23 advantage, outscoring DePaul 25-7 over the final 10:51.
Creighton's momentum continued seamlessly early in the second half as the Bluejays scored 11 of the first 13 points to extend its lead to 20 at 45-25. The lead swelled to as much as 30 at (67-37) with 7:44 remaining before CU settled for the 77-53 triumph.
Four Bluejays finished in double-figures, getting 13 points from Zegarowski, Denzel Mahoney and Christian Bishop as well as 10 from junior Alex O'Connell. CU shot 49.1 percent for the night and made 11 three-pointers. CU won the rebound battle 39-33, outscored DePaul 18-8 off turnovers and 26-18 off the bench.
DePaul got a team-high nine points from Romeo Weems and reigning BIG EAST Player of the Week Charlie Moore. The Blue Demons played without Nick Ongenda and Javon Freeman-Liberty and shot 35.5 percent for the contest.
Creighton returns to the court on Saturday, Feb. 27 as the Bluejays face Xavier in Cincinnati, Ohio at 4:00 p.m. Central on FOX.
NOTES: Creighton has won seven of its last eight games this season, including the past four ... Creighton has won 14 straight meetings against DePaul, improving to 17-1 since joining the BIG EAST ... Creighton improved to 7-0 all-time when ranked and playing against DePaul ... Creighton improved to 10-3 this season at home, the 24th time in the past 25 seasons it has won 10 or more home games ... Creighton's 13 wins matches last year's total in league play when it shared the BIG EAST regular-season title ... Creighton's 13 league wins are three more than the next-most in the BIG EAST ... Sixteen of the last 18 meetings vs. DePaul have been decided by double-figures ... Christian Bishop had his sixth straight game with 13 points or more ... Creighton has made a three-pointer before halftime in each of its last 275 games ... Creighton has won 24 straight games when making more free throws than its opponent attempts ... Tonight marked the sixth time in Creighton's eight BIG EAST seasons it has allowed 53 points or less in a game. Three of those have come this season ... Mitch Ballock made a three-pointer to give him 173 in BIG EAST games in his career, breaking a tie he had held with Cincinnati's Deonta Vaughn for seventh in league history ... Creighton's final bucket was a three-point shot by Jacob Epperson, as the 6-foot-11 center improved to 7-for-11 in his career from three-point territory.
The win pushed the Bluejays to 17-5 on the season and 13-4 in BIG EAST action, while DePaul fell to 4-11 overall and 2-11 in conference play.
Creighton started slowly in its first game in since an 86-70 win vs. No. 5 Villanova 11 days earlier, falling behind 11-3 in the first four minutes. The Bluejays would assert themselves with a 14-2 run to take a 23-18 run, with Marcus Zegarowski scoring eight points during the surge.
DePaul attempted to stop Creighton's rhythm with its fifth trey of the first half, but it served only to spark the Bluejays on an 11-0 run to grab a 34-21 edge with 1:50 left in the frame. At the half the Bluejays held a 34-23 advantage, outscoring DePaul 25-7 over the final 10:51.
Creighton's momentum continued seamlessly early in the second half as the Bluejays scored 11 of the first 13 points to extend its lead to 20 at 45-25. The lead swelled to as much as 30 at (67-37) with 7:44 remaining before CU settled for the 77-53 triumph.
Four Bluejays finished in double-figures, getting 13 points from Zegarowski, Denzel Mahoney and Christian Bishop as well as 10 from junior Alex O'Connell. CU shot 49.1 percent for the night and made 11 three-pointers. CU won the rebound battle 39-33, outscored DePaul 18-8 off turnovers and 26-18 off the bench.
DePaul got a team-high nine points from Romeo Weems and reigning BIG EAST Player of the Week Charlie Moore. The Blue Demons played without Nick Ongenda and Javon Freeman-Liberty and shot 35.5 percent for the contest.
Creighton returns to the court on Saturday, Feb. 27 as the Bluejays face Xavier in Cincinnati, Ohio at 4:00 p.m. Central on FOX.
NOTES: Creighton has won seven of its last eight games this season, including the past four ... Creighton has won 14 straight meetings against DePaul, improving to 17-1 since joining the BIG EAST ... Creighton improved to 7-0 all-time when ranked and playing against DePaul ... Creighton improved to 10-3 this season at home, the 24th time in the past 25 seasons it has won 10 or more home games ... Creighton's 13 wins matches last year's total in league play when it shared the BIG EAST regular-season title ... Creighton's 13 league wins are three more than the next-most in the BIG EAST ... Sixteen of the last 18 meetings vs. DePaul have been decided by double-figures ... Christian Bishop had his sixth straight game with 13 points or more ... Creighton has made a three-pointer before halftime in each of its last 275 games ... Creighton has won 24 straight games when making more free throws than its opponent attempts ... Tonight marked the sixth time in Creighton's eight BIG EAST seasons it has allowed 53 points or less in a game. Three of those have come this season ... Mitch Ballock made a three-pointer to give him 173 in BIG EAST games in his career, breaking a tie he had held with Cincinnati's Deonta Vaughn for seventh in league history ... Creighton's final bucket was a three-point shot by Jacob Epperson, as the 6-foot-11 center improved to 7-for-11 in his career from three-point territory.
Team Stats
DEPAUL
CU
FG%
.355
.491
3FG%
.292
.355
FT%
.667
.600
RB
33
39
TO
16
12
STL
8
10
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