Creighton looks to keep its faint Big East title hopes alive Wednesday night when it hosts DePaul in Omaha, Neb.
The Bluejays (19-8, 12-4 Big East) reside 2 1/2 games behind first-place St. John’s in conference play with four games left for Creighton and three for the Red Storm.
While that’s a steep hill to climb, Creighton can stay positive given its proven run of success against DePaul. The Bluejays cruised to a 73-49 road romp over the Blue Demons on Jan. 21, which marked their 21st straight win over DePaul and the 26th in their last 27 meetings.
Jamiya Neal collected 14 points and seven rebounds and Ryan Kalkbrenner added 13 and eight, respectively, in the last meeting between the teams.
Kalkbrenner boasts team-leading averages in points (18.7) and rebounds (8.5). He recorded 19 and eight, respectively, to go along with four blocks as Creighton snapped a two-game skid with an 80-69 home win over Georgetown on Sunday.
The Bluejays showed resolve and used a spirited flourish to overcome a 10-point deficit.
“You don’t ever panic,” Creighton coach Greg McDermott said. “You try to do your job a little better. … But we don’t panic. Win a game, lose a game; good stretch, bad stretch, you gotta just move on to the next play.”
Neal had 13 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists Sunday for the Bluejays.
DePaul (11-17, 2-15), which has dropped 14 of its last 16 games, is mired in its second five-game losing skid of the season following an 84-72 setback to Butler on Saturday.
Sophomore guard Layden Blocker recorded career-highs in points (25) and 3-pointers (four) on 9-of-15 shooting from the floor.
“I’ve been having some shooting slumps this year,” Blocker said per depauliaonline.com. “But before the season, I was shooting pretty good, so I just got to get back into that rhythm and that confidence that I had preseason. So, just making the right reads, being confident, just shooting my shot.”
Blocker led the Demons with 15 points in the previous meeting with Creighton.
CJ Gunn, who had his string of 12 straight double-figure outings snapped against Butler when he had nine points, averages a team-high 12.2 points per game. NJ Benson adds 6.1 rebounds per contest.
