St. John's vs. Creighton: 3-Point Preview

The Creighton Bluejays find themselves in very unfamiliar territory having lost their last nine games, including their last three at home. Coming off a strong non-conference portion of their schedule, St. John's sits at just 2-4 in conference play. Both teams are looking to avoid another loss and climb the standings before the Big East Tournament rolls around. Here are three things to watch for in Wednesday night's game on Fox Sports 1:

1. Does Austin Chatman get his mojo back?

Coming into the season the senior point guard was going to have to lead the Jays if they were to have any success in conference play. Well, so far, he hasn't done what Creighton fans have hoped for and they now stand at 0-8 in the Big East. Chatman has struggled to remain the distributor he was last season and he's felt the pressure of having to do it all for the Jays. Chatman shot 42 percent from the floor last season but is shooting just 35 percent this year, the worst of his Creighton career. Perhaps worst of all, Chatman is shooting 26 percent from three, an area the Bluejays must excel at.

2. Can St. John's rebound from the Duke loss?

St. John's gave Duke all they could handle. The Red Storm had a 10 point lead with just over eight minutes to play but eventually fell to the No. 4 Blue Devils, giving Mike Krzyzewski his 1,000th victory. The win would have been just what St. John's needed to add to their tournament resume. Now they travel to Omaha, where a loss to a last place Creighton team could do more harm than a win would do good. Last season when Steve Lavin's team traveled to the Big O, they were beaten on a last second three-pointer by, you guessed it, Doug McDermott. They'll be looking to avenge that loss Wednesday night, much like every Big East team is doing this season to Creighton.

3. Behind the arc

Neither team shoots the three ball particularly well this season. St. John's shoots just 31 percent from three while the Jays aren't much better at 33 percent. Expect Greg McDermott to pack the paint against St. John's, forcing them to make outside shots or drive to the basket. Now without one of its best shooters in Isaiah Zierden, Lavin might opt to do the same to Creighton. Both teams aren't without shooters though. Creighton senior Rick Kreklow has found his stroke in recent games while St. John's guard D'Angelo Harrison is shooting 42 percent from the field and can score from all over.