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Western Illinois vs. Creighton: Bluejays dominant in 97-67 win

Creighton dominantly hands Western Illinois their first loss of the season. Here's three takeaways from tonight's big win.

Joshua Dahl-USA TODAY Sports

Geoffrey Groselle strings together his second big game

Groselle follows up a 20 and 9 performance against UMass in the Men Who Speak final with a strong outing against WIU. The senior was active all over the court, plugging holes and creating mismatches on the offensive end. He finished with 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting and 9 boards in a career-high 26 minutes. After a rough start with the program, Groselle is carving out a role for himself in Greg McDermott's lineup.

Bluejays played an all-around game

In my preview I said Creighton would need to play two-way basketball to fend off WIU, and we got it Saturday. The Bluejays made the Necks look foolish inside and out. Both teams found success with the deep ball - Isaiah Zierden bounced back and shot 3-of-7 from deep, and James Milliken scored 12 off the bench - but Creighton was stronger underneath the basket, outscoring WIU 46-20 in the paint and outrebounding Western 47-29. Garret Covington (14 points) and J.C. Fuller (9 points) got theirs offensively, but otherwise it was a complete game from the Jays tonight.

Thomas shines and stays out of foul trouble

Khyri Thomas played his best game tonight, tying a career-high 18 points in just 17 minutes. Thomas was electric, slashing the defense and putting on a show for his hometown crowd. Most importantly, he stayed out of foul trouble after an eight-minute game vs. UMass. Thomas fits nicely in with Mo Watson in the Creighton backcourt, one that should cause hell as the season progresses.