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Creighton senior point guard Maurice Watson, Jr. left Monday’s game against Xavier with an apparently knee injury midway through the first half.
Watson banged knees with an Xavier player earlier in the half, and went to the bench. After icing his knee for a bit, Watson checked back in.
Shortly later, as he was going up for a layup, Watson’s knee appeared to buckle and he fell to the floor.
FOX 19 Cincinnati’s Joe Danneman tweeted the following shortly after.
Maurice Watson told Coach McDermott: "I'm done. I heard it pop."
— Joe Danneman (@FOX19Joe) January 16, 2017
Watson currently leads the nation in assists per game at 8.8, and has played a huge role in Creighton’s success this season.
Watson returned from the half with the team, still in uniform. He is, however, on crutches.
Maurice Watson Jr. still in uniform but walking with crutches during 2nd half warmups. pic.twitter.com/9vocnDB8zr
— Creighton Basketball (@BluejayMBB) January 16, 2017
UPDATE 2: Per Rob Anderson, the prognosis on Watson looks to be better than anticipated.
Greg McDermott tells @fs1 that Maurice Watson Jr. ligaments are solid. Possible meniscus but will take a look when we get back.
— Rob Anderson (@_robanderson) January 16, 2017
It’s reassuring to hear that Watson’s knee ligaments are solid as McDermott informed FS1 following Creighton’s victory over Xavier. Now we will await further updates when Watson and the Jays get to Omaha to see if there’s anything more re: his meniscus.
UPDATE 3: Maurice Watson Jr. spoke following the Bluejays’ victory over the Musketeers.