Creighton vs. DePaul 2017 final score: Bluejays blow out Blue Demons in Rosemont

With the Xavier Musketeers and Villanova Wildcats taking center stage in Cincinnati, the Creighton Bluejays did their damnedest to pull attention away to the west of the Queen City. Rosemont, Illinois played host to the Jays’ matchup with the DePaul Blue Demons, and unfortunately for the home team, the visitors made life hell for them. By afternoon’s end, Creighton walked away from the Arena Formerly Known as The Rosemont Horizon with a 93-58 victory.

A bloated effort by Creighton helped their cause as five players scored in double figures. Leading the charge was Toby! Hegner (™ goes to Alex Sindelar) who scored 14 points off the bench and was 4-for-6 from the 3-point line. The four others were all starters, as Marcus Foster, Khryi Thomas, Cole Huff and Justin Patton contributed in big ways of their own. Foster led the group of five - which included Davion Mintz, who dropped a paltry eight points of his own - with 13 points while Thomas and Huff each scored 12. Patton scored just 11, but matched that point total with 11 rebounds for yet another double-double, his third of the year.

The Blue Demons could muster all but 58 points as they were snuffed out by a bad shooting display and stout Creighton defense. They were held to a mark of just 30.9 percent from the field and a dismal 26.3 percent mark from the 3-point line on 19 attempts. Chris Harrison-Docks performed the best of anyone from outside, going 4-for-8 from long range to give him 12 of his 15 points scored - the other three coming at the free throw line. Billy Garrett Jr. and Tre’Darius McCallum matched his double figure output with 10 and 11 points respectively.

Here’s what we learned:

A week off didn’t cause any hiccups for Creighton

Last we saw the Bluejays, they fell at home to the surging Xavier Musketeers. Apparently, a week’s worth of rest isn’t slowing this team down. The Jays had an outstanding effort, winning a game they absolutely should’ve won with few hiccups along the way. Try as you might to put them away, the Bluejays are going nowhere and now will look to finish strong.

DePaul suffered their worst loss in a while

In the last three games, DePaul lost by 11, 13 and three points. The 35-point loss that the Blue Demons suffered was the most lopsided loss of the season for DePaul. Up until now, their most lopsided loss was a 25-point blanking by Marquette back on January 14. The last time DePaul suffered a loss nearly as great as this was back on January 7 when Seton Hall defeated by 31 in Newark. Suffice it to say, things didn’t go so well for the Blue Demons on Saturday afternoon and they will just have to pick up the piec... oh. Right. Villanova is next for them. Eeesh.

The Bluejays’ schedule is manageable until the ‘Nova game

February 25 will be the day that Creighton has their second shot at taking down Villanova. Until then, they will have to face Seton Hall, Georgetown and Providence. Two of the last three games will be at CenturyLink Center in Omaha, so the advantage certainly tilts to Creighton that aspect. The Pirates’ March outlook looks bleak and the Bluejays could continue to dig their hole even deeper if they go into Newark and defeat them on Wednesday. Creighton must avoid hurting themselves going forward if they want to stay in contention for a favorable seed in the NCAA Tournament, and certainly if they go into the ‘Nova game at 24-4, they will certainly benefit one way or another.