Creighton looks to stay hot on the road against Marquette

The #15 Creighton Bluejays (20-6, 9-4) are suddenly the hottest team in the Big East as their three-game winning streak has put them just one game behind Seton Hall for the top spot in the conference. Creighton will put their winning streak on the line Tuesday night in Milwaukee against the #19 Marquette Golden Eagles (17-7, 7-5).

While the on-court action should be phenomenal, the pregame should be as well. Marquette will honor Markus Howard passing Lawrence Moton to become the new leading scorer in Big East conference play history. Howard passed Moton’s record of 1,405 points last week in Marquette’s loss to Villanova, as he will now set his sights on passing Troy Bell for most points in conference history. Howard enters the game with 2,582 career points, just 50 behind Bell’s 2.632.

While Creighton’s been the hottest team in the conference in terms of winning streaks, it’s important to note that Marquette has lost just two games since January 15. The two losses? An overtime loss against Butler that the Golden Eagles surrendered down the stretch, and last weekend’s one-point loss to VIllanova, where Marquette nearly came back from an 18 point second half deficit.

To no shock, the Bluejays have the best offense in the Big East per KenPom’s Adjusted Offensive Efficiency, at 117.0. This mark is also fourth-best in the nation, and would be Creighton’s highest total since the 2013-14 season. There isn’t just one thing that explains this jump, but something that certainly helps is the fact that Creighton hasn’t seen the dip in three-point shooting that many other teams have when the NCAA moved the line back at the beginning of the season. In fact, Creighton’s three-point percentage of 38.0% this season is their highest since 2016-17. Some of the year over year progression (Creighton has already matched their 2018-19 win total) comes from the fact that it’s largely the same team from last year. The scary thing is that there isn’t a single senior in the top seven players of Creighton’s minutes percentage this year, meaning this Bluejays team could be back and even better next season.

If you’re a fan of offense, this game is for you. The first meeting saw Creighton pick up a 92-75 home victory where the teams combined for 19 three pointers, both of which have been rarities in college basketball this season.

How to watch or stream

Time: 7:30 p.m. CT

TV: FS1

Streaming: FOX Sports Go