Providence upsets Creighton, 74-70

Providence scored a huge win on Wednesday night.

The Friars took down the mighty Creighton Bluejays in Omaha. PC led from wire to wire en route to a 74-70 victory, which brought them up to 4-4 in Big East play on the year.

Nate Watson was virtually unstoppable. The Friars big man scored 29 points, going 12-for-19 from the floor and 5-for-8 from the free throw line. Watson also grabbed six rebounds and committed only two turnovers in 35 minutes of action. Nobody on the Bluejays could handle Watson on defense, as he had one of the most prodigious efforts in his career.

Three other Friars joined Watson in double figures in the win. Alyn Breed, David Duke and Jimmy Nichols scored 15, 12 and 10 points respectively. The quartet certainly carried Providence on offense, as nobody on the team scored more than four points on the night.

The Bluejays were unusually off in this one. They clanked often from the perimeter, a very unusual sight, going 4-for-23 from beyond the arc. They also went just 16-for-24 from the free throw line, shooting under 70 percent in the process. While Damien Jefferson went 9-for-13 from the floor and Christian Bishop went 6-for-6, they were the outliers to say the least.

This loss was certainly damaging for Creighton. They are now three back in the loss column to Villanova, even though the Wildcats have only played four conference games obviously. It will be a heck of a trial for the Jays now to make up that ground, and they will have to hope for ‘Nova to take some hits the rest of the way in the loss column. Nevertheless, Creighton now shifts their focus to UConn, while Providence will play aforementioned Villanova on Saturday.