Creighton, Xavier meet in Big East quarters

No. 5 seed Creighton (18-13, 9-9) vs. No. 4 seed Xavier (17-14, 9-9)

Big East Conference Tourney Quarterfinals, Madison Square Garden, New York; Thursday, 1:30 p.m. EDT

BOTTOM LINE: Creighton is set to meet Xavier in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament. The teams split the regular season series at one win apiece. The teams last played on Feb. 13, when the Musketeers shot 40.6 percent from the field while limiting Creighton to just 35.9 percent on their way to the 64-61 victory.

STEPPING UP: Naji Marshall has averaged 14.4 points and 6.5 rebounds to lead the way for the Musketeers. Paul Scruggs is also a key contributor, putting up 12.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. The Bluejays are led by Ty-Shon Alexander, who is averaging 16.1 points.

ACCURATE ALEXANDER: Alexander has connected on 37.9 percent of the 235 3-pointers he's attempted and has made 8 of 31 over the last five games. He's also converted 79.8 percent of his free throws this season.

SCORING THRESHOLDS: Xavier is 0-6 when its offense scores 62 points or fewer. Creighton is a perfect 5-0 when it holds opponents to 61 or fewer points.

UNDEFEATED WHEN: The Musketeers are 5-0 when they record eight or more steals and 12-14 when they fall shy of that mark. The Bluejays are 5-0 when they hold opponents to 61 points or fewer and 13-13 when opponents exceed 61 points.

DID YOU KNOW: Creighton as a team has made 10.9 3-pointers per game this season, which is ninth-most among Division I teams.