No. 5 Marquette, playing without two starters, falls to No. 12 Creighton
Baylor Scheierman scored 26 points and made three straight 3-pointers late in the game Saturday to lead No. 12 Creighton to an 89-75 victory over No. 5 Marquette, which played without star guard Tyler Kolek and big man Oso Ighodaro.
Scheierman, a Big East player of the year candidate who was playing his final game at CHI Health Center, had 16 rebounds for his eighth double-double in 10 games and 14th of the season.
Creighton (22-8, 13-6) avenged a 72-67 loss in Milwaukee on Dec. 30 and kept itself in position for the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament in two weeks.
Marquette (22-7, 13-5) lost for the first time in four games.
Kolek didn’t play after leaving Wednesday’s game against Providence with an injury to an oblique, an abdominal muscle, and Ighodaro was out because of illness. Chase Ross started in place of Kolek and Ben Gold in place of Ighodaro.
Ryan Kalkbrenner scored 19 points and Trey Alexander added 18 for the Bluejays, who honored their 1974 Sweet 16 team during a halftime ceremony.
Kam Jones led the Golden Eagles with 23 points, David Joplin had 21 and Stevie Mitchell had 15 points and nine rebounds.
Creighton looked ready to put the game away midway through the second half when Scheierman stripped the ball from Jones and drove the length of the court for a layup to make it 60-50.
This browser does not support the Video element.
Jones’ 3-pointer cut it to 63-62 before Kalkbrenner converted Alexander’s pass into a dunk and Scheierman made two free throws after a Marquette backcourt violation.
Creighton missed four straight 3s, allowing Marquette to get within 67-65. Scheierman’s three 3s over two minutes and Francisco Farabello’s basket from the deep corner put the Bluejays up 81-69 with 2:14 left.
BIG PICTURE
Marquette: With its two best players out, there was no shame losing a road game to Creighton. The Golden Eagles already have locked up a first-round bye in the conference tournament and can’t finish lower than fourth.
Creighton: Scheierman continues to fuel the Bluejays. He had been quiet in the second half until his late flurry of 3s gave his team the cushion it needed to put away the game.
This browser does not support the Video element.
UP NEXT
Marquette: Hosts No. 3 UConn on Wednesday. The Golden Eagles lost 81-53 to the Huskies two weeks ago.
Creighton: Visits Villanova on Saturday. The Bluejays lost 68-66 in overtime to the Wildcats Dec. 20.
Reporting by The Associated Press.