NCAAB Game Preview - Creighton at Villanova

Sat Feb 1, 2020 12:00 PM EST

As the calendar turns into February, No. 8 Villanova is hitting its stride.

The Wildcats have won seven straight games since a Jan. 4 loss at Marquette, and aim to keep that form going on Saturday when they host Big East rival Creighton at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

Villanova (17-3, 7-1), which trails first-place Seton Hall by a game, got 75 points from its starters Tuesday night when it spanked St. John's 79-59 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Saddiq Bey pumped in a team-high 23 points, while point guard Collin Gillespie scored 17 points and grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds.

"That was a good performance by us," Wildcats coach Jay Wright told reporters afterward. "We played a good, tough defensive team that's going to win a lot of games in this league. I was really proud of how we defended and handle their pressure. They can get after you and have great quickness. It's organized pressure that's tough to handle."

It wasn't too tough for Villanova to handle. The Wildcats kept turnovers down to 13 and shot 47.5 percent from the field, including a solid 12 of 29 from the 3-point line. With the 3-pointers factored in, the Wildcats' effective field goal percentage was closer to 60 percent.

All five starters finished in double figures for Villanova as it won handily without Jermaine Samuels (sprained left foot). Samuels, who averages 11.1 points and 5.0 rebounds, had started the Wildcats' previous 19 games. His status for Saturday isn't known.

While Villanova played on Tuesday, Creighton (16-5, 5-3) drew a mid-week bye and has not played since Sunday, when it completed a season sweep of Xavier with a 77-66 win behind 24 points from Ty-Shon Alexander and 15 from Marcus Zegarowski.

The Bluejays played according to form, producing 11 3-pointers and going 20 of 26 at the foul line. They also forced 15 turnovers that they converted into 17 points.

"The guys stuck with each other," Creighton coach Greg McDermott said. "They didn't panic. It was a really good win for us."

Alexander and Zegarowski give the Bluejays one of the highest-scoring guard duos anywhere, averaging 16.5 and 16.3 points, respectively. Throw in sharp-shooting forward Mitch Ballock at 12.9, and you have three perimeter threats that can give any defense fits.

"What you want from your team is you want to know what's going to happen," McDermott said. "And with Ty-Shon and Marcus and Mitch, you know what's going to happen."

This will be the teams' second meeting of the season. The Wildcats went into Omaha on Jan. 7 and took a 64-59 win behind 24 points from Gillespie, overcoming 6 of 33 3-point shooting. Villanova earned a 37-33 edge on the boards and committed only five turnovers.

--Field Level Media