NCAAB Game Preview - Creighton at Providence

Wed Feb 5, 2020 7:00 PM EST

No. 21 Creighton looks to hang onto ranking at Providence

Creighton is back in the national rankings for the second time this season and will aim to make the stay last a little longer.

When the Bluejays head to Providence on Wednesday for a Big East Conference game, they will do so as the No. 21 team in the nation, the program's highest ranking since it was No. 20 in February 2017.

Creighton (17-5, 6-3 Big East) was ranked No. 25 in the nation on Jan. 13, but two days later, the team went to Georgetown and came away with an 83-80 defeat. The Bluejays earned a 78-74 home victory later that week over Providence, but it was not enough to keep them ranked.

Since that loss to the Hoyas, the Bluejays are on a four-game winning streak that was capped by a 76-61 road victory over then-No. 8 Villanova on Saturday.

Junior Denzel Mahoney came off the bench to score 21 points in the victory over the Wildcats, just the fourth time Creighton has defeated Villanova since the Big East was reconfigured in 2013. Two of those victories were at Villanova.

Ty-Shon Alexander scored 16 points Saturday for Creighton, while Mitch Ballock had 15 and Marcus Zegarowski added 13. Creighton shot 53.6 percent from the field in the decisive second half and 50.9 percent in the game while holding the Wildcats to 36.1 percent shooting.

"These guys have stuck together," Creighton coach Greg McDermott said after the victory. "We've had our share of adversity this year with a couple of injuries to key players, but the group that we have has really bought in. They are really connected, and we have made some really good strides defensively."

There remains work to be done on the defensive end since Creighton is ninth in the 10-team Big East with 35.6 rebounds per game and last in blocked shots per game at 2.18.

The Bluejays have an opportunity to make even more defensive strides in a matchup against Providence (12-10, 5-4), which is ninth in the Big East with 70.5 points per game and last at 40.1 percent shooting from the field.

The Friars are on a brutal stretch of the schedule with Wednesday's game their fifth consecutive against a ranked team. That run started with the Jan. 18 defeat to Creighton. Loses to then-No. 10 Seton Hall and then-No. 9 Villanova followed, but Providence will enter off a 65-61 road victory over then-No. 16 Butler on Saturday.

Luwane Pipkins scored 22 points against Butler while David Duke added 10. Leading scorer Alpha Diallo had just three points in his first game off the bench after he was taken out of the starting lineup following a 0-of-6, zero-point performance against Villanova.

The Saturday victory was Providence's first over a ranked opponent on the road since defeating No. 23 Creighton in February 2017.

"I'm really, really proud of our group because it's been a battle," Providence head coach Ed Cooley said, according to the Providence Journal. "Let's face it, we've had a tough couple of weeks. My team is desperate. We haven't played the way we want to and haven't had the energy and focus we need at times and we really made that a high priority (Saturday)."

--Field Level Media