Marcus Zegarowski scored a season-high 25 points, Mitch Ballock hit six 3-pointers and added 20 and host Creighton defeated No. 5 Villanova 86-70 on Saturday in Omaha, Neb.
Christian Bishop contributed 16 points and 10 rebounds and Damien Jefferson had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the No. 19-ranked Bluejays, who improved to 16-5 overall and 12-4 in the Big East.
Creighton, which made 12 of 26 3-pointers, has won three in a row.
Justin Moore led Villanova with 21 points while Jermaine Samuels added 16. Brandon Slater chipped in with 11 off the bench.
The Wildcats, who had their two-game winning streak snapped, fell to 13-3 overall and 8-2 in the conference.
Zegarowski scored 12 of Creighton's first 28 points as it took a four-point lead with 8:15 remaining in the first half.
Samuels dropped in a short jumper and Collin Gillespie (3 of 12, eight points) followed with a driving layup to cut the deficit to 30-29 with 5:58 left.
Creighton led 42-36 at halftime thanks in large part to 65.4-percent shooting. The Bluejays also made 6 of 10 from beyond the arc.
Moore kept the Wildcats close with 13.
Creighton quickly extended its advantage to 54-41 when Zegarowski scored with 16:14 to go in the second half. The Bluejays made their first five shots to pull ahead by double digits.
Caleb Daniels scored on consecutive possessions and the Wildcats closed within 54-45.
Ballock soon hit a pair of treys, and the Bluejays came back with a 10-0 run to pull back ahead 64-45.
Creighton stayed hot as Zegarowski made a difficult layup and the lead was 72-55 with 7:59 remaining.
Villanova was unable to string together a run, and the Bluejays pushed their advantage to 20, 78-58, with 4:04 to go.
It was more than enough of an advantage to lift Creighton to another victory.
--Field Level Media
Villanova | Creighton | |
Justin Moore 21 | Scoring | Marcus Zegarowski 25 |
Caleb Daniels 3 | Assists | Marcus Zegarowski 5 |
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl 7 | Rebounds | Christian Bishop 10 |
Brandon Slater 4 | Free Throws Made | Christian Bishop 4 |
Justin Moore 2 | Steals | Mitch Ballock 2 |
Jermaine Samuels 2 | Blocks | Christian Bishop 2 |