Angling for Big East tourney bye, Creighton closes season at Butler

Creighton may be struggling to play its best basketball this season, but the Bluejays have plenty of motivation heading into their regular-season finale against Butler on Wednesday in Indianapolis.

Despite dropping three straight games and eight of their last 10, Creighton can still clinch a first-round bye in the Big East tournament if they defeat the Bulldogs and get some help from other teams.

The Bluejays (14-16, 8-11) sit in sixth place in the 11-team Big East, just a half-game behind DePaul and a half-game ahead of Providence. The top five teams in the conference receive a bye into the second round.

“We're not done,” said Creighton head coach Greg McDermott. “We're going to Butler and give it our best shot. Like I told the team, we would love to not have to play in the play-in game in New York. But whenever we play, whoever we play, we're going to show up, we're going to be ready, and we're going to give it everything we have.”

In Creighton’s 79-76 loss to Providence on Saturday, Josh Dix and Austin Swartz each scored 18 points. Dix leads the team with an average of 12.4 points per game, while Swartz contributes 10.9.

Creighton defeated Butler 89-85 on Dec. 30 in Omaha, Neb., with Jasen Green scoring 23 points and Swartz adding 22. That win marked the Bluejays’ seventh victory in the last eight meetings with the Bulldogs.

Yohan Traore contributed 20 points off the bench, and Michael Ajayi added 16 points and 13 rebounds for Butler before fouling out. Ajayi, who leads the Big East with 16 double-doubles, averages 16.0 points and 11.1 rebounds per game.

Butler (15-14, 6-12) is tied with Xavier for eighth place, although the Musketeers host Seton Hall on Tuesday. Ajayi scored 17 points and Traore added 15 in Butler’s 82-73 loss to Villanova last Wednesday, ending their two-game winning streak.

“These guys come in and practice hard. We’ve got to find ways to get them better and better,” Bulldogs head coach Thad Matta said.

-Field Level Media/Reuters