MBB Minute: Creighton-Butler Fight For Postseason Positioning
Tuesday’s lone BIG EAST contest features Creighton at Butler, two teams that have been playing very well recently and two teams that have their minds set on being in the NCAA bracket on March 13.
FS1 has the telecast at 7 p.m. ET. Westwood One Sports Radio also carries the game to a national audience.
The Bluejays have won three in a row, while the Bulldogs have taken three of their last four. Creighton won the first meeting between the two teams 72-64 on Jan. 23 in Omaha. The Bluejays are in third place in the league standings at 8-5 with a 17-9 overall mark. Butler is 6-7 in BIG EAST play and 17-8 overall.
During the Bluejays’ three-game winning streak, Maurice Watson, Jr. has averaged 20.7 points, 8.0 assists and 5.3 rebounds. On Monday, he was named National Player of the Week by CBSSports.com and NBCSports.com as well being tabbed BIG EAST Player of the Week.
Butler’s Kelan Martin has had the hot scoring touch for Butler. The sophomore forward has averaged 23.6 points over the last five games.
Wednesday’s schedule includes four games, including No. 1/1 Villanova at Temple in the final non-league game of the 2015-16 schedule. No. 23/20 Providence travels to No. T8/7 Xavier, Seton Hall plays at Georgetown and St. John’s hosts DePaul.
As the regular season rolls down the stretch, many of the National Player of the Year awards pare down their list of candidates. Recently, the Naismith Trophy revealed its Midseason Top 30 Watch List. Of the the 30 players on the list, four are from the BIG EAST -- Kris Dunn and Ben Bentil of Providence, Josh Hart of Villanova and Trevon Bluiett of Xavier.