Omaha, NE – The 19th-ranked Creighton Bluejays look to keep rolling as they host the Indiana State Sycamores for a Missouri Valley Conference battle at the CenturyLink Center.
This will be the 75th meeting between the Bluejays and Sycamores. Creighton has won 12 straight at home and has a 28-8 record in Omaha against Indiana State all-time.
Head coach Greg Lansing led his team to a road victory over its only other ranked opponent this season on Dec. 17th as it took down Vanderbilt 61-55, but the Sycamores have not been too impressive lately as they have lost three- straight and five of their last six. Indiana State's 67-54 loss to Illinois State on Wednesday left it with an 11-8 overall record and a 2-6 mark in league play after a promising non-conference start. Lansing has a lot to figure out after his team shot a season-low 32.3 percent from the field and made just 6-of-25 from beyond the arc in the loss to the Redbirds. Indiana State has the lowest scoring offense (64.6 ppg) in the MVC while ranking in the middle of the pack in scoring defense (64.3 ppg).
Dwayne Lathan is leading Indiana State in scoring this year with an average of 12.1 ppg. Lathan went 3-of-11 from the floor for eight points his last time out. Jake Odum is the team's second leading scorer (10.3 ppg), while ranking second in the MVC in steals (2.1 spg) and third in assists (5.6 apg). Jordan Printy will need to have a big outing, as he is Indiana State's top three- point threat. Printy is averaging 2.0 three-pointers made per game and is second all-time in school history with 191 on his career.
The Bluejays are off to a 17-2 start this season after avenging one of its losses with a 66-65 victory over Missouri State on Wednesday. The win over the Bears was the seventh straight for the Bluejays, as they are now tied with Wichita State atop the MVC rankings with a 7-1 league record (CU holds tie- breaker). Head coach Greg McDermott has one of the top offenses in the nation. Creighton is leading the nation in field goal percentage (51.8) and is in the top 10 in assists per game (19.3) and points per game (81.8). The Bluejays shot 55.6 percent from the floor on their way to 66 points their last time out.
Doug McDermott was recently named to the John R. Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 list, and for good reason. McDermott has pushed the Bluejays through their schedule and is currently the nation's second leading scorer with an average of 23.8 ppg. The sophomore forward also leads the MVC in rebounding (8.4 rpg), field goal percentage (61.6), and three-point percentage (52.2). Antoine Young is chipping in 12.1 ppg, Gregory Echenique is second on the team with 7.0 rpg, and Grant Gibbs is second in the MVC with 5.7 apg.