Rested Creighton eager to bounce back vs. Georgetown
Creighton coach Greg McDermott was hoping his team could find a little bit of extra energy against St. John's on Saturday, but that was not the case.
The Bluejays (10-7, 4-2 Big East) played three games last week, losing 56-54 to Seton Hall on Jan. 4, recording a 76-72 victory versus Villanova on Wednesday and then dropping a 90-73 decision to the Red Storm on Saturday.
Creighton will try to get back on track when it hosts Georgetown (9-7, 1-4) in a Big East game Tuesday in Omaha, Neb.
"We looked like a team that had played three times in six days," McDermott said. "There was not a lot of energy. Defensively, we did not have a lot of teeth."
The Bluejays trailed 52-34 at halftime before playing the Red Storm fairly even during the second half.
"Now we just have to make sure we are ready for Georgetown because they are a very talented team," McDermott said. "We have a better understanding of who we are and obviously we have some warts. Some things we can't control and we will have to learn how to be successful knowing we have some shortcomings."
Junior forward Isaac Traudt led the Bluejays with 14 points against St. John's.
Josh Dix leads Creighton for the season with 12.0 points a game.
The Hoyas are coming off their third straight loss with a 76-67 setback to Seton Hall on Saturday.
Georgetown led by 11 with 14:15 remaining in the second half before letting it slip away. The Pirates held the Hoyas to 33.9% shooting from the floor for the game.
Coach Ed Cooley was more upset with himself than he was with his team.
"I don't think I'm doing a good job with this group at all," Cooley told The Hoya. "I'm failing this group right now, given we're going into halftime, and in the second half, we're coming out totally different."
"It's just unacceptable. It's unacceptable for me as a coach, and something has to change. I'm very disappointed in the entire mindset of our group right now."
The Hoyas only had eight assists.
"We have 12 assists in two games, 80 minutes," Cooley said. "You got to share the sugar, man."
Junior guard KJ Lewis averages a team-best 15.1 points per game.