Villanova at Creighton: 2020-21 basketball game preview, TV schedule

When: Saturday, February 13th, 5 p.m. ET

Where: CHI Health Center Omaha, NE

TV: FOX

Here it is, folks, the battle between the top two of the Big East. The Creighton Bluejays host the Villanova Wildcats in a matchup of two top 25 teams. Villanova carries an 8-1 conference record (13-2 overall) and is coming off the heels of two straight home victories. Creighton, meanwhile, holds a 15-5 overall record and three more conference wins than anyone else in the Big East (11-4). This is the first of two matchups between the two teams in the last couple of weeks of the season.

Creighton is ranked 29th in the NCAA’s NET rankings used to evaluate seeding, while Villanova is ranked 9th. Both of these teams can really score the basketball efficiently, but do it in very differing styles. Creighton prefers the up-tempo pace out in transition while Villanova likes to slow things down and get into set offenses.

Each team takes care of the basketball very well, with two of the lowest turnovers per game numbers in the conference. Both teams also shoot the three at a very high clip and attempt a whole lot of them, and each team has a star point guard leading the way.

For Villanova, it’s Collin Gillespie. Collin does it all for Villanova, averaging 14 points, 5 assists, and also leads the team in steals and FT percentage. Oh, yeah, he’s also a 40% shooter from beyond the arc. Along with Gillespie is sophomore forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (16.1 ppg, 7.3 rpg), who creates a matchup nightmare for just about anyone. Both Gillespie and JRE both find themselves on the Naismith trophy midseason watch list.

Justin Moore and Caleb Daniels round out the backcourt, and they have scored in double figures together in three of the last five games for Villanova. Gritty senior forward Jermaine Samuels is the other starter in the post and has been playing his best basketball of his career lately. Samuels went for 32 points last week against Georgetown.

Creighton features a very balanced offense with all five starters in double digits. All five starters have also led the team in scoring in at least two games apiece. Marcus Zegarowski is the one steering the boat for Coach Greg McDermott. Zegarowski averages 14.4 ppg and 4.3 apg along with the best 3P% on the team. He was the Big East Preseason Player of the Year, just nudging out Collin Gillespie. Watching these two point guards go at it will be appointment television.

Christian Bishop mans the middle for Creighton. Bishop, at just 6’7, plays tough and rarely lets his lack of size at the center spot shed through. He’s backed up by freshman 7-footer Ryan Kalkbrenner, who’s a shot-blocking machine. Along with Zegarowski on the wings are Mitch Ballock and Denzel Mahoney. Ballock is an expert marksmen from deep, and Mahoney can light up the scoreboard from anywhere. Mahoney and forward Damien Jefferson are the two best Bluejay defenders and will have the tough task of keeping this Villanova offense in check.

While on paper Villanova would likely be the favorite, they do have some weaknesses Creighton may be able to capitalize on. ‘Nova allows 37.1% from three-point range (299th nationally), which is something Creighton loves to do anyway. They also do not have great rim protection, with their 4.3% block percentage coming in at 338th in D1 basketball. This is ideal for a Creighton team that doesn’t have a whole lot of size in their starting five.

The Call: Creighton takes care of things on their home court and pull out a close victory.

78-72, Bluejays.