Creighton vs. Butler: Score and Reaction from 2017 Regular Season

The No. 22 Creighton Bluejays and No. 16 Butler Bulldogs are both looking up at the Villanova Wildcats in the Big East standings, but Creighton took a significant step toward emerging as the primary challenger Tuesday. 

The Bluejays went into Hinkle Fieldhouse and beat Butler, 76-67. Creighton moved to 20-3 overall and 7-3 in the conference, while the Bulldogs fell to 18-5 overall and 7-4 in the Big East. The visitors earned the win even though they played without Maurice Watson Jr., who is out for the season with a torn ACL.

Creighton turned to the long ball without Watson and drilled 13 of its 21 shots (61.9 percent) from deep. Justin Patton, Marcus Foster and Khyri Thomas each scored 15 points, and the Bluejays shot 55.6 percent from the field as a team.

They also locked down Butler on the defensive side and held the home team to 40.9 percent shooting from the field and 25.9 percent shooting from deep while forcing 13 turnovers. Kamar Baldwin led the Bulldogs with 14 points, and Kelan Martin chipped in 11 points and eight rebounds.

The Bulldogs enjoyed a 35-27 advantage on the boards, but that was far from enough to make up for the shooting disparity.

Neither team established momentum in the early going as they traded baskets, but it was clear the long ball would be an important factor. Butler took a 15-13 lead into the first half's under-12-minute timeout, and 12 of the first 24 combined field-goal attempts were from three-point range.

Butler extended its advantage to 24-17 with an Andrew Chrabascz jumper, but Isaiah Zierden answered with a three to keep the Bluejays close. Jon Nyatawa of the Omaha World-Herald pointed out Creighton was fortunate to be down just four at that point:

The Bluejays took full advantage of that fortune and capped a 12-0 run with a Thomas three to take a 29-24 lead, as the team shared:

The Bulldogs battled back and took a 33-32 lead after Nate Fowler's three, but Creighton closed the half on a 5-0 run highlighted by another long ball from Thomas. The Bluejays hit eight of their 12 threes in the first half to build the 37-33 advantage.

David Woods of the Indianapolis Star said, "Looks like Butler doing a better job of 'building a wall' on defense. But Bluejays good enough to shoot over it. Great offensive team." 

Butler opened the second half with a 5-0 run, but its lead didn't last long. Creighton responded with a 9-0 spurt in less than two minutes of game action and held a 46-38 advantage after Foster's three. The Bluejays defense was setting the tone with Butler shooting 25.9 percent from the field.

Creighton continued to roll and extended its advantage to double digits with a Patton jumper and Davion Mintz three.

However, the Bulldogs didn't back down and answered with a 7-0 run to trim the deficit to 54-49, as Butler passed along:

Creighton then turned to Patton, and he answered by scoring six straight points to push the lead to double digits again. Butler climbed within seven from there, but threes from Foster and Thomas made it 68-57 as the Bluejays continued to answer any slight Butler momentum.

The Bulldogs never truly challenged from there, but they did pull within single digits with just more than a minute remaining after a Henry Baddley dunk. Martin made it a seven-point game with a layup, but the Bluejays iced the win on the free-throw line.

Postgame Reaction

Creighton Basketball shared the postgame comments from Patton and head coach Greg McDermott:

Bulldogs head coach Chris Holtmann discussed the loss, per John Dedman of Butler's official website: "Give Creighton credit; they were clearly the better team tonight. We obviously did not play well and we have some work to do. Right now, we aren't good enough to play without grit and purpose defensively."

Holtmann also called Butler's defense "atrocious," per Woods.

What's Next?

Next up for Butler is a two-game road trip with contests against Marquette on Feb. 7 and Providence on Feb. 11. Both opponents are in the middle of the Big East standings, which means the Bulldogs have an opportunity to create some separation in the race for conference tournament seeds.

Creighton returns home to face Xavier on Saturday. The Musketeers are 5-3 in the Big East and fighting for similar position as the Bluejays, so the head-to-head showdown will likely play a large role in the standings come March.