College Basketball

No. 10 Creighton seeks 10th win versus Longwood

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 7:52 p.m. ET

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OMAHA, Neb. -- Less than 48 hours after passing their first road test, the Creighton Bluejays return to CenturyLink Center on Friday for one last quiz prior to finals week.

Longwood will challenge the No. 10-ranked Bluejays and Creighton looks to improve to 10-0 before wrapping up the first semester. Creighton's next game won't be until Dec. 17 when the Bluejays host Oral Roberts.

The Lancers, members of the Big South Conference, are 2-4 after a 71-59 loss to James Madison on Dec. 3. Longwood's home court at Willett Hall in Farmville, Va., was named Jerome Kersey Court in honor of the 17-year NBA veteran who won an NBA championship with San Antonio.

Kersey played at Longwood from 1980-84 and returned to his alma mater in 2006. He passed away from a pulmonary embolism at the age of 52 in February 2015.

This will be the Lancers' first game against a team ranked in the Top 25 since they played Georgetown in 2012.

Creighton is coming off its 77-62 victory over Nebraska in Lincoln late Wednesday night. After leading by just one point at halftime, the Bluejays scored 12 straight points to go ahead 51-37 with 9:54 remaining in the game.

Then with a 55-43 lead, Creighton put the game away with an 11-2 burst with all the points coming from Maurice Watson Jr. and Toby Hegner. Watson led all scorers with 25 points and Hegner added eight to go with his 10 rebounds.

Sophomore Khyri Thomas also had 10 rebounds to go with his seven points. Senior Cole Huff, a Nevada transfer, finished with 13 points and became the second Creighton player this year (Watson was the first) to eclipse the 1,000-point milestone for his career.

Creighton coach Greg McDermott said Wednesday's win was the best overall defensive performance by the Bluejays. While Nebraska had its share of shooting struggles, Creighton's defensive pressure also helped force some of the Huskers' 13 turnovers.

The 5-4 Huskers also made just 23 of 71 shots (32.4 percent), including a paltry 3-of-22 performance (13.6 percent) from 3-point range. Creighton finished with a season-low 12 points off fast breaks, but the Huskers had no points in those situations.

Through the first nine games of the season, Creighton still has one of the country's most prolific offenses. The Bluejays are averaging 89.2 points per game (ninth nationally) while shooting 53.8 percent from the field (second) and 43.7 percent from 3-point range (fourth).

Four Bluejays are averaging in double figures, led by Kansas State transfer Marcus Foster at 18.0 per outing. Watson (13.4), Thomas (13.0) and redshirt freshman Justin Patton (12.3) are the others.

The Lancers have three players in double figures through six games -- Darrion Allen (15.7), Khris Lane (15.5) and Isaiah Walton (13.3). That trio accounts for 63 percent of Longwood's offense.

Creighton won the previous two meetings between the two schools. The latest was a 105-57 victory over the Lancers on Nov. 20, 2012.

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