Hoyas host Bluejays in Big East battle

Jan 3, 2015 - 3:33 PM Washington, D.C. (SportsNetwork.com) - Having lost two in a row and three of their last four, the Creighton Bluejays will finish up a three-game road trip against the 25th-ranked Georgetown Hoyas at the Verizon Center in a Big East Conference showdown.

Creighton has dropped back-to-back contests against North Texas (62-58) and Providence (65-53), which opened the team's Big East slate. Creighton comes in with a 9-5 record this season, and is just 1-3 away from home.

Georgetown saw a three-game win streak come to an end on Wednesday with a 70-53 loss to Big East foe Xavier. The Hoyas are clinging onto their No. 25 distinction with an 8-4 record. But at home, the Hoyas are 6-1 this season.

This will be the fourth all-time meeting between Creighton and Georgetown. The Bluejays own a 2-1 series advantage, although the last time these teams met (last season) it was the Hoyas who blasted the Bluejays, 75-63, in Washington.

Providence struggled for a brief period this season, and Creighton sure wishes the Friars' woes had carried over to the game on Wednesday. But Providence put forward LaDontae Henton (35 points, eight rebounds) to work, as the big man played the entire contest with obvious results. Creighton shot just 35.8 percent from the floor in the loss, and was led in scoring by Geoffrey Groselle, who tallied 14 points off the bench. Austin Chatman netted 11 points, but made just 3-of-11 shooting from the floor in the losing effort.

Scoring was always a big plus for Creighton in the Doug McDermott years, but the numbers have noticeably dropped since McDermott's graduation in the offseason. The Bluejays come into this contest netting 70.8 ppg - still very respectable - and are led by Chatman's 13.7 ppg mark and 63 assists on the season. Isaiah Zierden is the only other Creighton player to average a double- digit point total so far, coming in at 11.6 ppg . Devin Brooks tops the Bluejays' roster in rebounding, grabbing 5.2 boards per outing coming into the clash against Georgetown.

The Hoyas did the best they could to keep pace with an offensively dominant Xavier team in the first half of Wednesday's contest, as the Musketeers went into halftime with a six-point advantage. But the Cincinnati-based Big East program opened up its largest lead (19 points) with under a minute to go in the game to cruise past the Hoyas. D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera led the way for Georgetown in terms of scoring, tallying 18 points in the losing effort. Joshua Smith registered 10 points in 21 minutes of action, and the visiting Hoyas made just 36.3 percent of their shots in the loss.

Smith-Rivera and Smith are the team's only two scorers this season averaging a double-digit point total for Georgetown. Smith-Rivera comes into this clash with Creighton netting 15.0 ppg, while Smith checks in at 12.6 ppg. Smith's 6.3 rpg mark is the best this season for the Hoyas, while Smith-Rivera tops the squad with a 3.5 apg margin and 17 steals. Georgetown is netting 73.2 ppg on an impressive 47.2 shooting percentage from the floor, and is holding its opponents to 66.0 ppg.