A blistering display of offensive firepower helped power No. 19 Creighton past No. 5 Villanova 86-70 Saturday afternoon at CHI Health Center. The Bluejays grabbed the lead midway through the first half and held it the rest of the way while improving to 16-5 overall, 11-4 in the BIG EAST.
 
Creighton converted .593 of its field goal attempts from the day and was 12-of-26 from beyond the 3-point (.462). The 86 points were the most surrendered by the Wildcats in 2020-21. The only prior time they allowed more than 80 points (81) came in an overtime loss to Virginia Tech on Nov. 28.
 
Justin Moore led Villanova with 21 points while Jermaine Samuels added 16 points and six rebounds.
 
"Creighton was just outstanding," stated Villanova head coach Jay Wright. "They played extremely well defensively right from the get-go. Their energy level was outstanding. When they get it going offensively like they did in the second half, they're as dangerous as anybody in the country. It was a great effort on their part.
 
"It was not one of our better efforts. We had a real tough time guarding them. Their speed and movement offensively really was difficult for us to guard. We knew coming here that we had to get better defensively. It was pretty obvious today."
 
Samuels scored seven early points and that helped stake Nova to an 11-9 lead at the first official timeout in the first half. The Wildcats were active on the offensive glass, grabbing eight caroms at that end to keep possessions alive.
 
Creighton's Marcus Zegarowski heated up and carried the Bluejays with him. He would score 17 points in the first 20 minutes, helping the Bluejays build a 42-36 lead at halftime. The senior would finish the day with 25 points.
 
"He was great," said Wright. "Marcus totally controlled the game. We had different types of coverages on him and none of them worked. I think it's because he's so smart. He's an intelligent, veteran player. Every change we made, he read it and really sliced us."
 
The Wildcats were within striking distance despite converting just .414 of their attempts from the field, including 4-of-14 from beyond the 3-point arc (.286).
 
The first eight minutes of the second half saw Creighton ignite its offense again, draining 9-of-13 field goal attempts and 5-of-7 from beyond the arc. The Bluejays' Mitch Ballock dropped in all four of his 3-pointers to help push the Creighton lead to 67-48.
 
"They catch and shoot it really quickly," noted Wright. "And they make hard cuts. They play really fast and we have struggled with that. It's something we've got to get better at. It's difficult for us to simulate in practice and we don't have a lot of time to practice. That tempo has bothered us."
 
Meanwhile, the Wildcats had a tough time finding the smooth offensive flow they displayed in their last two victories, over Georgetown and Marquette. Villanova sank six of its first 15 shots in the first nine minutes of the period.
 
Villanova was unable to mount a rally over the rest of the half. The final count was 86-70.
 
The Wildcats are not scheduled to return to game action until next Saturday, when they are scheduled to host Connecticut at 1 p.m. at Finneran Pavilion. Wright told his post-game virtual Zoom news conference that he does not anticipate any additional games being added ahead of that matchup.
 
"We'll get back to practice and work on the little details we need to take care of to get better," added senior captain Collin Gillespie.