Game Thread: St. John's vs. Creighton

St. John's vs. Creighton

When: Sunday, February 28, 2016 at 2:30 p.m. ET

Where: CenturyLink Center, Omaha, NE

How to Watch: FOX Sports 1

How to Listen: 570 WMCA

The Johnnies have lost two straight games since earning their first conference win at Carnesecca Arena against DePaul. They lost a heartbreaker at MSG versus Seton Hall due to poor free throw shooting down the stretch and lazy turnovers and then they followed up that strong performance with a clunker in Rosemont versus the Blue Demons.

Now they will look to earn their first true road win of the season in their final road test. It certainly won't be easy though as Creighton plays in one of the more underrated environments in the country. They also have a deep team that has incredible offensive firepower and is led by one of the better point guards in the Big East in Maurice Watson Jr.

Watson impacts the game with every drill as his court vision, speed and his ability to make everyone better is second to none. Greg McDermott's squad follows that up with a plethora of sharp shooters including Isaiah Zierden and Toby Hegner and an improving defense.

If the Johnnies are going to have a chance to pull off the upset, they will have to limit the Blue Jays from downtown, get out in transition and cut down on their own giveaways in front of a rowdy crowd. Chris Mullin's unit is capable of shutting down Geoffrey Groselle in the paint due to the athleticism of Yankuba Sima and Kassoum Yakwe, so if they can also play solid perimeter defense a chance to gain a win is possible.

Will Malik Ellison guard Watson or will that task be for Felix Balamou?

How many minutes will Federico Mussini play and will he be effective?

Do the Johnnies come out with more urgency than they did against the Blue Demons?

Pre-game reading:

St. John's vs. Creighton: Game Preview