Ryan Kalkbrenner-led Creighton out to down Xavier

On a five-game winning streak, Creighton will try to stay within reach of the Big East Conference leaders when it plays host to Xavier on Wednesday in Omaha, Neb.

The Bluejays (14-6, 7-2 Big East) have revived their season with a winning streak that includes a road victory over two-time defending national champion UConn. They also have won seven of their past eight games, all in conference play.

Creighton rolled to a 79-54 home win Saturday over Seton Hall. Ryan Kalkbrenner scored 23 points with nine rebounds and three blocked shots, while Steven Ashworth had 17 points with nine assists. The Bluejays shot 58.3 percent from the floor.

"To win seven out of eight in this league is definitely something that is a great accomplishment, but at the same time there's so much work to be done and so much we can learn," Ashworth said. "... It's exciting to be able to have that room to grow."

Kalkbrenner became the fifth player in Creighton history to reach 1,000 career rebounds and is the 132nd player in Division I history with 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds.

The 7-foot inside force has averaged 19.6 points, 9.2 rebounds and 4.2 blocks during the win streak, above his season averages of 17.7, 8.4 and 2.9, respectively.

Xavier (13-8, 5-5) has been making its own waves of late while winning four of its past five games. The Musketeers also got past UConn, pulling off a 76-72 home victory on Saturday. They knocked off then-No. 7 Marquette 59-57 on the road Jan. 18.

Xavier did lose to St. John's last week, but that setback came in overtime against the No. 20 team in the country, which moved up to No. 15 this week.

Against UConn, Zach Freemantle and Dailyn Swain each scored 15 points for the Musketeers, while Dante Maddox Jr. had 14 while going 3 of 4 from 3-point range. They held the Huskies to 31 second-half points.

Despite finishing off the victory, Xavier head coach Sean Miller could see clear areas where his team can improve.

"Thrilled with the victory (but) we still didn't finish off the game as well as we could have," Miller said. "I wish I could figure out what button to press. I'm going to stay at it to help these guys be better at the end."

--Field Level Media