The semifinals are over and the last two teams standing in the Big East are the Georgetown Hoyas and the Creighton Bluejays. While many expected Creighton to be one of the last teams standing, once again, Patrick Ewing is showing why he was a good fit for the Hoyas.
Entering the title game, Creighton will be coming off wins against Butler and UConn in the tournament. The Hoyas made their way to the Championship Game with wins over Marquette, Villanova, and Seton Hall. So, which team has the upper hand?
If going by overall record, that should tilt the needle in the favor of Creighton. But this is why the game is played on the court and not from the books or standings.
Georgetown is hot. Matter of fact, they’re scorching. Needing to win the Big East, they’re taking the approach of one game at a time and making believers out of those who wrote them off well before the tournament started.
Entering with an overall record of 12-12 and just 7-9 in the conference, no one gave the 8th seeded Hoyas a chance. But here they are.
On the other side of the court stands the Bluejays sporting an overall record of 20-7 and 14-6 in Conference play. Creighton is on their way to the NCAA Tournament win or lose, but taking the Big East would be a big boost for the team heading to the main tournament.
During the season, the teams split their head-to-head matchups.
The Hoyas will need for Jahvon Blair to have a much better shooting performance in the Championship Game than he did against Seton Hall Friday night where he scored just nine points on 4-10 shooting in 31 minutes.
Creighton will once again hope to rely on balanced scoring as three players posted in doubled figures in their win against UConn in the semifinals. Even with James Bouknight having an off night, the Bluejays managed to outlast the Huskies.
Heading into this battle, both teams will need their best players to be on the A-Game. For the Georgetown Hoyas, this is definitely a do-or-die scenario. It’s either win or go home for them while the Bluejays will live to play another day. But this is the Big East where anything can happen and as we’ve learned this season, either one of these team can blow the other out.