DePaul was looking to avenge a loss to Creighton earlier in the year on Saturday. The Blue Demons kept it close in the second half, but the No. 12 Bluejays pulled away for a 78-66 win in Omaha.

Creighton’s Doug McDermott, the nation’s leading scorer at 25.0 points per game, netted 32 points to lead all scorers and put the game away by scoring nine straight points with about five minutes remaining.

DePaul (10-14, 2-9 Big East) was still without the suspended Cleveland Melvin and the Blue Demons struggled to score consistently once again. Brandon Young did his best with 16 points but he and Forrest Robinson (11 points) were the only Blue Demons to reach double figures.

Creighton (19-3, 9-1) continued to roll through the Big East in its first year in the new conference. While the Bluejays never dominated play, they also didn’t allow DePaul to hold a lead larger than three. It was the eighth-largest crowd in the school’s history with 18,323 in attendance.

The loss was DePaul’s sixth in a row following a rare two-game winning streak. Oliver Purnell’s squad shot just 39 percent and lost despite outrebounding Creighton 41-31.

The Blue Demons’ next game is at home against No. 6 Villanova.