DePaul’s most glaring issue tonight was from behind the three-point line (3-23). Despite the percentages, DePaul head coach Chris Holtmann maintained that DePaul’s three-point distribution is right where he wants it to be.

“I think our percentages until this game were where I wanted to be, too,” Holtmann said. “They’re going to take a significant drop here after this game, but the attempts are good. It’s more about the quality.”

Creighton head coach Greg McDermott said his team’s goal was to disrupt exactly what Holtmann wanted more of: quality looks from deep.

“They shoot so many threes, and we wanted to make sure if they’re going to shoot threes, they’re going to be difficult,” McDermott said. “And for the most part, I thought we did a good job of that.”

Past the analytics, Holtmann said his team generally needs to play with more fight, especially after their first Big East win on Friday following an overtime thriller against then-No. 7 Marquette a week ago today.

“There’s gonna be nights where you don’t make a lot of shots, but that can’t affect your defensive end,” graduate guard Isaiah Rivera said of Holtmann’s message to the team. “It’s just gotta be a collective fight. We gotta have our leaders, the captains, we gotta be better, and just bring guys along and show them that it’s the Big East. It’s a fight every single night.”

CJ Gunn heads to the final media timeout with 11 points on 5-13 shooting. With 3:27 remaining, Creighton leads 66-42.

DePaul’s starters, including Gunn, are a combined 0-11 from three-point range.

After two made free throws to put Creighton up by 28, Ryan Kalkbrenner checks out of the game to the tune of a standing ovation from Blue Jay fans. The 7-footer has scored 10 points in the second half on 2-2 shooting and making all six of his free throw attempts. Five minutes remain.

At the penultimate media timeout of this contest, DePaul is down 35-59.

DePaul scored under 40 points once last season. The Blue Demons look now to make this a respectable final score.

DePaul goes into a Holtmann timeout down 25 as Creighton has made seven of their last eight shot attempts.

The Blue Demons will need to mount a dramatic comeback in the final 12 minutes in order to end the 20-game losing streak to the Blue Jays

DePaul guard Conor Enright is struggling tonight, shooting 0-4 with no assists. Enright is second in the Big East in assists per game. He is wearing a large brace around his right shoulder, which he injured in December.

DePaul heads to the media timeout down 23-41 with 15:14 remaining.

At the end of the half, DePaul is fortunate to only be down 12 points. Shooting 7% (1-14) from deep, the Blue Demons are also shooting 22% on the night.

DePaul’s bright spot has been sophomore guard Layden Blocker, who has seven points on 3-5 shooting, four rebounds and two assists in 13 minutes of play off the bench. DePaul’s bench leads the Big East in points per game (30.1).

Creighton has not completely capitalized on DePaul’s scoring shortcomings, shooting 38% so far and committing seven turnovers. The Blue Jays average just under 13 turnovers per game.

Lastly, Creighton has four blocks in just one half, averaging 4.9 on the season. DePaul has had trouble scoring in the paint. The Blue Demon starting forwards, David Skogman and Troy D’Amico, have combined for 1-7 shooting.

With four minutes remaining in the first half, DePaul has a lid on the basket. They are now 5-25 and 0-9 from deep. Creighton leads 26-12 at the final media timeout of the half.

DePaul’s scoring drought extends to two minutes with 6:28 remaining in the first half. Creighton has made four of their last five shots, while DePaul has made one of their last nine.

Senior guard Jamiya Neal leads the Blue Jay run with 10 points, already nearly matching his points per game average of 11.7.

After a 5-0 run by Creighton, DePaul head coach Chris Holtmann calls timeout down 7-16, in large part due to four early Blue Jay offensive rebounds.

First major substitution for DePaul as NJ Benson checks in for David Skogman. Creighton leads 8-5 as DePaul is 0-6 from deep.

DePaul started 0-3 from behind the three-point line and have committed two turnovers. Creighton leads 5-1.

Creighton wins the tipoff and we have Big East basketball.

Creighton:

• Steven Ashworth, Guard
• Jamiya Neal, Guard
• Jasen Green, Forward
• Jackson McAndrew, Forward
• Ryan Kalkbrenner, Center

DePaul:

• Conor Enright, Guard
• Jacob Meyer, Guard
• CJ Gunn, Guard
• Troy D’Amico, Forward
• David Skogman, Forward

Despite the minutes restriction dating back to December, Skogman will start his second straight game. He played 12 minutes against Georgetown on Friday as a starter. For Creighton, there are no surprises in their starting lineup.

For the fifth straight home game, 6-foot-11-inch forward David Skogman is not warming up for the Blue Demons until the final half-hour before tipoff. Skogman has been on a minutes restriction since his lower leg injury in December. The 6-foot-8 NJ Benson may start in his place, which would present height challenges for the Blue Demons against superstar 7-foot-1 center Ryan Kalkbrenner.