Player of the Week
Mitch Ballock (Creighton)
The player of the week deserves to go out to Mitch Ballock after his performance against Seton Hall. The nets were getting torched after he hit seven threes in Creighton’s win over Seton Hall. The game was tied at 81 a piece when he came down and hit a clutch three to put Creighton in the lead with 37 seconds left on the clock. He finished the game with season high 29 points. He did only score four points in Creighton’s last game against DePaul, but the display he put on against Seton Hall was sensational.
Who’s Hot
Saint John’s
Four straight wins now for the Red Storm moving them to 11-7 overall. Their defense looks a lot better than it did to start the season and their full court man to man trap style press results in plenty of steals contributing to fast break points. Posh Alexander is becoming a problem on defense having 6 steals in their last game against Marquette. The foundation of this team on offense is surrounded by Julian Champagnie who is currently the leading scorer in the entirety of the Big East.
Creighton
The Blue Jay’s defense continues to improve holding opponents to less than 69 points per game in their last three games. With three straight wins, Creighton is finally clicking on all cylinders. Their most impressive win came against Seton Hall, in which they trailed by 13 at one point. The comeback was backed by the 3-point line. Creighton shot nearly 50% from the three making a team total 17 threes.
Who’s Not
Seton Hall
A tough stretch of games for the Pirates sets them back to 9-8 overall. They’ve been playing their games closely but haven’t been able to execute at the end of the game. They’ve lost their last three games on average by 4 points, so it’s not like they are getting blown out. It’s also notable to mention they’ve played Villanova, twice, and Creighton in their last three games. The Pirates have several tough games coming up but will look to turn things around in a competitive conference.
Marquette
All season the Golden Eagles have been struggling with slow starts, especially DJ Carton. In their last game against Saint John’s, Marquette went down 46-31 in the first half. Carton had 2 points in the first half and shot only 27% from the field. Marquette did not have Justin Lewis this game, which is the biggest reason why they lost this game. Lewis provides a spark off the bench and it was noticeable in this game since their bench combined for zero points.
Top 5 3-point Shooters
#5 Julian Champagnie (Saint John’s)
Champagnie is shooting 43% from the three so far this season, which contributes to why he is the leading scorer in the Big East. He is not just a spot shooter, but also hits three’s off the dribble mainly from his step back three.
#4 Shavar Reynolds (Seton Hall)
One of the sleepers on Seton Hall, Reynolds does not shoot the ball often, but he will make you pay if you leave him open. Shooting 43.6% from the three, Reynolds offers his team another option offensively on this talented Seton Hall team.
#3 Tyrese Martin (UConn)
UConn has Martin to thank for their most recent win over Butler since he scored 20 points. He has only shot 22 three’s this season, but he’s shooting 45.5% from beyond the arc. Just like Reynolds, he will you hit an open three and is a better shooter than what scouts may think.
#2 Greg Elliott (Marquette)
Another valuable bench player, Elliott is another efficient shooter from beyond the arc. He doesn’t play much for Marquette but has had games this season where he helped contribute to big wins. His best performance was the Golden Eagles big win over No. 4 Wisconsin where he shot a perfect 4/4 from the three.
#1 Nate Johnson (Xavier)
The senior guard from Miami, Florida has progressively become a better shooter during his career at Xavier. This season he is shooting 52.2% from the three. He made 7 threes in Xavier’s 20-point victory over Oklahoma.