Louisiana Tech @ Creighton preview

Creighton was able to defy conventional basketball logic in its last contest but still came up with a loss, failing to capitalize on the plethora of extra scoring opportunities it gave itself. The Bluejays will almost certainly need to be more efficient in that regard Saturday when they host a Louisiana Tech squad that is among the best in the country in forcing turnovers.

Despite not having a starter taller than 6-7, Creighton corralled 18 offensive rebounds at Michigan on Tuesday but managed to score only 13 points off of them - part of the reason why the Bluejays were unable to hold a halftime lead and fell 79-69 to the Wolverines. Another issue that carried over from Creighton's season-opening win over Kennesaw State was its inability to get anything done at the foul line; through two games, the Bluejays have only attempted 10 free throws and made three. The Bulldogs have made quick work of their first two opponents, winning by an average of 39.5 points while forcing a total of 49 turnovers. Louisiana Tech scored 35 points off 31 turnovers and never looked back after racing out to a 28-2 lead en route to a 46-point victory over NAIA foe Wiley on Tuesday.

TV: 6 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 2

ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH (2-0): McNeese State transfer Kalob Ledoux (15.5 points) led five Bulldogs in double figures with 18 points in Tuesday's rout despite playing only 15 minutes, finishing 6-of-9 from the field and 4-of-7 beyond the arc after going 3-of-12 and 3-of-10, respectively, in the season opener. Fellow junior guard JaColby Pemberton added 17 points in 18 minutes, while Xavier Armstead tallied 15 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals in 27 minutes off the bench. Tuesday also marked the return of Exavian Christon, who averaged 12 points through the first seven contests of last season before collapsing during a late November practice; he needed CPR to save his life and eventually underwent surgery to have a defibrillator implanted in his chest.

ABOUT CREIGHTON (1-1): Ty-Shon Alexander (19.5 points, 6.0 rebounds) led the Bluejays in scoring for a second straight game with 20 points and can become the first Creighton player to begin a season with three consecutive outings with at least 19 points since Doug McDermott achieved the feat in 2014. Marcus Zegarowski scored 18 points for the second straight game after reaching that mark only once as a freshman last season and has buried six of his first 11 3-point attempts. Kelvin Jones grabbed nine boards in 16 minutes against Michigan - including seven on the offensive end - to become only the third Bluejay in the Greg McDermott era (2010-present) to collect that many rebounds in such a short amount of time.

TIP-INS

1. With a victory Saturday, Creighton can improve to 2-0 at home for the 25th consecutive season.

2. The Bulldogs have scored 61 points off turnovers and 90 points inside the paint.

3. The Bluejays did not score a point from the foul line Tuesday for the first time in 40 years Tuesday and have not attempted a foul shot before halftime in either of their games.

PREDICTION: Creighton 84, Louisiana Tech 81