Green Bay @ Creighton preview

Creighton is once again among the highest-scoring teams in college basketball, but the offense hasn't been able to make up for a lackluster defense since the start of December. The Bluejays set their sights on snapping a two-game losing streak Friday when they host high-scoring Green Bay.

Despite averaging a Big East-best 83.6 points for the season, Creighton has dropped both of its games this month to No. 6 Gonzaga (103-92) and No. 25 Nebraska (94-75) mostly due to its inability to get stops, particularly beyond the arc (the Bulldogs and Cornhuskers shot a combined 44.6 percent from 3-point range). The lapses on defense have minimized an offense that ranks second in the country in 3-point percentage (45.2), sixth in field-goal percentage (51.4) and ninth in 3-pointers made per game (11.4). The Phoenix are coming off the seventh-best offensive performance in school history Tuesday - albeit in a 112-46 win over Division III foe Wisconsin-Stout - but must quickly turn around to face the most challenging two-game stretch of their schedule. Green Bay, which has dropped a pair of 11-point decisions to the only major-conference opponents it has faced in Oregon and No. 21 Iowa, will visit No. 9 Michigan State on Sunday evening after kicking off a four-game road trip against the Bluejays.

TV: 9 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1

ABOUT GREEN BAY (6-4): The Phoenix boast the 13th-best scoring offense in the country (87.2 points) entering Thursday's action and are among the best in the country in creating turnovers - forcing 18 per game, including 9.3 steals (both rank 15th in Division I) - to rank ninth in turnover margin (plus-8.5). Former Marquette transfer Sandy Cohen III leads Green Bay in most meaningful statistical categories, averaging team highs in points (14.8), assists (5.7), steals (2.3) and blocks (1.3) while ranking second in rebounding (5.6). ShanQuan Hemphill paces the team in made field goals (58), field-goal percentage (61.1) and free-throw attempts (53) and is not far behind his teammate in several categories (13.8 points, 4.8 boards, 1.5 steals), but the junior forward is shooting only 41.5 percent from the foul line.

ABOUT CREIGHTON (6-3): The Bluejays' top three - and only double-figure scorers - are sophomores, although only Mitch Ballock (12.1 points) had a good game at Nebraska, tying a career high with 23 points while setting a personal best with seven 3-pointers. Ty-Shon Alexander (18.3) saw his school-record eight-game streak of multiple 3-pointers to begin a season halted with a 1-for-4 effort Saturday, although his 31 triples still rank as the third-most in school history through nine outings. Along with Damien Jefferson (11.9) and Jacob Epperson (5.3), who is 16-for-18 from the field over the last six contests and sports a career shooting percentage of 72.2 percent, Creighton's sophomore class accounts for 56.3 percent of the team's scoring.

TIP-INS

1. Creighton has not dropped three non-conference home games since 1982-83.

2. The Phoenix have topped 100 points three times this season and scored 80 or more in seven of their 10 games.

3. The Bluejays are 6-0 when yielding fewer than 10 3-pointers and 0-3 when giving up at least that many.

PREDICTION: Creighton 97, Green Bay 87