Skip to content
Sports
Link copied to clipboard

Creighton hit hard by Watson's injury

It was perhaps the saddest moment of the college basketball season, watching Creighton point guard Maurice Watson Jr. collapse to the floor in pain after making a layup and tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

It was perhaps the saddest moment of the college basketball season, watching Creighton point guard Maurice Watson Jr. collapse to the floor in pain after making a layup and tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

The seventh-ranked Blue Jays defeated Xavier on Monday to improve to 18-1. But in losing Watson, a Philadelphia native who led the nation in assists, for the season, they may have seen their chances at a Big East championship and an extended NCAA run fade away.

"He's responsible for 35 points a game between his assists and his scoring; that's only part of his value," Creighton coach Greg McDermott said in an Associated Press story. "Maybe not one player is as important to a team anywhere in the country as Maurice was to us. But that doesn't mean we still can't win games."

Under Watson's guidance, the Blue Jays ranked second in the nation in field-goal percentage at 53.1 and 11th in scoring at 86.7 points per game. Without him, it remains to be seen whether they can maintain the speedy pace at which they like to play.

While awaiting surgery, which may come in two to three weeks, Watson said he will work with the point guards. He is confident his team can win the Big East and the Final Four, saying, "When your back is against the wall, the best thing to do is respond."

Watson initially hurt his left knee in a collision with Xavier's Edmond Sumner, and went to the bench to put ice on his knee. He then returned, and the serious injury happened a few minutes later. Watson said he had no regrets about going back in.

"I'm from Philly, you've got to be tough," he said. "I wanted to play. It ended up costing me my season and the rest of my college career. But I got a basket and we got a 'W'."

Scouting Seahawks

Drexel coach Zach Spiker is bullish on the Seahawks of UNC-Wilmington, who boast an 18-2 record and are cruising along in first place in the CAA at 7-0, and thinks they are worthy of an NCAA bid.

"They are off the charts right now," said Spiker, whose Dragons visit on Saturday. "You could put them in the conversation - and they should be - for an at-large berth. I don't know if people are talking enough about Wilmington."

The Seahawks are averaging 86.3 points and shooting 48.5 percent. They have forced 16.4 turnovers per game and have a turnover margin of plus-5.4. They are 24th in the RPI and 42nd in the KenPom rankings.

UNCW has four players averaging in double figures. Devontae Cacok leads the nation in field-goal percentage at 81.2 percent and averages 9.8 rebounds. Point guard Denzel Ingram tops the league in assist-turnover ratio, assists (5.7 per game) and three-point baskets (3.4).

Phantom handshake

You probably saw the strange scene in Albany, N.Y., where players from Rider and Siena got into an altercation late in the game. At the buzzer, when Broncs coach Kevin Baggett directed his team off the court, Siena coach Jimmy Patsos went through an imaginary handshake line.

Speaking Thursday to the Albany Times-Union, Baggett, a former star at St. Joseph's, said he took his team off the floor because "I wanted to make sure that nothing else happened.

"I don't want anyone in the handshake line that said anything on my team, and I was looking out for Jimmy's guys as well. I thought the best thing was to walk our guys off."

The players involved in the scuffle - Rider's Anthony Durham and Siena's Marquis Wright - were suspended for one game, and the two coaches were reprimanded by the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference for unsportsmanlike behavior.

Threes not enough

How's this for an odd stat? Playing on Florida State's home court, where the Seminoles haven't lost all season, Notre Dame knocked down 15 three-point baskets, shot 71.4 percent from beyond the arc - and lost. According to College Basketball Reference, the Fighting Irish are the 19th team since the 2010-11 season to make 15 or more three-point baskets while shooting better than 70 percent from the field, and they are the first to lose.

SEC: More than two

Hoping to show people that there are more than two quality teams in the SEC, South Carolina goes into Rupp Arena on Saturday to play fifth-ranked Kentucky. The Gamecocks, who reentered the rankings this week at No. 24, handed No. 19 Florida its first SEC loss on Wednesday even though they shot just 29.4 percent from the field.

"Lot of rumors going around that Florida and Kentucky are the only good teams in the conference, but we don't pay no attention," the Gamecocks' Sindarius Thornwell told the Columbia State. "We get one win, and we keep it moving."

Expatriate of the Week

Quadir Welton, who played his high school ball at Math, Civics and Science, has provided experience and leadership for St. Peter's. The 6-foot-8, 251-pound Welton, a senior who has started every game this season, leads the Peacocks in rebounding at 8.0 per game, averages 12.6 points, and shoots 46.4 percent from the field.

jjuliano@phillynews.com

@joejulesinq

Games to watch

Louisville at Florida State, Saturday at 2 p.m., ESPN: The Seminoles are part of a three-way tie for the lead in the ACC and are undefeated at home. But the Cardinals apply the type of defensive pressure and commitment to rebounding that could give them trouble.

Arizona at UCLA, Saturday at 4 p.m., CBS3: The Bruins, who were on a 140-point pace Thursday night against Arizona State before finishing with 102, match up with a Wildcat defense that allows 61.6 points per game and limits opponents to less than 40 percent shooting.

Kansas at West Virginia, Tuesday at 7 p.m., ESPN2: The Jayhawks get to make that dreadful trip to Morgantown and face a Mountaineer team that forces more than 23 turnovers per game but claimed only 12 Wednesday against Oklahoma in its first home loss of the season.

Virginia at Notre Dame, Tuesday at 8 p.m., ACC Network: The Fighting Irish suffered their first conference loss at Florida State and now take on the defensive-minded Cavaliers, who allow 53.5 points per game (first in Division I) and 38 percent opponents' shooting (ninth).

Xavier at Cincinnati, Thursday at 7 p.m., ESPN2: The Queen City's Crosstown Shootout is always worth watching for its intensity, but more so this season because it is likely that both teams will be in the Top 25 at tipoff. The Muskeeteers' seniors have never lost to the Bearcats.

Player to Watch

Marcus Keene

Central Michigan, G, 5-9, 175, Jr., San Antonio, Texas

Keene, a transfer from Youngstown State, leads NCAA Division I in scoring at 28.7 points per game, nearly five points ahead of the second-place player. He is seventh nationally in free throws made (115) and tied for 10th in three-point baskets per game (3.56). He shoots 46 percent from the field and 80 percent from the line. He also passes the ball, accounting for 5.3 assists per game, which is second in the Mid-American Conference.

Inquirer Top 10

1. Kansas

2. Villanova

3. UCLA

4. Gonzaga

5. Baylor

6. Kentucky

7. Creighton

8. North Carolina

9. Oregon

10. Louisville