Creighton faces tough test vs No. 8 Nova

Creighton (16-5, 5-3) vs. No. 8 Villanova (17-3, 7-1)

Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia; Saturday, 12 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: No. 8 Villanova presents a tough challenge for Creighton. Creighton has won one of its three games against ranked teams this season. Villanova has won its last six games against conference opponents.

STEPPING UP: The Bluejays have been led by Marcus Zegarowski and Ty-Shon Alexander. Zegarowski has averaged 16.3 points and 5.1 assists while Alexander has recorded 16.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. The Wildcats have been led by Collin Gillespie and Saddiq Bey, who are scoring 15.2 and 15.3 per game, respectively.

KEY CONTRIBUTIONS: Gillespie has directly created 47 percent of all Villanova field goals over the last three games. The junior guard has 16 field goals and 18 assists in those games.

STREAK STATS: Villanova has won its last 10 home games, scoring an average of 75.8 points while giving up 62.3.

ASSIST-TO-FG RATIO: The Bluejays have recently created buckets via assists more often than the Wildcats. Villanova has 40 assists on 73 field goals (54.8 percent) across its previous three matchups while Creighton has assists on 44 of 73 field goals (60.3 percent) during its past three games.

DID YOU KNOW: The Creighton offense has recorded a turnover on only 15.8 percent of its possessions, which is the 14th-lowest rate in the nation. The Villanova defense has forced opposing teams to turn the ball over on just 18 percent of all possessions (ranked 279th among Division I teams).