BIG EAST BEWARE: Georgetown Crushes Creighton in Conference Opener, 81-57

Peavy steals the show with 7 takeaways and 8 assists

Your Georgetown Hoyas (9-2) hosted the Creighton Bluejays (7-5) at Capital One Arena on Wednesday night and tipped off the BIG EAST season with the program’s biggest win since March 2021. The Hoyas beat Creighton 81-57, looking strong on both sides of the floor and showing some three-point fire power (10-16 3PT, 62.5%) that many thought would be missing this year. For now, Georgetown is tied for first in the BIG EAST standings.

With Malik Mack sitting out with a lower body injury, the Hoyas started Micah Peavy, Jayden Epps, Drew Fielder, Thomas Sorber, and freshman forward Caleb Williams.

Georgetown held the ‘Jays to 39.6% FG shooting (21-53 FG, 12-33 3PT) while the Hoyas shot 55% (33-60) from the field and 62.5% from three (10-16 3PT, 62.5%). The Hoyas had 12 steals in the game, 7 of which came from Micah Peavy (20 pts, 9-16 FG, 1-3 3PT, 8 assists, 8 reb).

GU led the second half in turnovers (GU-6; CU-11), points off turnovers (14-0), rebounds (12-7), second chance points (9-0), points in the paint (24-8), fastbreak points (12-2), and steals (9-1).

The second half was especially strong for the back court with Jayden Epps (21 pts, 7-12 FG, 5-6 3PT) and Peavy shooting a combined 12-14 FG (4-6 3PT) after halftime, and 6 of Peavy’s steals coming the the latter half.

All that led to the Hoyas outscoring the Bluejays 47-29 in the second, despite Creighton shooting 50% in the half (11-22 FG, 6-15 3PT). GU took care of the ball and had 8 more shots (19-30 FG, 5-8 3PT) than their conference foes, shooting 63.3% during the half.

Thomas Sorber scored 8 points in the first period (overall: 4-14 FG, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks) but was held scoreless in the second. Drew Fielder scored 7 points on 3-4 FG including a made three attempt.

Louisville transfer Curtis Williams, Jr. scored 12 points on 4-6 FG in 11 minutes. He made both three pointers attempted in the first half, which helped the Hoyas with that 34-28 lead at halftime. Caleb Williams, who started for the injured Mack, scored 6 points on 3-5 shooting and pulled 8 rebounds. Jordan Burks scored 7 points in 22 minutes, adding 5 rebounds.

While Creighton struggled to get meaningful time from their bench, the Hoyas showed they had depth in wake of the loss of their point guard for the game (Mack day-to-day). Winning BIG EAST game number 1 with the bench delivering is a great look for Georgetown.

Hoyas fans have to feel real nice about what they’ve seen this week. While Syracuse and Creighton may each be on their way to disappointing seasons, they are still talented and have respected coaches. Georgetown has not looked this strong a long time, nor have their games been this much fun (7 dunks! 10 threes! 17 assists!).

These matchups were still nothing less than big statement wins for Ed Cooley and the young Georgetown squad who showed defensive toughness and offensive poise. It is clear that, with the leadership of Micah Peavy and Jayden Epps, this team is gaining confidence with each win.

If the defense continues to improve each week and the Hoyas can use their versatility to earn buckets in at least one of the post, transition, or the arc (like tonight), the sky is the limit.

Georgetown heads to the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ on Sunday night (December 22) to face Seton Hall (5-7) at 7PM (FS1). The Pirates lost their first game on the road to Villanova, 79-67, Tuesday night, but always seem to bring a solid defense against the Hoyas. We’ll see if GU can go 2-0 headed into Christmas.

HOYA SAXA!