INDIANAPOLIS – No. 22 Creighton built an 18-point lead and held off yet another Butler rally, defeating the Bulldogs 85-74 in Big East basketball Tuesday night at Omaha, Neb.
It was the third straight loss — all to Top 25 opponents — for Butler (12-6, 2-3) since beating No. 1 Villanova.
Marcus Foster scored 21 of his 23 points in the first half for Creighton (14-3, 4-1). Martin Krampelj, a 6-9 Slovenian, had 14 points and 14 rebounds.
Paul Jorgensen led Butler with 18 points. Kamar Baldwin added 15 and Aaron Thompson 12.
Kelan Martin was limited to 10 points, or 16 below his average in league play.