Zach Freemantle

And Xavier improved their NCAA tournament hopes by upsetting No. 13 Creighton 77-69 in a Big East game.

Xavier 77, No. 13 Creighton 69

Paul Scruggs scored 23 points and Zach Freemantle added 17, helping Xavier bolster its NCAA Tournament hopes with a 77-69 victory over No. 13 Creighton on Saturday.

Freemantle also had 10 rebounds for Xavier (13-5, 6-5) for his fifth straight double-double. The Musketeers led by as many as 13 points and staved off a late comeback by Creighton.

Damien Jefferson led Creighton (17-6, 13-5 Big East) with 19 points, and Marcus Zegarowski had 15. Mitch Ballock and Denzel Mahoney each had 11 points for the Bluejays, whose four-game winning streak was snapped.

The Musketeers got off to a strong start as Freemantle's 3-pointer capped a 12-0 run to put Xavier ahead 25-16.

Creighton took advantage of a four-minute scoring drought by the Musketeers with a 9-0 run, finished off by Jefferson's 3-pointer to tie it.

Xavier took a 33-31 lead into halftime with Scruggs' 11 points leading the way.

When Creighton defeated the Musketeers 66-61 in Omaha in December, both teams shot poorly.

Things heated up in the second half Saturday with the teams combining to hit eight of nine field goal attempts.

But it was the Musketeers who took full advantage with a 10-0 run early in the second half.

Adam Kunkel hit back-to-back 3-pointers giving the Musketeers an 11-point lead, their largest lead to that point. Kunkel finished with 12 points.

Dwon Odom's drive and layup put Xavier ahead 61-50 with 7:53 left. Odom also scored 12 points.

Ballock's 3-pointer, his third of the night, cut the Bluejays' deficit to three with two minutes left. But the Musketeers held on.

Georgetown 68, DePaul 60

Chudier Bile scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to carry Georgetown over DePaul in Chicago.

Jamorko Pickett had 14 points for Georgetown (8-11, 6-8). Dante Harris also scored 14 points and had five assists.

Charlie Moore led the Blue Demons (4-12, 2-12) with 22 points, making four 3-pointers. Ray Salnave added 11 points on 2 of 8 shooting.