A hot-shooting Creighton team was able to come away with a 78-56 win over Butler Thursday night at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Neb.

Butler falls to 8-5 on the season and 0-2 in BIG EAST play, while Creighton improves to 7-6 (1-1 BIG EAST).
 
KEY STAT: The Bluejays shot 56 percent from the field in the victory. Butler countered by hitting only 42 percent of their attempts, including a 2-for-12 mark from three-point range.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• Creighton outscored the Bulldogs, 38-22, after having a six-point halftime lead.
• Preseason All-BIG EAST selection Ryan Kalkbrenner returned for Creighton after missing the last three games with a non-COVID illness. He finished with a game-high 19 points on 8-for-9 shooting.  
• Baylor Scheierman had 14 points for Creighton, while Arthur Kaluma added 12.
• Chuck Harris led the Bulldogs with 14 points, 12 of which came in the first half.
• Creighton had a 37-19 rebounding advantage.

 
HOW IT TRANSPIRED:

• Butler made eight of its first 12 shots in taking an early 16-7 lead, which was the Bulldogs' largest of the game.
• Creighton was able to regain the lead thanks in large part to hitting six of their first eight attempts from three-point range.
• The Bluejays led 40-34 at the half behind 12 points from Scheierman and 10 from Kaluma.
• A 17-4 run, during a stretch when Butler missed 10 of 12 attempts from the field, gave Creighton a 61-44 lead with just more than 11 minutes to play, which proved to be insurmountable.

OF NOTE:

• Jalen Thomas, in just his second game for Butler after returning from a pulmonary embolism, scored eight points on 4-for-5 shooting; those were the first points of his Butler career.
• The teams will play again Jan. 17 at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
• The Bluejays were voted as the preseason BIG EAST favorite by the league's head coaches, but had lost six straight games entering Thursday's match-up.

 
UP NEXT: The Bulldogs return to Indianapolis for their final tip of 2022 as Butler hosts Providence Thursday, Dec. 29. Tickets are still available for the 6:30 p.m. tip, which will also air on FS1.