Creighton beats DePaul to clinch top-six seed in tourney

OMAHA, Neb. -- Marcus Foster had 20 points and Khyri Thomas added 16 as Creighton ran away from DePaul in the second half for an 82-57 victory on Tuesday night to clinch a top-six seed in the Big East Conference Tournament.

Foster drained three from distance for 300 career treys. Thomas, who tied his career high with eight assists, flirted with a triple-double as he also grabbed eight rebounds. Ty-Shon Alexander added 13 points for Creighton (21-9, 10-7).

The Bluejays, who led 43-33 at the break, opened the second half on a 17-7 run to open the gap to 60-40 at the 13:25 mark and pushed its advantage to 75-51 with 3:52 remaining.

Creighton will conclude the regular season at Marquette on Saturday before playing in the tournament quarterfinal on March 8.

Max Strus had 14 points with seven rebounds and six assists to lead DePaul (11-18, 4-13).