Mo Watson Jr.'s Creighton career is over.
The star point guard for the Blue Jays had an MRI on Tuesday to determine the damage suffered in his left knee, and it revealed a torn ACL. Watson entered Monday’s game at Xavier averaging 13.4 points and a nation’s-best 8.8 assists on the season. He was the engine that made Creighton’s high-octane offense work.
“Devastated for [him],” head coach Greg McDermott said. “His impact on our program has been incredible. His leadership will continue to be vital to our success.”
With Watson, who was having an all-american season and was seventh in our Player of the Year Power Rankings as of Tuesday, Creighton was a team with Final Four upside. Their defense was a concern, but their ability to score in transition and to get easy looks from three - both of which were largely due to the ability of Watson - ensured that teams were going to have to score in the 80s to beat them.
Without Watson, Creighton was able to hang on to beat Xavier in Cincinnati, but it’s unclear what the future will hold. Isaiah Zierdan replaced Watson at the point down the stretch, and Greg McDermott does have a number of talented guards on his roster, but that doesn’t do much to mitigate was is a devastating loss for this team.
Watson released a statement on twitter on Tuesday:
It's been a fun ride. really devastated but it's about the get back & my chase to my dreams and back on the court starts now! #jays pic.twitter.com/TssBFgyUmT
— Maurice Watson Jr. (@mauricewatsonjr) January 17, 2017