GAME NOTES: The Saint Mary's Gaels hit the road for the first time this season on Saturday afternoon when they pay a visit to CenturyLink Center Omaha for a non-conference clash with the Creighton Bluejays.

Saint Mary's opened its season with a six-game homestand and emerged victorious in five of those contests. That lone loss came in the Gaels' most recent game, an 82-71 setback to Boise State last Saturday in the Shamrock Office Solutions Classic. The loss snapped the team's 33-game home winning streak against non-conference foes, which dated back to the 2011 National Invitation Tournament.

Meanwhile, Creighton is off to an 8-2 start and enters this matchup with victories in two straight and three of its last four games overall. The Bluejays returned home after a four-game road swing and grinded out a 90-88 win over South Dakota in double-overtime on Tuesday. That marked their 24th straight win on their home court.

SMC owns a 3-2 series lead, and that includes a 74-66 triumph over the Bluejays at McKeon Pavilion in the premier matchup of the 2012-13 BracketBuster series.

The Gaels allowed Boise State to shoot 58.8 percent from the floor, while they shot just 39.7 percent for the game. Still, it was a competitive contest into the final minutes, thanks largely to senior Brad Waldow, who finished with game-highs of 29 points and 11 rebounds. The 29 points were a career-high for Waldow, who was a perfect 11-of-11 at the foul line as he led SMC in scoring for the fourth straight game. Waldow is averaging a double-double with 22.8 points and 10.0 rebounds through six games. However, senior guard Kerry Carter (14.3 ppg, 7.2 rpg) scored only six points in 38 minutes of floor time.

Creighton is led by senior guard Austin Chatman, who is putting up 13.3 ppg. Reserve Isaiah Zierden, a 46-percent shooter from 3-point range (27-of-59), is next in line with 12.4 ppg. That duo has combined to make 88 percent of their free throws this season. In the win over South Dakota, Chatman set a career- high in scoring for the third consecutive game with 24 points. James Milliken added a personal-best 23 points off the bench for the Bluejays, who had several chances to put the game away before eventually prevailing in double- overtime. Creighton blew a nine-point lead with 2:59 to play in regulation, then coughed up a 74-67 advantage in the first overtime.

Saint Mary's claimed the most recent meeting between these two teams, but that was on the Gaels' home floor. They'll need a near perfect effort to knock off Creighton in Omaha, where the Bluejays have won 24 in a row.