Creighton's Maurice Watson out for season with torn ACL

Maurice Watson Jr. “heard it pop.” And although postgame testing suggested otherwise, Watson’s initial instinct was, unfortunately, correct.

An MRI showed Tuesday that Creighton’s senior point guard, the nation’s leader in assists, tore the ACL in his left knee during the first half of Monday’s win over Xavier. Watson announced the news on social media, and Creighton later confirmed it in a press release.

“Sucks that I have to go out this way, but I have terrible news,” Watson wrote on Instagram. “My MRI discovered I suffered a torn ACL. I’m devastated in the fact that I cannot finish out the season with my boys & that my college career is cut short during the best basketball I’ve ever played in my life.

“I’ve gotten to experience a lot of things in these 5 years[.] This is a sad time now, but God has a plan for me. My boys got my back & I will be on the sidelines all the way, even if a wheelchair!”

Watson, a Philadelphia native, played his first two collegiate seasons at Boston University, transferred to Creighton in 2014, sat out the 2014-15 season, and was outstanding the past two years for the Bluejays.

Watson went down clutching his knee twice in the first half against Xavier on Monday. He exited the game immediately after the first knock, but soon returned. He then collapsed again after a drive from the right wing, and didn’t return. He was back on the court to start the second half, but no longer in uniform and on crutches.

Here’s video of both plays. The second forced him out of the game and ultimately ended his season:

It’s a huge blow to Creighton, which is 18-1 and enjoying its best season ever. Watson assisted on 44 percent of the team’s made field goals when he was on the court, and averaged 8.5 assists per game, the best per-game rate in the country.

In Watson’s absence, sophomore guard Khyri Thomas figures to see an uptick in responsibility. Fellow guards Marcus Foster and Isaiah Zierden will also be relied upon more as distributors.

But it will be extremely hard to replace Watson, who held the key to Creighton’s Final Four hopes.