Creighton men’s basketball guard Pop Isaacs will undergo hip surgery and miss the rest of the season, coach Greg McDermott told The Associated Press on Saturday.
Isaacs underwent hip surgery last spring, but it has continued to be an issue. He was held out of the season opener against UTRGV.
The 6-foot-2 Las Vegas native had returned to playing some of the best basketball of his career, scoring at least 25 points in three of his past five games — including a 27-point, 7-rebound, 4-assist performance in Creighton’s win over No. 1 Kansas on Wednesday.
Isaacs was averaging 16.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.9 assists through eight games.
He transferred to Creighton last spring after spending two seasons at Texas Tech, where he earned All-Big 12 honors and led the Red Raiders to the NCAA tournament in March.
McDermott and the Bluejays have struggled mightily with injuries, with starting guard Steven Ashworth dealing with a sprained ankle last month and Ryan Kalkbrenner missing one game with a lower-body injury. Without Isaacs, Creighton is short on proven backcourt players. Expect the Bluejays to play bigger, with Jamiya Neal sliding to shooting guard and Mason Miller and Jackson McAndrew playing together more frequently at the forward positions.
Creighton (6-3) hosts UNLV on Saturday.