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The Villanova Wildcats take on the Creighton Bluejays. Check out our Big East Tournament odds series for our Villanova Creighton prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Villanova Creighton.
Here we go. This is where the Big East Tournament becomes really interesting. Not that the other Big East Tournament games on Thursday weren't thrilling or compelling; they were. (Marquette beat St. John's in overtime and Connecticut survived a 28-5 Providence run to beat the Friars.) However, Villanova is the big story in New York, for obvious reasons.
The Villanova Wildcats made the Final Four last season. This year, their only chance to reach the NCAA Tournament is as the champion of the Big East Tournament. They have to get the conference's automatic bid to the Big Dance; they won't get an at-large spot. The Wildcats were missing Justin Moore, their best player, for the first two months of the season. Not only that, they missed their best player in the first season under a new head coach, Kyle Neptune, who replaced legendary coach Jay Wright, a two-time national champion. It's one thing to not have a great player for two months when a veteran coach knows which adjustments to make; not having Justin Moore in the first season for a new head coach was a nasty double-whammy which very understandably knocked the Wildcats back a few paces. Now, however, Moore is playing elite basketball. Neptune has naturally been able to become more comfortable in his role and in his understanding of the Villanova roster with all the pieces working together as they should. This is now the blueprint Villanova expected to have at the beginning of the season. The Wildcats need three wins in Madison Square Garden to make the Big Dance. They are capable, but it won't be easy. Creighton is a really good team, an NCAA Tournament team. The Bluejays have one of the best big men in the Big East, Ryan Kalkbrenner. Villanova has to get past this challenge if it wants to build momentum toward something bigger as the week continues in the Big Apple.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Villanova-Creighton Big East Tournament odds:
Big East Tournament Odds: Villanova-Creighton Odds
Villanova Wildcats: +4.5 (-102)
Creighton Bluejays: -4.5 (-120)
Over: 134.5 (-110)
Under: 134.5 (-110)
How To Watch Villanova vs. Creighton
TV: Fox Sports 1
Stream: Fox Sports app
Time: 9:30 p.m. ET, 6:30 p.m. PT
*Watch Villanova-Creighton LIVE with fuboTV (Click for free trial)*
Why Villanova Could Cover the Spread
The Wildcats have clearly become a much better team over the past three to four weeks. The team which stumbled through January without Justin Moore (and then without a fully polished Justin Moore in the first few games after he returned) is a distant memory. This is a very different team, a good team, a team which can win the Big East Tournament. This is the moment the Wildcats have been thinking about for the past few weeks. This is their big chance to save the season, and they know it. Expect them to come out roaring and hound Creighton's defense from start to finish, delivering an impressive performance. Even if Villanova loses by four points, it still covers, too. This is a great play.
Why Creighton Could Cover the Spread
The Bluejays lost six straight games early in the season when Ryan Kalkbrenner was not feeling good. Kalkbrenner's health problems turned Creighton into a dramatically inferior team. However, when Kalkbrenner is right, this team is really good. Subtract those six losses from the resume. You have a much better team which would have been a higher seed in the NCAA Tournament. Villanova will be a tough out, but Creighton is being overlooked here amid the VU hype train. Creighton loves being overlooked. The Bluejays are going to ambush Nova.
Final Villanova-Creighton Prediction & Pick
This game isn't unimportant to Creighton. Of course it matters. However, this is Villanova's season. The Wildcats know that their NCAA Tournament hopes are gone if they lose. That will motivate them to play really well.
Final Villanova-Creighton Prediction & Pick: Villanova +4.5
