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It is a top-25 Big East match-up as Creighton faces UConn. It is time to continue our College Basketball odds series with a Creighton-UConn prediction, pick, and how-to-watch.
Creighton comes into the game sitting at 13-4 on the year with a 4-2 record in the Big East. They are currently ranked 18th in the AP Poll. After losing their first Big East games, falling by a combined seven points to Villanova and Marquette, they have been strong since. Creighton has won their last four, including a tight win against St. John's last time out. Creighton had a six-point lead at the half, but St. John's would tie it early in the second half. It would be back and forth from there, with Creighton having to make a comeback and pulling off a 66-65 victory.
Meanwhile, UConn comes in sitting at 15-2 on the year. After the loss to Seton Hall by 15, UConn has come back. They have won the last five games and now are ranked number one in the nation in the AP Poll. Last time out, it was a 13-point win over Georgetown. Still, they were favored by 21 points, and could not cover the spread in the game.
Here are the college basketball odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
College Basketball Odds: Creighton-UConn Odds
Creighton: +5.5 (-110)
Moneyline: +188
UConn: -5.5 (-110)
Moneyline: -230
Over: 154.5 (-110)
Under: 154.5 (-110)
How to Watch Creighton vs. UConn
Time: 7:00 PM ET/ 4:00 PM PT
TV: FS1
Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)
Why Creighton Will Cover The Spread
Creighton is 15th this year in KenPoms adjusted efficiency rankings and sports a balanced offensive and defensive approach. They are 23rd in adjusted offensive efficiency while sitting 25th in adjusted defensive efficiency this year. Creighton is 42nd in the nation in points per game this year, while sitting seventh in effective field goal percentage. Baylor Scheierman leads the way this year. He comes into the game with 18.0 points per game this year. Further, he has 3.9 assists per game. He is one of three guys averaging over 15 points per game on the season. Trey Alexander comes in with 16.3 points per game and also is dishing the ball well, with 4.5 assists per game. Rounding out the top guys is Ryan Kalkbrenner. He comes in with 15.9 points per game while shooting 64.8 percent from the field this year.
Creighton comes in ranked 25th in the nation in rebounds per game on the year and first in the nation in defensive rebounding. This is led by Scheierman and Kalkbrenner as well. Schneiderman comes into the game with 8.3 rebounds per game this year, while Kalkbrenner comes in with 7.4 rebounds per game. Trey Alexander has been solid as well, with 6.1 rebounds per game on the year.
Creighton is 34th in the nation in points against per game this year, while sitting 13th in the nation in opponent effective field goal percentage. One of the big helps is Kalkbrenner. He comes into the game with 2.5 blocks per game, while consistently forcing bad shots down low.
Why UConn Will Cover The Spread
UConn comes in ranked seventh in KenPom's adjusted ratings this year. They are third in adjusted offensive efficiency this year while sitting 44th in adjusted defensive efficiency. They are 19th in the nation in points per game this year, while sitting third in the nation in effective field goal percentage. UConn has been a great shooting team inside the arc, sitting second in the nation in two-point field goal percentage this year.
UConn has been led by the combination of Cam Spencer, Alex Karaban, and Tristen Newton this year. Spencer comes in with 15.6 points per game on the season, while also having 3.3 assists per game this year. He is shooting over 50 percent on the year while being amazing at the free-throw line. He is shooting 87.5 percent from the free throw stripe this year. Karaban comes in with 15.4 points per game this year, while also shooting 54.4 percent from the field this year. Newton comes in with 14.8 points per game this year while leading the team in assists this year. He has 6.1 assists this year but it shooting just 39.9 percent this year.
UConn sits 62nd in the nation in rebounds per game, but they are tenth in the nation in offensive rebound percentage this year. This is led by Newton, who came in with 6.5 rebounds per game this year, still, most of his are on the defensive end. The major offensive rebounding threat is Donovan Clingan. He comes in with 6.3 rebounds per game, with nearly three rebounders per game being on the offensive side. Further, he scores 13.9 points per game, while shooting 63.2 percent. Still, he has not played since the loss to Seton Hall and may not be back for this one.
On defense, UConn is 32nd in the nation in points against per game this year. They sit 18th in effective field goal percentage this year as well. UConn forces people into the middle, where one of their big men often causes difficult shots this year.
Final Creighton-UConn Prediction & Pick
While Creighton is a strong team, they are not as good as UConn. UConn is better on offense and on defense this year. The only place Creighton is better is in the rebounding game, but UConn is still solid there too. Creighton is talented enough to keep this close though, but at the end of the day, the scoring for UConn will be too much.
Final Creighton-UConn Prediction & Pick: UCONN -5.5 (-110)
