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The Creighton Bluejays are set to face the San Diego State Aztecs. Check out our March Madness odds series, which includes our Creighton San Diego State prediction, odds, and pick.
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The Creighton Bluejays made the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament last year. Creighton had a senior-laden group with a lot of experience which always expected to reach the second weekend of the Big Dance. With those seniors gone this year, coach Greg McDermott faced what some people thought was a rebuilding job. It was very possible that Creighton would struggle enough to miss the NCAA Tournament. However, Creighton played its way up to an NCAA Tournament standard. The Jays were in position in early February to make the tournament.
Then a huge piece of adversity came their way. Ryan Nembhard, who played over 30 minutes per game and was a core rotational player for McDermott at both ends of the floor, suffered a season-ending injury. Creighton and McDermott immediately had to replace 34 minutes every night, which meant having to go deep into their bench and rely on underclassmen to play spot minutes. Many teams would have crumbled in the face of such a situation, but the Jays responded by beating Marquette and generally holding their ground in the latter half of the season. Creighton made the championship game of the Big East Tournament by crushing Providence, the regular-season champion in the conference. McDermott coached better than he has ever coached before. Creighton showed tremendous resourcefulness, something to note when making a Creighton San Diego State prediction.
The San Diego State Aztecs did not look like an especially good team early this season. The March Madness odds were stacked against them when they lost to USC on a neutral floor and then to Michigan on the road. San Diego State had a very hard time making a significant imprint on its season in the nonconference part of the schedule. The Aztecs knew they would have to accumulate big wins in the Mountain West Conference. Heading into February, they had a lot of work to do.
A road win over Wyoming was the really big turning point in San Diego State's season. The Aztecs accompanied that transformative win with a sweep of Fresno State, a home win over Utah State, and then a big win over Colorado State at the Mountain West Tournament which followed an early-January blowout of the Rams in San Diego. SDSU's body of work in the Mountain West gave the Aztecs enough heft on their resume to make the NCAA Tournament once again. This is something to note when formulating your Creighton San Diego State pick.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Creighton-San Diego State odds:
March Madness Odds: Creighton-San Diego State Odds
Creighton: +2.5 (-110)
San Diego State: -2.5 (-110)
Over: 119.5 (-110)
Under: 119.5 (-110)
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Why Creighton Could Cover the Spread
The Bluejays have played above their years. This young team grew up very quickly in 2022. McDermott is coaching brilliantly. Of course Creighton can win this game.
Why San Diego State Could Cover the Spread
The Aztecs have been excellent over the past month, and if they play the way they have been playing in recent weeks, they should win.
Final Creighton-San Diego State Prediction & Pick
San Diego State was awful in last year's NCAA Tournament. The Aztecs were completely flummoxed by Jim Boeheim's Syracuse zone. There's no zone defense this year. The Aztecs have something to prove and will prevail in what should be a close game.
Final Creighton-San Diego State Pick: San Diego State -2.5
