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The Villanova Wildcats will play the Creighton Bluejays on Friday in a Big East matchup. It's time to continue our college basketball odds series with a Villanova-Creighton prediction and pick.
Villanova and Creighton are set to open Big East play on Friday night. The Wildcats are 7-3 this season but suffered an ugly loss to the No. 1 Baylor Bears on Sunday. Baylor held Villanova to just 36 points in that one on their way to a dominant win. Creighton is 8-3 this season but has lost two of their last three games. The Bluejays last played on Tuesday when they lost a heartbreaker to Arizona State by a score of 58-57. Villanova and Creighton could be two of the better teams in the Big East this season so this is a highly anticipated and important matchup for each side. The Wildcats come in as strong road favorites in this Friday night showdown.
Here is how FanDuel has set the Villanova-Creighton odds for this Friday Big East matchup.
College Basketball Odds: Villanova-Creighton Odds
Villanova -6.5 (-110)
Creighton +6.5 (-110)
Over 133.5 (-105)
Under 133.5 (-115)
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Why Villanova Could Cover The Spread
Villanova comes in as the better team on paper. It is very early in the season however so their top-10 ranking does not a hold a ton of weight. Senior guard Collin Gillespie leads the Wildcats in scoring so far this season with 16 points per game. In 10 games this season, the guard is shooting 43.4% from three and 85.7% at the free throw line. Gillespie also leads Villanova in assists with 3.4 per game. The Wildcats will have a bit to prove in this one as they went just 1-3 in non-conference play vs. ranked teams to start the season.
This will be a tough road test to start conference play for Villanova. The Wildcats are 5-5 against the spread so far this season, and have an 80.1% chance to win this game per ESPN's Basketball Power Index. Villanova averages 74 points per game, while holding opponents to an average of 61.5 points.
Why Creighton Could Cover The Spread
Creighton is 1-1 vs. ranked competition so far this season. They lost to Iowa State at home on Dec. 4, then beat BYU a week later on Dec. 11. Villanova will present another tough test and a familiar one as one of Creighton's top Big East rivals. The Bluejays will be looking to start Big East play on the right note with a big win over No. 9 Villanova. Creighton is led by senior big man Ryan Hawkins. Hawkins leads the Bluejays with 13.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.
Creighton is 4-7 against the spread so far this season and is 1-5 vs. the spread at home. The Bluejays will need to take care of the ball in this one as they struggle to take care of the ball at times, averaging 14 turnovers per game.
Final Villanova-Creighton Prediction & Pick
Take Villanova to cover and win on the road vs. Creighton Friday night. Villanova averages just nine turnovers per game compared to 14 for Creighton, so in addition to having the better team they also should have more possessions in this one. The Wildcats are a perennial Final Four contender under Jay Wright and will look to kick off conference play on the right foot in this Friday night Big East matchup. The under is also a popular play here as the total opened at 134.5.
Final Villanova-Creighton prediction & pick: Villanova -6.5 (-110)