Madison Square Garden has seen great basketball all week, and the Big East Tournament comes to a close with a 6:30 p.m. ET tip-off between the Creighton Bluejays and Villanova Wildcats on Saturday. Both teams will be in so a championship, bragging rights, and improving NCAA Tournament seeding.
In a matter of weeks, the teams traded blowout wins, with the home team taking the honors. First, it was Creighton winning 79-59 on Dec. 17.
Villanova returned serve, 75-41, on Jan. 5 in Philadelphia. In both instances, the winning team converted field goals at a high rate, and the loser struggled to find the rhythm.
The line opened at Villanova -6 with an over/under of 129. The line has since moved a half-point to Villanova -6.5 as of this writing.
Villanova Wildcats Betting Preview: Play within themselves
In Villanova’s win, it shot 46% from the field and 35% from 3-point range while holding Creighton to 36% from the field and 12% from 3-point range, along with just eight free-throw attempts. This is more of Villanova’s rule than the exception.
The Wildcats (25-7) is an above-average defensive team, holding teams to 41.0% from the field and 31.9% on 3-pointers this season, ranking 54th and 98th nationally, respectively. They also allow 63.6 points per game, which is 36th nationally, and are the top free-throw shooting team in America, making 82.5% of attempts.
It’s a balanced lineup that is led by two stars: Collin Gillespie and Justin Moore, who average 16.3 and 15.3 points per game, respectively. The duo accounts for 9.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 2.2 steals per game, too. The next four guys in the rotation average between 9.1 points and 10.3 points per game.
Creighton Bluejays Betting Preview: Grab and go
Creighton (22-10) is one of the top rebounding teams in the country, pulling in 35.4 boards per game. That ranks 34th in the country, and the Bluejays will need to grab rebounds and push upcourt to try and get quick buckets against Villanova.
Reason being they are 233rd in scoring offense at 69.0 points per game convert 45.1% of attempts (120th nationally) and 31.0% of 3-pointers (310th nationally). So their offense leaves a lot to be desired, but transition buckets can easily make up for it.
Though it lost Ryan Nembhard for the season, the Bluejays are finding their rhythm and are playing through bigs Ryan Kalkbrenner and Ryan Hawkins. Kalkbrenner, a 7-foot-1 center, is second to Hawkins in scoring and rebounding. Together they put in 27.0 points and 15.2 rebounds per game.
Betting Prediction
Both teams have fared well away from home with above .500 records in true road games, and each are 5-1 in neutral-court games. It’s going to be a classic perimeter versus bigs style clash.
Creighton is 18-14 against the spread and 11-20-1 on over/unders this season. Villanova is 16-15-1 against the spread and 16-16 on over/unders this season.
Expect this game to be tighter than the blowouts seen earlier this season, but Villanova should win and cover the spread with late free-throw shooting.
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