The fourth-seeded Creighton Bluejays (21-10) will face the top-seeded Providence Friars (25-4) for a semifinal game in the Big East Tournament Friday. Tip-off from Madison Square Garden in New York is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Creighton vs. Providence odds and lines, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
The Bluejays will enter this game after defeating the fifth-seeded Marquette Golden Eagles 74-63 Thursday, covering as 3-point underdogs. Four players hit double digits in scoring with F Ryan Hawkins leading the way with 18 points.
Creighton is 17-14 against the spread (ATS) on the year and led the Big East at 11-7-2 ATS in conference games.
The Friars handled the Bluejays 72-51 at home Feb. 26. Providence posted a 16-1 straight-up (SU) record at home on the season and was 9-3 on the road, including on neutral courts.
The Friars were 10-8 ATS in conference games but finished the season with three straight covers before failing to cover in their tournament opener against Butler. The No. 10 Friars are led by C Nate Watson, who averages 14.1 points per game.
Rankings courtesy of the Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.
Creighton vs. Providence odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 9:48 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Creighton +130 (bet $100 to win $130) | Providence -180 (bet $180 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Creighton +3.5 (-120) | Providence -3.5 (-113)
- Over/Under (O/U): 131.5 (O: -122 | U: -112)
[tipico]
Creighton vs. Providence odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Creighton 67, Providence 65
Money line
SPRINKLE on CREIGHTON (+130).
Creighton is getting hot at the right time and it should carry some of the energy from its opener into the semifinal after putting up 45 points on the Marquette Golden Eagles in just the second half.
Creighton has recorded wins this season over third-seeded Uconn (twice) and second-seeded Villanova. It also beat BYU and St. John’s (twice).
Two of Creighton’s top-three scorers are seniors, Hawkins and G Alex O’Connell, and it has the size to counter Watson with 7-foot C Ryan Kalkbrenner who is the team’s second-leading scorer.
The Bluejays shot just 31% from the field and 19% from long when the teams met Feb. 26. With an improvement to the mean, I expect the Bluejays to come out on top.
Against the spread
BET on CREIGHTON +3.5 (-120).
Seven of Providence’s last 10 games have ended with margins of 5 points or fewer.
While it has proven it can win games, it certainly hasn’t been blowing teams out, especially in Big East play. Providence beat Marquette by just 2 points Jan. 30.
Providence is just 9-10 ATS as a favorite this season while Creighton is 10-5 ATS as an underdog. It has covered the spread by an average of 3.2 points as an underdog.
While their previous battle didn’t paint Creighton as a competitive matchup, their size and ability to play up their competition should help them cover and potentially win this game.
Over/Under
PASS.
Creighton is 10-20-1 O/U this season, and both teams are better defensively than they are offensively.
Nonetheless, 131.5 is a low enough total that I’d suggest staying away. Their Feb. 26 matchup ended 72-51 in favor of Providence and went under the 135.5 projected total.
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