The Creighton Bluejays (9-7, 3-2 Big East) and the No. 11 Xavier Musketeers (13-3, 5-0) battle Wednesday in Cincinnati. The opening tip at Cintas Center will be at 7 p.m. ET (FS1). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Creighton vs. Xavier odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Rankings courtesy of the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
Creighton is coming off a 69-60 loss at UConn Saturday, failing to cover as a 7.5-point underdog and snapping a 3-game win streak. The Bluejays shot just 32.8% from the floor and were just 2 of 16 from distance (12.5%). CU had shot a robust 48.6% on 3s during its win streak.
The Musketeers lost 5 straight conference games late last season, but they have won 6 straight Big East games since. That streak includes an 88-80 win as a 2-point underdog at Villanova Saturday. Xavier owns the nation’s 5th-best mark (40.8%) from beyond the arc.
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Creighton at Xavier odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 10:45 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline: Creighton +125 (bet $100 to win $125) | Xavier -155 (bet $155 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Creighton +2.5 (-110) | Xavier -2.5 (-110)
- Over/Under (O/U): 151.5 (O: -115 | U: -105)
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Creighton at Xavier picks and predictions
Prediction
Xavier 77, Creighton 76
Moneyline
Creighton figures as somewhat undervalued comparing key analytics to surface performance. The opposite holds true for Xavier, which has had closer shaves than recent winning scores show.
However, for some acceptable leverage, it’d be optimal to get at least +135 here. PASS.
Against the spread
The underdog has gone 16-5 ATS in the last 21 meetings in this series.
For Creighton, 7-foot-1 C Ryan Kalkbrenner was out (illness) for the back half of a stretch that saw the Bluejays drop 6 in a row from Nov. 23-Dec. 16. Kalkbrenner has been back the last 4 games and has averaged 12.3 points and 3.3 blocks per game. The latter figures to loom large against a Musketeers offense that generates a lot of looks in close.
Peg Xavier as having some distance shooting numbers ripe for regression. The Bluejays are a solid shooting team from the perimeter and are up against an XU unit lacking in defense thereabouts.
Figure this contest as being a near-pick-’em. BACK THE BLUEJAYS +2.5 (-110) on a partial-unit play. Go in full should the spread get to +3.
Over/Under
Expect a fast pace but more than a couple of slow-the-score elements causing a muddled picture. PASS.
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