The 3rd-seeded Creighton Bluejays (21-11) and No. 2 Xavier Musketeers (24-8) tussle in a Big East Tournament semifinal Friday in New York. Tip time at Madison Square Garden is slated for 9 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.
Creighton, ranked 22nd in the nation, beat 6th-seed Villanova 87-74 Thursday as a 4.5-point favorite to advance. No. 15 Xavier escaped an upset with an 89-84 win over 12-point underdog DePaul. The highest-scoring team in the Big East (82.1 points per game), Xavier has tallied 78 points or more in each game of a current 4-game win streak.
The teams split their reguIar-season meetings. Xavier won 90-87 as 2.5-point home favorites on Jan. 11 as the 151.5 Over cashed. Creighton won 84-67 as 5.5-point home favorites on Jan. 28 while the 157.5 Under hit. Creighton’s win snapped a 4-game losing streak against the Musketeers.
Rankings courtesy the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
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Creighton vs. Xavier odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 7:27 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline: Creighton -175 (bet $175 to win $100) | Xavier +140 (bet $100 to win $140)
- Against the spread (ATS): Creighton -3.5 (-110) | Xavier +3.5 (-110)
- Over/Under (O/U): 152.5 (O: -115 | U: -105)
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Creighton vs. Xavier picks and predictions
Prediction
Creighton 75, Xavier 73
Moneyline
Worth a line watch: Xavier at +155 would be worth some partial-unit action. Otherwise, PASS.
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Against the spread
This series has produced 4 Xavier ATS wins in the last 6 meetings. The Musketeers are 13-3-1 ATS in their last 17 games against teams playing .600 basketball.
This Xavier team appears to play to its level of competition and has fared well against the best teams in the Big East.
Creighton had a sloppy stretch early in the season but then went 11-2 from Dec. 22-Feb. 11. But the Bluejays have faltered in a few spots against tough foes.
Consider a partial-unit play on XAVIER+3.5 (-110).
Over/Under
The Under is 10-2-2 in Xavier’s last 14 against winning teams and 8-2-2 in Creighton’s last 12 against winning teams. The Under is also 2-1 in the last 3 games of this series.
Expect a cranked-up pace and a fair number of triples. But other spiral factors may not be too prevalent. In the neutral building, BACK THE UNDER 152.5 (-105).
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