Picks, predictions for Villanova vs. Creighton in Big East Tournament Quarterfinal

As we enter the quarterfinal round of the Big East Men’s Tournament, the Villanova Wildcats (17-15) will face the No. 24 Creighton Bluejays (20-11) at New York City’s famed Madison Square Garden. Tipping off Thursday, March 9 at 9:30 p.m. ET, Nova and Creighton will be nationally televised on Fox Sports 1.

Let’s take a look at the odds and lines on DraftKings Sportsbook and make some picks.

Villanova vs. Creighton odds in Big East quarterfinals

Spread: Creighton -5
Over/Under: 134
Moneyline: Creighton -205, Villanova +175

The Pick: Villanova +5

We have already seen this week that these conference tournaments can be extremely volatile (see the Big West for example). In this contest between Big East rivals, we’ll get a matchup that we just saw in Philadelphia less than two weeks ago (Feb. 25). On that day, the Wildcats defended their home court valiantly, feasting on the Bluejays 79-67 (similar to the cat-bird dynamic in nature).

Still, in the first head-to-head meeting of the 2022-23 season back on February 4 in Nebraska, it was Creighton who emerged victorious, winning narrowly 66-61. At the moment, ESPN’s Analytical Matchup Predictor gives the Bluejays a 75% to beat Nova at the Garden, but with the way the Wildcats have matched up with Greg McDermott’s group in recent meetings, I expect this to be another tight contest: Give me Villanova to cover the five points they’re getting, and possibly to win SU at +175 on DraftKings Sportsbook.