We have Saturday afternoon Big East action in Indianapolis as the No. 17 Creighton Bluejays hit the road to face the Butler Bulldogs. Tipoff is set for 12:30 p.m. ET and the game will air on Fox. Butler upset Creighton in a 99-98 nailbiter when these teams last met just over two weeks ago.
Creighton (18-7, 9-5 Big East) has won two straight games and just bulldozed Georgetown in a 94-72 blowout victory on Tuesday. The Blue Jays let it fly from downtown in the contest, making 17 threes throughout the evening. Trey Alexander connected on six of them and he finished the game with 26 points and five assists.
Butler (16-9, 7-7 Big East) has dropped two of its last three contests and most recently fell in a 78-72 home loss to Marquette on Tuesday. After falling behind in the second half, the Bulldogs managed to cut the lead to two with four minutes left in the game. However, the Golden Eagles pushed their lead out just enough to hold off Butler’s upset bid. Pierre Brooks had 15 points and six rebounds in the loss.
Both teams were evenly matched in their previous encounter as they both shot 55% from the field in that barnburner. Creighton still presents a challenge for Butler offensively as it is shooting 59.2% from two in Big East play while 37.9% of its points are coming from three. the Bulldogs have to use its home-court advantage to make things uncomfortable for the Blue Jays if they want to pull off another upset.
What this game means for Creighton
Creighton is still in the hunt for the Big East regular season title and has a big-time showdown against UConn coming up Tuesday. The Blue Jays can’t get caught in a look-ahead spot today and needs to handle business on the road here.
What this game means for Butler
Butler has had its ups and down throughout Big East play and currently finds itself on the NCAA Tournament bubble as we enter the back half of February. The Bulldogs have four Quad 1 victories on its resume and a win here would go along way towards bolstering their tournament hopes.
Creighton vs. Butler odds from DraftKings Sportsbook
Spread: Creighton -2.5
Total: 151
Moneyline: Creighton -148, Butler +124