We have Tuesday night Big East action to look forward to as the No. 1 Connecticut Huskies hit the road to battle the No. 15 Creighton Bluejays. Tipoff is set for 8:30 p.m. ET and the game will air on FS1. UConn downed Creighton 62-48 in their first matchup back on January 17.
UConn (24-2, 14-1 Big East) has continued to dominate at the top of the Big East standings and had no problem thrashing Marquette in an 81-53 blowout on Saturday. The Huskies built a comfortable lead towards the end of the first half and put away any notion that it would be a competitive, top-five showdown. They held the Golden Eagles to just 36.8% shooting and out-rebounded them 45-27. Donovan Clingan led the way with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
UConn has covered the spread in three straight games and have also done so in six of its last nine.
Creighton (19-7, 10-5 Big East) are winners of three straight and battered Butler in a 79-57 road victory on Saturday. The Bulldogs actually led by one at halftime before Baylor Scheierman and Ryan Kalkbrenner started draining shots in the second half, allowing the Bluejays to fly away for the blowout win. Scheierman had 27 points and 10 rebounds while Kalkbrenner finished with 21 and 6.
The first matchup between these two teams was a rock fight as they both shot under 36% for the game. UConn was still able to maintain control for most of the contest and that was with Clingan playing limited minutes while returning from a foot injury. For this game, Creighton needs to figure out a way to force turnovers as it is last in the Big East with just an 11.1% turnover rate in conference play.
What this game means for UConn
The Big East regular season title is within reach for UConn and the team can move one step closer to that goal with a win. Believe it or not, the defending champs still have a lot to prove as it was ranked No. 2 behind Purdue in the NCAA Selection Committee’s first batch of rankings last Saturday. With the Boilermakers falling the following day, the Huskies have a chance to make an emphatic statement that they should be the No. 1 overall seed with another dominant victory tonight.
What this game means for Creighton
Creighton’s hopes of the Big East regular season title are very slim, but there’s still a chance if everything breaks its way in these last few weeks. Only two teams have been able to crack the defending champions this season and while the Bluejays have already put together a pretty good resume, a victory tonight could put them in the mix for a premium seed in the big dance.
UConn vs. Creighton odds from DraftKings Sportsbook
Spread: UConn -2.5
Total: 143.5
Moneyline: UConn -142, Creighton +120
