The Butler Bulldogs (10-3) and Creighton Bluejays (8-5) are set to face off Tuesday night, going head-to-head in Omaha. The Big East showdown will tip off at 9 p.m. EST on FS1.
The Bluejays are 5.5-point favorites at home with -258 moneyline odds, and the total has been set at 156.5 points. Here is a preview of the conference matchup featuring odds and lines from DraftKings Sportsbook.
Butler at Creighton Preview, Prediction
Butler Preview
Following a trio of blowout victories over Southern Indiana, IU Indy and Chicago State to open the season, the Bulldogs lost 87-85 on the road against SMU. Butler immediately bounced back with neutral-site wins against South Carolina and Virginia, plus home wins versus Wright State and Eastern Michigan. And while the Bulldogs lost to Boise State at home and No. 6 UConn on the road, they beat Providence and Northwestern by three and are now fresh off a 101-52 blowout over NJIT.
Finley Bizjack has taken a major leap in his third season at Butler, jumping from 10.3 to 16.3 points per game while shooting 35.5% on 7.2 three-point attempts a night. However, he is averaging 8.0 points per game over his last three after topping 20 points in four of his previous five contests. Gonzaga transfer Michael Ajayi, meanwhile, is approaching his previous success at Pepperdine by averaging 16.6 points and 12.2 rebounds per game. Jamie Kaiser, a Maryland transfer who missed all of last season recovering from ankle surgery, is averaging 10.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. South Carolina State transfer Drayton Jones is a defensive stalwart, while Azavier Robinson has been rounding out the starting lineup amid Jalen Jackson’s injury.
The Bulldogs rank top-20 in rebounds and free-throw attempts per game. Their 68.2% free-throw percentage is a red flag, however, given how often they get to the line. Butler’s opponents commit the fifth-most fouls in the country, but they also block the third-most shots and hit the eighth-most field goals overall.
In the latest KenPom ratings, Butler ranks No. 49 in adjusted net efficiency. The Bulldogs are greater than the sum of their parts thanks to their near-perfect balance, ranking No. 58 in adjusted offense and No. 59 in adjusted defense.
Creighton Preview
Although the Bluejays notched comfortable wins over South Dakota, Maryland-Eastern Shore and North Dakota early on in the season, they also lost by 27 to No. 19 Gonzaga on the road. Their trip to the Players Era Festival didn’t go particularly smoothly either, as it featured losses to Baylor and No. 15 Iowa State. It took a 10-point win against Oregon to avoid a sweep in Las Vegas. A 21-point loss at Nebraska and a seven-point home loss to Kansas State sunk Creighton even lower, but it opened Big East play with a 41-point win at Xavier and a 21-point win at home versus Marquette.
Iowa transfer guard Josh Dix leads Creighton with 12.2 points per game while shooting 36.6% from deep and 92.0% from the line. Guards Nik Graves and Blake Harper are averaging 9.5 and 9.3 points per game, respectively. Harper is also averaging 5.0 rebounds per game, as are forwards Jasen Green and Owen Freeman. The Bluejays have seven players in their rotation averaging at least 7.9 points per game. That doesn’t even account for Hudson Greer, who is averaging 8.0 points per game and is a game-time decision Tuesday after missing the last six games. Sophomore forward Jackson McAndrew, on the other hand, suffered a season-ending foot injury, robbing Creighton of a high-volume long-distance shooter.
The Bluejays’ opponents are attempting the fifth-most two-pointers in the country, but the fourth-fewest free throws. Creighton is also bottom-25 when it comes to forcing turnovers.
Creighton ranks No. 44 in the KenPom. It boasts the No. 62 adjusted offense and No. 40 adjusted defense in the country.
Butler at Creighton Pick, Best Bet
The Bulldogs have played six games against high-major opponents and seven against KenPom top-100 teams. Only two of those contests cleared 156.5 total points. As for the Bluejays, only one of their eight games against high-major opponents have gone over that point total.
Butler runs at a top-100 tempo, while Creighton is barely top-250. With the Bluejays playing at home as a team that narrowly leans defense over offense, expect them to control the pace. Should that be the case, the Big East showdown is likely to end up as a lower-scoring affair.
