We have a Big East regular season finale at the Wells Faro Center as the No. 10 Creighton Bluejays fly to Philly to meet the Villanova Wildcats. Tipoff is set for 2:30 p.m. ET and the game will air on Fox. Nova edged Creighton in a 68-66 overtime victory way back on December 20.
Creighton (22-8, 13-6 Big East) is back in action for the first time in a week, where it handled Marquette in an 89-75 victory last Saturday. This was just a two-point game with just 4:26 left before the Bluejays broke off a 16-3 run to slam the door shut on the Golden Eagles. Baylor Scheierman went off with 26 points, 16 rebounds, and four assists in the win.
Villanova (17-13, 10-9 Big East) lost a battle of bubble teams on Wednesday, falling to Seton Hall 66-56. Both teams struggled from the field by shooting under 40% and the Wildcats simply were not able able to catch back up with the Pirates in the second half. Eric Dixon put up 14 points and six rebounds in the loss.
Dixon dropped 32 points for the Jays in their first matchup against the Cats and he fired off the go-ahead three in overtime. Nova’s strength has been its defense throughout conference play and will have a tough matchup when facing a Creighton team shooting a league-best 60.1% from two. And while the Cats haven’t been the most efficient on offense, they’ve been the most careful in the Big East with a league-low 14.2% turnover rate.
What this game means for Creighton
Creighton enters Saturday sitting in second place in the Big East standings and could officially lock up the No. 2 seed in the Big East Tournament with a win here. A victory here would give the Bluejays their eighth Quad 1 victory of the season and that would go a long ways towards them possibly receiving a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
What this game means for Villanova
Villanova is squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble and didn’t help its own cause with Wednesday’s loss at Seton Hall. A win here would go a long way towards keeping the Wildcats on the right side of the bubble. Otherwise, it could get really tense for the Nova contingent at Madison Square Garden next weekend.
Creighton vs. Villanova odds from DraftKings Sportsbook
Spread: Creighton -1
Total: 137
Moneyline: Creighton -122, Villanova +102
Pick: Under 137
Villanova operates at one of the slowest tempos in the country and thrives when it can muck up games and make things difficult on defense. The under has cashed in 19 of their 30 games this season and with them being at home, I’ll lean towards the under cashing in this regular season finale.