Creighton vs Villanova Pick – Basketball Predictions & Odds 3/9/23
Villanova Wildcats (17-15) vs. Creighton Bluejays (20-11)
March 9, 2023 9:30 pm EDT
The Line: Creighton Bluejays -4.5 / Villanova Wildcats +4.5; Over/Under: +135
(Get latest betting odds)
The Villanova Wildcats and Creighton Bluejays meet Thursday in the college basketball Big East Tournament Quarterfinal at Madison Square Garden. Let’s preview this game and give out a pick and prediction.
The Villanova Wildcats are averaging 69.5 points on 43.8 percent shooting and allowing 67.9 points on 43.9 percent shooting. Eric Dixon is averaging 15.7 points and 6.4 rebounds, while Caleb Daniels is averaging 14.6 points and 4.5 rebounds. Justin Moore is the third double-digit scorer and Cam Whitmore is dishing 0.7 assists. The Villanova Wildcats are shooting 33.2 percent from beyond the arc and 82.3 percent from the free throw line. The Villanova Wildcats are allowing 33.7 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 28.6 rebounds per game.
The Creighton Bluejays are averaging 76.8 points on 46.9 percent shooting and allowing 67.9 points on 42 percent shooting. Ryan Kalkbrenner is averaging 15.1 points and 6.3 rebounds, while Trey Alexander is averaging 13.7 points and 4.1 rebounds. Baylor Scheierman is the third double-digit scorer and Arthur Kaluma is grabbing 6.2 rebounds. The Creighton Bluejays are shooting 35.8 percent from beyond the arc and 76 percent from the free throw line. The Creighton Bluejays are allowing 33.5 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 35 rebounds per game.
The Wildcats are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 neutral site games and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall. The Bluejays are 9-2 ATS in their last 11 neutral site games and 7-0 ATS in their last 7 Thursday games. The under is 9-4 in Wildcats last 13 overall. The over is 6-1 in Bluejays last 7 neutral site games. The underdog is 10-2 ATS in the last 12 meetings.
The Creighton Bluejays are going to be favored for obvious reasons, but Villanova is an experienced team that should be taken seriously this time of year, and its blowout win over Georgetown kind of evens the playing field in terms of rest. Guys didn’t have to work that hard. Villanova just beat up Creighton a couple of weeks ago and is 6-4 ATS as an underdog. I’ll take the points in a game Villanova could win outright.
