The Providence Friars and the Creighton Bluejays meet Tuesday in college basketball action from CenturyLink Center Omaha. Providence is 14-2 this year and took out St. John’s in their last game. As for Creighton, they’re 10-4 so far. The Bluejays lost to Villanova in their last game. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Providence posted five straight wins this year before a November 23 loss to Virginia. The Friars got right back to it with an eight-game win streak before falling to Marquette on January 4. In their last game Providence took out St. John’s to move to 14-2.
In the St. John’s game back on Saturday, Providence was down three points at the break. The Friars went on a 48-35 run from there to take an 83-73 win. Nate Watson led the team on 22 points with 11 boards, and Jared Bynum added 18 points.
Over on the Creighton side, they went on a 7-1 run to kick off the year with a lone loss to Colorado State mixed in. The Bluejays are 3-3 in their last six games with losses to Iowa State, Arizona State and Villanova.
Matched up against Villanova on January 5, the Bluejays were outscored 36-22 in the first half and 39-19 in the second during a 75-41 blowout loss. The only Creighton player in double-figures was Alex O’Connell with 13 points.
Creighton is 6-2 ATS in their last eight Tuesday games and the under is 7-2 in their last nine overall. The under is 10-4 in Creighton’s last 14 at home.
Meanwhile, the Friars are 4-1 ATS in their last five road games and 8-2 ATS in the last 10 overall. Providence is 1-6 ATS in the last seven Tuesday games.
PICK: I’m going to stick with Providence. The Friars played well against a good St. John’s squad in their last game, shooting 50.9 percent from the field with 40 rebounds. Providence hit just 3-of-16 (18.8 percent) from 3-point range and had a tepid nine team assists, but it was a nice win.
As for Creighton, they’ve had a tough schedule over the last half-dozen games so the scoring has been spotty. If this one turns into a shootout the Bluejays might have a chance at keeping the pace but I think Providence will ultimately take the cover.