Creighton Bluejays (13-3) vs. Connecticut Huskies (15-2)
January 17, 2024 7:00 pm EDT
The Line: UConn Huskies -5.5; Over/Under: 142
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The Creighton Bluejays and the UConn Huskies meet Wednesday in college basketball action from Gampel Pavilion. Creighton is riding a four-game win streak at 13-4 overall, most recently taking out St. John’s. As for UConn, they’ve won five straight at 15-2. The Huskies beat Georgetown on Sunday. Let’s get into our Creighton vs. UConn prediction. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Creighton Bluejays
The Bluejays managed a 9-2 run over their first 11 games this year with losses to only Colorado State and UNLV. Creighton would then fall in consecutive games to Villanova and Marquette, but then beat Georgetown, Providence, DePaul and St. John’s in the next quartet.
In the St. John’s matchup on Saturday, the Bluejays had a close call. Creighton was up 35-30 going into the second half but had to hold on during a 35-31 deficit for the 66-65 win. Leading team scorer Ryan Kalkbrenner posted 18 points with nine boards, and Baylor Scheierman doubled on 17 points and 12 rebounds.
UConn Huskies
Over on the UConn side, they won their first seven straight games before a loss to Kansas. Since then it’s been an 8-1 run with a loss to Seton Hall among wins over North Carolina, AR-Pine Bluff, Gonzaga, St. John’s, DePaul, Butler, Xavier and Georgetown during that stretch.
In the Sunday game versus Georgetown, the Huskies went into the locker room with a 40-31 edge. UConn hit a 40-36 run in the second half on the way to an 80-67 win. Alex Karaban led the way on 26 points with five boards, while Cam Spencer chipped in 20 points with seven rebounds.
ANDREW’S FREE CREIGHTON VS UCONN PREDICTION
I’ll stick with UConn. You could probably argue this one either way, though. The Huskies are playing great these days and coming off a nice win over Georgetown. UConn shot 51.1 percent from the field in that one and 54.2 percent (13-of-24) from 3-point range. The offense is working well; the Huskies have hit 80 or more points in four straight games.
As for Creighton, they’ve been below 70 points in two of the last four (all wins) but have also kept opponents at 60 points or fewer in each outing. The Bluejays will want to slow this one down and dominate the pace with defense, but I think UConn’s offense can break out at home and cover. It’ll be a fun matchup regardless.
