Xavier vs Creighton 1/15/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds
Creighton Bluejays (10-4) vs. Xavier Musketeers (12-3)
January 15, 2022 12:00 pm EDT
The Line: Xavier Musketeers -8.5 ; Over/Under: 145.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Creighton Bluejays and the Xavier Musketeers meet Saturday in college basketball action from Cintas Center. Creighton is sitting at 10-4 on the year so far. The Bluejays lost to Villanova in their last outing. As for Xavier, they’re 12-2 this season and also lost to Villanova in their most recent game. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Creighton went 7-1 over their first eight games this year with a lone loss to Colorado State. It’s been a 3-3 run since then with wins over BYU, Villanova and Marquette mixed with losses to Iowa State, Arizona State and Villanova.
In the Villanova game back on January 5, the Bluejays were down 36-22 at the break. Creighton scored just 19 points from there in a 75-41 blowout loss. The only team player in double-figures was Alex O’Connell with 13 points and two rebounds.
Over on the Xavier side, they kicked off the year on a nice 11-1 run; the only blemish was a loss to Iowa State. In the last three games the Musketeers have gone just 1-2 with a win over Butler sandwiched between losses to Villanova.
On Wednesday in the second Villanova matchup, the Musketeers went into the break with a 38-27 deficit. Xavier outpaced the Wildcats 33-26 from there but still lost 64-60. Both Nate Johnson and Paul Scruggs scored 15 points and combined for eight rebounds.
The Musketeers are 7-2 ATS in their last nine at home and 10-4 ATS in their last 14 overall. The under is 9-1-2 in Xavier’s last 12 versus a team with a winning record.
Meanwhile, the Bluejays are 4-10 ATS in their last 14 road games and 4-9 ATS in their last 13 Saturday games. The under is 7-2 in Creighton’s last nine overall.
PICK: I’m going to stick with Xavier. The Musketeers have suffered through a pair of rough outings versus a tricky Villanova team in their last three games, but outside of that the team has been playing well. Xavier has scored 77 points or more in each of their last seven wins.
As for Creighton, they were able to topple Villanova in mid-December but got pummeled in the road rematch last week. That said, the Bluejays are a plucky group; I think they’ll make this one interesting. Still taking Xavier on a potential cover, though.
