The final game of the night on Thursday in the Big East Tournament might be the best of the tournament so far. The Villanova Wildcats and Creighton Bluejays will square off in that contest, with the Wildcats looking to keep their slim NCAA Tournament hopes alive, while Creighton hopes for another win to help their potential tournament seeding en route to a Big East Tournament title.
Villanova vs Creighton Betting Pick
| ℹ️ The Pick: | Creighton -5 |
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This game will be played at Madison Square Garden at 9:30 PM ET on Thursday, March 9, 2023.
Why Bet on Creighton:
✅ Villanova is playing on the second night of a back to back here, after beating up on Georgetown on Wednesday. That will mean tired legs against a tougher opponent than they faced the night before, which is not a good thing.
✅ Villanova is a bit of fool’s gold here, as they looked great offensively against Georgetown. But they face a Creighton team that ranks 11th in defensive efficiency per Kenpom.
✅ Creighton is 3-2 against the spread in neutral site games, while Villanova is 2-4 in such games on the season.
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Villanova Wildcats: Is This the End?
The Villanova Wildcats kept their season alive on Wednesday, beating Georgetown by 32 points. They held the Hoyas to just 48 points in that contest, leaving the Wildcats needing three more wins to get into the NCAA Tournament. But they will face a tougher opponent in this Villanova vs Creighton contest in the quarterfinals.
For Villanova, the question in this game is whether they can generate enough offense against a much better defensive team than they faced a night ago. They did score 79 points against Creighton in their home win over the Bluejays just before the end of the regular season, but Villanova was held to just 61 points in Omaha.
Creighton Bluejays: Entering a Potentially Hostile Environment
Creighton enjoyed a bye in the first round of the Big East Tournament, by virtue of finishing third in the conference standings in the regular season. Coming into this Villanova vs Creighton matchup, the Bluejays are ranked 24th in the nation and projected as a six-seed by ESPN’s Joe Lunardi. But their play in this game will have an impact on whether they project upward or downward before Selection Sunday.
Three-point shooting is a strength of Creighton, as they are tied for first in the Big East in made threes per game, and rank third in three-point percentage. But the Bluejays shot just 19.2% from deep against Villanova in their loss to them on the road. It will be up to Creighton to shoot the ball more effectively to avoid being upset in the quarters here.
