The Creighton Bluejays will be at Dunkin’ Donuts Center to play the Providence Friars in a Big East matchup. The game starts at 9:00 pm ET on Wednesday, Mar. 2 and will air on CCS.
The Friars won big over DePaul 87-66 on Saturday. Ben Bentil was the game’s high scorer with 28 points on 9-for-15 shooting. The Bluejays, meanwhile, are coming off a 100-59 win over St. John’s on Sunday. Geoffrey Groselle had a good game and claimed his third double-double of the season, accumulating 22 points and 11 rebounds.
Over the last five games, Maurice Watson Jr. has been on a tear for the Bluejays. During that stretch, he has averaged 19.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 6.6 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.6 three-pointers.
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Friars won the first game 50-48. Kris Dunn was a standout player in the game, producing 20 points, eight rebounds, three assists, one steal, one block, and one three-pointer.
The Friars are looking to build on their records of 20-9 Straight Up (SU) and 14-14 Against The Spread (ATS). Providence is one of the best passing teams in the nation with an average of 15.8 assists per game. Turning to the defensive end, the Friars prevent teams from making three-pointers, ranking 26th in the nation with a .310 opponent field-goal percentage from three-point range.
On the other side, Creighton has a SU record of 18-11 and an ATS record of 17-11. Creighton has been particularly bad ATS over its past 10 matchups, going 3-7. Offensively, they average 79.8 points per game, which is good for 30th in the country. When it comes to making good decisions with the ball, not many are better than the Bluejays. They have one of the top assist-to-turnover ratios in the country at 1.35. The Bluejays have established a reputation of cleaning up the defensive glass with 27.6 defensive rebounds per game, making them one of the top teams in the nation.
In their previous meeting this season, Providence beat Creighton, moving its SU record against Creighton to 5-1 in their most recent head-to-head meetings. The Friars also hold the advantage ATS with a record of 5-1. Providence and Creighton each held the edge in three key areas (field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers) twice in their last five meetings.
Predictions: SU Winner – Prov, ATS Winner – Prov
Notes
Creighton averages 79.8 points per game (ranked 30th). Providence, on the other hand, allows 69.8 points per game (ranked 108th).
In its last game, Creighton won by a margin of 41 points. Providence is 5-1 in games decided by a margin of 18 points or more. Creighton has a 9-2 record in blowouts.
The Creighton Bluejays rank 59th for their offensive rating of 111.9. The Providence Friars have a defensive rating of 98.4 (ranked 53rd).
The Creighton Bluejays average a field goal percentage of 47.1% this season. The Providence Friars have a poor record of 2-5 when opponents have a FG% of 47.1% or greater.
On average, the Providence Friars attempt 21.0 three point field goals per game and the Creighton Bluejays attempt 23.0. In games where they attempt at least 20 threes, Providence has a solid 13-7 record, while Creighton is 13-10.
Providence ranks 42nd in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.34, while Creighton ranks 41st with an A/TO of 1.35.
Creighton makes an average of 6.1 steals per game. Providence has a winning 11-6 record when it allows at least 6 steals.
