It will be a battle between Big East opponents when the Creighton Bluejays (12-5) welcome the No. 12 Providence Friars (14-2) to Qwest Center Omaha. Action gets underway at 8:30 pm ET on Tuesday, Jan. 12 and can be seen on FS1.
The Bluejays come into this game on a high note after defeating Seton Hall 82-67 on Saturday. Geoffrey Groselle led all scorers on the team with 20 points on 7-for-8 shooting. The Friars are coming off a tough 65-64 loss to Marquette on Tuesday. Ben Bentil had a good shooting night, leading the game with 28 points.
Over the last five games, Maurice Watson Jr. has really been playing well for the Bluejays, averaging 16.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, 7.4 assists, 2.0 steals, and 0.8 three-pointers. Bentil has also been on fire in the same span, averaging 23.6 points, 9.4 rebounds, 1.0 assist, 0.6 steals, 1.8 blocks, and 1.0 three-pointer while leading the Friars.
Creighton is favored by a slim one-point margin in its matchup against Providence. According to the oddsmakers, the Over/Under (O/U) is currently 155 points. The Bluejays have gone 12-5 Straight Up (SU) and 10-6 Against The Spread (ATS). They are 7-3 ATS over their last 10 games. The Bluejays are one of the best in Division I in terms of field-goal percentage, shooting a superb .496 from the field. Creighton has the 30th-most assists in Division I, averaging 17.0 per game.
As for their opponent, Providence has a SU record of 14-2 and an ATS record of 9-6. The Friars rank 29th in the country in road scoring, averaging 78.5 points per game. The Friars rarely make costly errors handling the ball. They have the 26th-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the country at 1.49.
These conference rivals meet for what will be their first head-to-head battle of the season. Providence won the last game in the matchup, bringing its SU record in their most recent games to 4-1. Additionally, Providence holds the advantage ATS with a record of 4-1. Providence has held the edge in three key areas (field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers) twice over the last five matchups, while Creighton accomplished this once.
Predictions: SU Winner – Prov, ATS Winner – Prov, O/U – Over
Notes
Creighton is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games.
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Creighton’s last 10 games at home.
Creighton is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Providence.
Creighton and Providence hold winning records against the Big East Conference this season. The Creighton Bluejays sit at 3-1 SU and the Providence Friars have a 2-1 record.
Providence has allowed an average of 69.0 points per away game this season. Creighton averages 90.6 points per home game, ranking eighth in scoring.
In its last game, Providence lost by a margin of one point. Creighton is 0-2 in games decided by a margin of three points or less. Providence has a 2-1 record in close games.
Ranked 81st, the Providence Friars have an offensive rating of 110.9. The Creighton Bluejays rank 186th with a defensive rating of just 102.3.
Creighton is ranked 16th in the country with an average field goal percentage of 49.6%. Providence is an even 1-1 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
This season, Creighton attempts 22.0 three pointers per game and Providence attempts 19.0. In games where they have 20 or more three point attempts, the Creighton Bluejays are 8-4 while the Providence Friars are undefeated at 9-0.
The 23rd-ranked team in the category, Creighton has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.53 this season. Providence ranks 26th with an A/TO of 1.49.
The Creighton Bluejays make an average of 6.5 steals per game. When the Providence Friars allow 6 or more steals, they are a tremendous 6-2.
