Creighton Bluejays vs Xavier Musketeers Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 01/15/2022

Game Time: 12:00 pm ET, Saturday, January 15, 2022

Venue:  Cintas Center, Cincinnati, OH

Where to Watch:  Fox

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Creighton +9.5. Xavier -9.5; Over/Under:  141 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Creighton +9.5. Xavier -9.5; Over/Under:  141 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Creighton +9.5. Xavier -9.5; Over/Under:  141.5 points

 

Creighton Bluejays:  10-4 (3rd place, Big East)

Xavier Musketeers:  12-3 (5th place, Big East)

 

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Creighton Bluejays:  3-2 last 5

Xavier Musketeers:  3-2 last 5

 

 

 

Creighton is coming into this game with a 10-4 record overall and they are 2-1 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. This will be their 4th conference matchup of the year and they are currently 2-1 in their conference games this season. They have won 2 of their last 3 games but are coming into this one off of a loss in their last game which snapped a 2 game winning streak that they were on. Their 2 wins in that span were against the Villanova Wildcats and the Marquette Golden eagles while their loss came against Villanova in their last game. Alex O'Connell led the team in points in that game with 13 while Arthur Kaluma was next on the team with 7 pts. Ryan Hawkins led the team in assists in that game with 3 while KeyShawn Feazell led the team in rebounds with 6. They were 35.6% from the field, 12.5% with their 3-pointers, and 75% from the free throw line with their shooting in that game. Their offense is averaging 70.4 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 65.9 PPG against them. Creighton has an ATS record of 6-8 this season and their O/U record is 4-9-1.

 

 

Xavier is coming into this game with a 12-3 record overall and they are 9-1 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. This will be the 5th conference matchup on their schedule this year and they are currently 2-2 in their conference games this season. They have lost 2 of their last 3 games and are coming into this one off of a loss in their last game. Their last win was against the Butler Bulldogs while their 2 losses in that span came against the Villanova Wildcats and Villanova again in their last game. Nate Johnson and Paul Scruggs both led the team in points in that game with 15 each while Jack Nunge was next on the team off the bench with 9 points. Adam Kunkel led the team in assists in that game with 4 while Colby Jones led the team in rebounds with 10. They were 32.7% from the field, 20.8% from the perimeter with their three-pointers, and 79.2% from the free throw line with their shots in that game. Their offense is averaging 75.3 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 62.8 PPG against them. Xavier has an ATS record of 10-5 this season and their O/U record is 6-8-1.

 

Xavier is coming into this contest as a 9.5 point favorite with the current betting odds according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Xavier has been playing great this season but they are coming off of a close loss at home to Villanova in their last game and they will be looking to bounce back here. They lost both of their conference games against Villanova this season but they have played well in their other games, including a big win on the road against Butler by 15 points. They play much better at home and they almost came away with the win against Villanova in that last game. They are going up against a Creighton squad that is also coming off of a bad loss against Villanova, but their loss was by almost 30 points and Xavier kept both of their games with Villanova much closer than that. Creighton will continue to struggle on the road against very good conference opponents and that is what they will be getting here. The best bet to place in this game is on Xavier to cover the spread here.

 

Creighton Xavier Prediction:  Our NCAAB Pick for Saturday, January 15, 2022 (12:00 pm ET start time) is Xavier 81 Creighton 66.

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Creighton Bluejays: 4-9 O/U in all games. 14-22 O/U when the total is 140 to 149.5. 8-14 O/U as an underdog. 3-11 O/U as a road underdog or pick. 7-16 O/U in road games. 17-25 O/U after a conference game. 

Xavier Musketeers: 1-5 O/U after a game with 9 or less assists. 8-16 O/U when the total is 140 to 149.5. 14-20 O/U as a home favorite or pick. 4-11 O/U in a home game where the total is 140 to 149.5. 0-6 O/U after 2 straight games where they had 5 or less steals. 10-20 O/U after 3 straight games forcing opponent to commit 14 or less turnovers.

 

 

Creighton Bluejays:  S. Mitchell (G) out for season - Undisclosed injury.

Xavier Musketeers:  C. Edwards (F) Ques Sat - Ankle injury.

 

 

“Tough news as we were fired up to be back in front of the best fans in the nation. I’m hopeful the Friars get healthy soon. Stay safe everyone.” - Greg McDermott on his team’s game against Providence getting postponed.

 

 

''Zach's got to be better. He knows that. Those shots are going to fall, but he can't let that affect his defense.'' - Travis Steele on Zach Freemantle in their loss against Villanova.

 

 

 

R. Hawkins 

Ryan Kalkbrenner 

A. Kaluma 

Ryan Nembhard 

A. O'Connell

 

J. Hunter 

N. Johnson 

C. Jones 

D. Miles 

P. Scruggs

 

 

PPG: R. Hawkins (13.4)

APG: R. Nembhard (4.4)

Reb/G: R. Hawkins (7.4)

 

PPG: N. Johnson (12.9)

APG: P. Scruggs (4.1)

Reb/G: C. Jones (8.2)

 

Coaches:

Creighton Bluejays: Greg McDermott (12th season)

Xavier Musketeers: Travis Steele (4th season)