Providence Friars vs. Creighton Bluejays Prediction & Game Preview - 1/11/2022

Time: 9 p.m. ET 

Venue: CHI Health Center, Omaha, NE

Where to watch:  FS1

DraftKings: Creighton -4

BetMGM: Creighton -4.5

Caesars: Creighton -4

No. 23 Providence: 14-2 (4-1 Big East)

Creighton: 10-4 (2-1 Big East)

Providence: won 83-73 vs. St. John's on Jan. 8

Creighton: lost 75-41 at No. 14 Villanova on Jan. 5

It always tends to be a fun time when the Providence Friars and Creighton Bluejays meet in Big East play, and Tuesday’s first matchup between the two should be no exception.

The 23rd-ranked Friars rebounded after their first conference loss on Jan. 4 (32-point loss at Marquette) to win 83-73 against St. John’s because of the play from big man Nate Watson.

Any time you can get a big man to put up some contributions the way he did against St. John’s, you’re in good shape as the season rolls on. The Red Storm had no answer for Watson after he went 9 of 11 for 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds while blocking two shots.

Providence played only seven players and found a way to put up 83 points on 51 percent shooting. Jared Bynum had 18 points on 5 of 12 shooting but went 8 of 9 from the free-throw line. Providence, showing the true mark of a good college basketball team, actually made its free throws by going 26 of 30 as a team.

St. John’s went 8 of 17 from the charity stripe. Never mind the fact the Storm only lost by 10 despite making 41 percent of their shots and shooting an abysmal 5 of 22 from 3. They had 17 offensive rebounds and didn’t do anything else besides that.

But nonetheless, what matters in these trying times is Providence is tied with Villanova atop the Big East conference by way of timely shot making and sound defense. The Friars give up only 63.6 points per game, which if you can hold teams to that mark in the Big East, you’re doing something right.

Creighton is right there at 65.9, but the Jays have run into a path of inconsistency over the past four games; they returned to play after a two-week pause due to COVID on Jan. 1 with a double-overtime victory against the aforementioned Golden Eagles.

They followed that by getting trounced by 34 points to Villanova on the road. Creighton’s offense took the game off by going just 3 of 24 from behind the 3-point line; Alex O’Connell was the only player to score in double figures with 13.

This is going to be a fun matchup because we know what to expect from Providence. It’s Creighton that always provides the most intrigue because of where they always finish every year; a team that can contend for a conference title and make a run in March. It’ll be a hard-fought game, but I like Providence to pull it out in the end. The Friars’ depth will be on display and it’ll be what propels them to win against a team that, at the end of the day, is still finding its identity. Providence by 5

Providence is 5-1 ATS this season after an over.

Providence is 17-7 ATS in its last 24 after winning four or five of its last six.

Creighton is 34-6 straight up at home over the past three seasons.

Creighton is 12-6 ATS in its last 18 after two straight unders.

PG: A.J. Durham

SG: A.J. Reeves
SF: Justin Minaya
PF: Noah Horchler
C: Nate Watson

PG: Ryan Nembhard

SG: Alex O'Connell
SF: Ryan Hawkins
PF: Arthur Kaluma
C: Ryan Kalkbrenner