The Butler Bulldogs head to Omaha, Neb., to face the Creighton Bluejays Sunday afternoon. This game showcases two Big East rivals with a lot on the line for the Creighton Bluejays.
The Creighton Bluejays are only one game behind Seton Hall in the Big East standings, a win over Butler would put them in prime position to take over if Seton Hall trips up. Creighton currently ranks higher in the NCAA than Seton Hall and could create some space with a win as well.
The Butler Bulldogs are coming off a close loss to Seton Hall on Wednesday night. Now they’ll have a chance to take down the No. 2 team in the Big East. Butler guard Kamar Baldwin will look to repeat his performance against Seton Hall when the Bulldogs face the Bluejays.
It’s a small spread in this one with the Creighton Bluejays -4.5, with the Bulldogs winning the previous matchup, this game becomes tough to pick. Let’s go over both teams and make our decision.
Creighton Bluejays looking to create separation
You might not know it, but the Bluejays have one of the most efficient offenses in the NCAA, ranking 29th in ppg and field-goal percentage. Right now, the Bluejays have the top spot in the Big East right in front of them. A couple of big wins from Creighton and a few losses from Seton Hall will allow the Bluejays to slip right in.
With four straight wins under their belt, Creighton will host Butler, a team that narrowly lost to Seton Hall on Wednesday night. Creighton’s bread and butter against Butler will be their two guards, Ty-Shon Alexander and Marcus Zegarowski. If Creighton looks to hold off Butler, these guards will have to put up the same kind of performance as they did against Marquette.
The last time these two teams met, Butler was able to get the better of Creighton 71-57. You could credit this to Creighton not being very good on the road. Or how Creighton wasn’t able to stop Kamar Baldwin, either way, the Bluejays will need a much better showing this time around.
Creighton has done well against the spread, although they struggle covering spreads at home (8-5-1). A trend to note is how well Creighton has done recently against the spread, boasting a 7-1 record ATS in their last eight games.
Butler looking to finish against Creighton
Butler is coming off two close losses, their first against Georgetown 73-66, followed by a nail-biting loss to Seton Hall 74-72. Finishing strong has been troublesome for the Bulldogs recently, and they’ll need to be on their A-game against Creighton if they want to pull off an upset.
Although Butler has struggled recently, they have been able to pull off a few surprising upsets. An upset of note was their recent win over 10th-ranked Villanova, 79-76. Considering that win and the fact that the last time they played Creighton, the Bulldogs were able to deal them a stunning 71-57 defeat.
Consistency is what seems to be the problem with Butler. Kamar Baldwin & Co. will need to put their two straight losses behind them and focus on stopping Creighton’s 1-2 punch at guard.
The Bulldogs are just over .500 against the spread, 13-12-2. Bettors can put some confidence in the fact that they’ve beaten Creighton before and covered the spread.
Unfortunately, even with having some confidence in their win against Creighton, you have to take into account their 2-8-1 ATS record in their last 11 games.
Pick and Prediction
This is kind of a tough pick to make, Butler has played well against ranked teams and barely lost to Seton Hall a couple of nights ago. That being said, there is a lot on the line for Creighton, a big win here could set them up to take over the Big East. With their streak already at four straight, I have to go with the home team in this one, Creighton Bluejays -4.5.
