Villanova Wildcats vs. Creighton Blue Jays Betting Preview
Where: Madison Square Garden— New York, New York
When: Friday, March 11, 2017 – 6:30 PM ET
Line: Villanova Wildcats vs Creighton Blue Jays – total: TBA view all NCAA Basketball lines
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Betting on the Villanova Wildcats (30-3, 15-3 Big East)
Thursday night’s tournament semis was supposed to be a revenge-filled crushing of Seton Hall, who upset them in last year’s conference tourney. Instead, it was an almost last-second, come-from-behind 55-53 victory.
Nothing’s wrong with a win like that, of course, but note that the Wildcats really looked like they were about to get embarrassed once again, as they got held to season-low 20 points heading into halftime. They got saved by their patience in the second half and Josh Hart scoring a 19-point, 10-rebound double-double, including an and-one putback that ultimately won the game.
‘Nova won both regular season meetings with Creighton, and they put up 79.5 points on 51.7 percent shooting on those contests. The big three, as expected, powered them through with good season series averages – Hart (17 PPG, 7.5 RPG), Kris Jenkins (18 PPG), and Jalen Brunson (18 PPG, 4 APG).
Through the trio, the team is top 20 in offensive and defensive efficiency rankings, while also being 17-3 in its last 20 games (10-10 ATS).
Betting on the Creighton Blue Jays (25-8, 10-8 Big East)
The Blue Jays just got done winning a thrilling, back-and-forth affair with Xavier to advance to the tourney’s finale, 75-72. It was one of the most exciting games in all of the tournament play thus far, as it featured an ending that had the two teams exchanging threes right before the buzzer.
Marcus Foster and Justin Patton each had a team-high 21 points, with Foster, the team’s main option and leading scorer (18.4 PPG), also hitting the game’s final trey that gave Creighton a three-point lead with just six seconds left. The defense and hustle-minded Patton only had three rebounds, but he did record a pair of blocks and shot an efficient 10-for-13 from the field.
Such victories are a good confidence booster for any team, especially for the Blue Jays who got dominated in both of their previous battles with their next foes. They are netting 83 points on 50.9 percent shooting overall, but could only score 63.5 and shoot for 44.9 percent against Villanova.
Foster should be eyed by coach Greg McDermott to come up big again, as he was able to pile up offense on the ‘Cats in the said meetings – 23.5 points and 4.5 assists.
Writer’s Prediction
‘Nova wins in a cardiac finish.
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