The Big East’s Creighton Bluejays will be in Philadelphia this Saturday to square off against the Atlantic 10’s Saint Joseph’s Hawks in a battle of two teams looking to remain unbeaten on the year. Tip off from the Michael J. Hagan ’85 Arena is set for 7 p.m. (ET).

Creighton jumped out to a 2-0 start to the new season with a couple of warm-up games against Alcorn State and UMKC in contests that had no posted lines. They closed out last season with a very profitable 6-1 record both straight up and against the spread. The total went “over” in four of those games.

The Hawks are also off to a 2-0 start after opening with a 74-64 victory over Vermont in a game that did not have a posted line, but they did cover as 17-point home favorites this past Wednesday night in an 81-62 win over Marist. The total stayed “under” the 145-point closing line.

Creighton at St. Joes Betting Storylines

Creighton makes the move to the new-look Big East this season from the Missouri Valley Conference despite residing in Omaha, Nebraska, which gives a whole new meaning to a road game. They should be more than capable of competing for their new conference’s title right off the bat with a team that knows how to put points on the board. They are already ranked eighth in the nation in scoring with an average of 101.5 points a game.

At the center of it all for the Bluejays is senior forward Doug McDermott. He averaged 23.2 points a game last year, and he has already tallied 57 points in his first two games this season. As a team, Creighton comes into this contest shooting 53.4 percent from the field and 46.2 percent from three-point range. Depth in scoring has already been an asset, with six different players tallying at least 18 points in their first two games.

The Hawks were a middle-of-the-road team in the A-10 last season with an 8-8 conference record as part of an overall record of 18-14. They were good enough to land a spot in the NIT, but they made an early exit with a 63-61 loss to St. John’s as 6.5-point favorites. The prospect for bigger and better things this season looks pretty good with players like Langston Galloway and Ronald Roberts Jr. back in the fold.

These two have already combined for an average of 39 points in the team’s first two games. Roberts also leads the Hawks in rebounds with 19, but Halil Kanacevic is a close second with 18 boards while dishing out a team-high 11 assists. St. Joes has shot 47.8 percent from the floor in the first two games while averaging 77.5 points. They have connected on 13-of-32 shots from beyond the arc, with Galloway leading the way with a 6-for-12 performance.

Creighton at St. Joes Betting Tends and Game Lines

BookMaker has opened the Bluejays as 3.5-point road favorites for this contest with the total still OFF the board.

The Bluejays are 5-1 ATS in their last six nonconference games but just 1-4 ATS in their last five games against the A-10. The total has stayed under in 21 of their last 30 games on the road.

The Hawks are 5-1 ATS in their last six home games but 1-5 ATS in their last six games against a team with a SU winning record. The total has stayed under in five of their last six games.

Head-to-head, these two have met in five of the last six seasons, with Creighton winning four games SU and St. Joes holding the 3-2 edge ATS. The total has gone over in three of the four games with a posted line.

Free College Basketball Picks: Creighton at St. Joes Betting Predictions

Creighton started the season ranked outside the Top 25 of both major polls, but it should crack that barrier with a win on Saturday that covers the spread. McDermott is the real deal on a vastly underrated Bluejays’ squad that is definitely setting itself up as a team to ride in the early part of the season.

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