Creighton Bluejays vs St. John's Red Storm Prediction, 12/17/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Creighton Bluejays vs St. John's Red Storm

Date: Thursday, December 17, 2020

Location: Carnesecca Arena in Queens, NY

TV: FS1

Odds/Point Spread: Creighton (-5.5)

The St. John's Red Storm (5-3) play the Creighton Bluejays (4-2) at Carnesecca Arena on Thursday. Creighton opens this game as 5.5-point favorites. The over/under has been set at 161.5.

Creighton heads into this matchup with a record of 4-2 this year. They average 85.0 points per contest (40th in Division 1) while connecting on 50.8% from the floor. The Bluejays are shooting 37.5% on shots from distance (63 of 168) and 68.3% from the free throw line. As a unit, Creighton is collecting 34.3 boards per game and has accounted for 114 dimes on the year, which has them ranked 16th in Division 1 in terms of passing. They are giving up possession 9.5 times per contest and as a squad they commit 14.8 fouls on a nightly basis. On the defensive end of the court, the Bluejays are able to force 14.2 turnovers every game while drawing 16.0 personal fouls. They currently rank 261st in the nation in giving up assists to the opposition with 82 conceded this year. The Bluejays defensively are giving up a FG percentage of 41.1% (152 of 370) and they concede 37.3 rebounds per contest as a squad. They are surrendering 37.6% on 3-point shots and they are 170th in D-1 in opponents PPG (69.8).

The Creighton Bluejays stepped onto the hardwood against the Marquette Golden Eagles and went home with a loss by a final score of 89-84 in their last contest. Creighton wrapped up the contest having earned a 48.3% FG percentage (28 out of 58) and knocked down 14 out of their 32 3-pointers. At the charity stripe, the Bluejays knocked down 14 of their 25 attempts for a rate of 56.0%. In terms of hauling in boards, they collected a total of 25 with 8 of them being offensive. They also recorded 16 assists for this contest while getting 7 steals and 4 blocked shots. Concerning defense, Creighton allowed their opponent to shoot 48.3% from the field on 28 out of 58. Marquette totaled 19 assists and 5 steals in the game. In addition, the Golden Eagles pulled down 40 rebounds (13 offensive, 27 defensive) and added 4 blocks. Marquette finished the game at 65.4% at the free throw line by knocking down 17 of 26 attempts. They also knocked down 12 of their 21 attempts from 3-point range.

Mitch Ballock is someone who was pivotal for the contest. He had 26 points on 9 of 15 shooting. He played for 38 mins and collected 6 rebounds. Ballock finished the contest at 60.0% from the field and also totaled 3 dimes. One more player that had an impact in this matchup for the Bluejays was Damien Jefferson. He grabbed 6 boards and also earned 3 dimes. He went 85.7% from the field for the game via 6-of-7 (17 points). When the final whistle blew, Jefferson played for 33 min.

St. John's has a win-loss record of 5-3 on the year. The Red Storm are committing 19.5 personal fouls every game and they hit 74.0% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 18.0 times per game (34th in college basketball) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 14.4 times per game. St. John's has totaled 656 pts so far this year (82.0 per contest) and they snag 37.8 rebounds per contest. As an offense, the Red Storm are connecting on 46.2% from the floor, which ranks 144th in the country. The Red Storm on defense are ranked 270th in Division 1 in points allowed per contest with 78.3. They give up 14.1 assists and 34.5 boards every game, which has them ranked 226th and 128th in those defensive categories. The St. John's defense concedes 37.6% on shots from 3-point land (70 of 186) and their opponents are knocking down 67.1% of their free throw attempts. They are able to force 19.4 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 48.5% from the floor (297th in the country).

The last time they took the hardwood, the St. John's Red Storm took a defeat with a final score of 97-94 when they played the Georgetown Hoyas. The Red Storm snagged 25 defensive boards and 16 offensive boards for a total of 41 in the matchup. They also stuffed 2 shots while getting 12 steals in this contest. The Hoyas were called for 19 fouls for this contest which got the Red Storm to the charity stripe for a total of 33 tries. They were able to make 24 of those for a rate of 72.7%. In regard to three-point shots, St. John's knocked down 4 of 13 attempts (30.8%). When all was said and done, the Red Storm walked away from this one shooting 33 for 76 from the field which had them shooting 43.4%. The Red Storm allowed the Hoyas to knock down 34 of their 63 tries from the floor which had them shooting 54.0% in this contest. They shot 47.8% from beyond the arc by hitting 11 of 23 and ended up shooting 18 of 24 at the free throw line (75.0%). In reference to rebounding, St. John's permitted Georgetown to pull down 30 overall (5 offensive).

Greg Williams played big minutes for the Red Storm in this contest. He buried 5 of 9 for the contest for a rate of 55.6%, which earned him 13 points. Williams pulled down 2 rebounds in his 40 minutes played and accumulated 6 assists in the game. Someone else who saw a lot of court time for St. John's was Julian Champagnie. He totaled 13 points in 38 minutes played by way of 3 of 11 shooting in the game. Champagnie walked away from this one going 27.3% from the field while earning 2 dimes and 12 rebounds.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take St. John's (+5.5)

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