Connecticut Huskies vs Creighton Bluejays Prediction, 1/23/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Connecticut Huskies vs Creighton Bluejays

Date: Saturday, January 23, 2021

Location: CHI Health Center Omaha in Omaha, NE

TV: FOX

Odds/Point Spread: Connecticut (-1.5)

CHI Health Center Omaha is the site where and the Creighton Bluejays (10-4) will take on the Connecticut Huskies (7-2) on Saturday. The odds on this matchup have Connecticut as 1.5-point favorites. The total has been set at 147.

Connecticut enters this contest with a mark of 7-2 for the season. The Huskies are connecting on 35.7% on shots from downtown (66 of 185) and 69.1% from the charity stripe. They average 72.8 points per contest (164th in the country) while shooting 43.0% from the field. They turn it over 13.0 times per contest and as a unit are committing 18.6 fouls every game. As a team, Connecticut is grabbing 38.3 rebounds per game and has tallied 117 assists for the season, which has them ranked 284th in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. On the defensive end, the Huskies have forced 15.2 turnovers every game and they draw 18.4 fouls. The Huskies defense is allowing an opponent FG percentage of 41.5% (201 of 484) and they surrender 33.2 boards per game as a squad. They rank 29th in college hoops in giving up assists with 92 conceded this year. They are conceding 30.4% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are 38th in college basketball in opponents points per game (63.1).

The Connecticut Huskies took the court against the St. John's Red Storm and took a loss by a score of 74-70 in their last game. Connecticut wrapped up the contest having earned a 40.0% FG percentage (24 out of 60) and converted 7 out of their 19 three-point attempts. At the free throw line, the Huskies made 15 of 23 tries for a percentage of 65.2%. In regard to grabbing rebounds, they earned a total of 28 with 10 of them being of the offensive sort. They also doled out 14 dimes for this contest as well as earning 12 steals and 4 blocks. In reference to defending, Connecticut allowed their opponent to shoot 40.0% from the field on 24 of 60 shooting. St. John's totaled 13 assists and had 8 steals in this contest. Moreover, the Red Storm had 28 boards (7 offensive, 21 defensive) and had 4 rejections. St. John's walked away from this one shooting 70.4% from the free throw line by knocking down 19 of 27 shots. They buried 7 of their 15 attempts from beyond the perimeter.

R.J. Cole is a guy who came through in the game. He notched 18 points on 6 of 16 shooting. He played for 38 mins and also pulled down 3 rebounds. Cole finished shooting 37.5% from the field and also recorded 5 dimes. An additional guy that was a major factor in this matchup for the Huskies was Tyrese Martin. He grabbed 6 boards and accounted for 2 dimes. He finished the game shooting 36.4% from the field for this game by shooting 4-of-11 (14 points). When the final whistle blew, Martin played for 37 min.

Creighton has a win-loss mark of 10-4 on the campaign. Creighton has accounted for 1,135 pts on the campaign (81.1 per game) and they pull down 37.0 rebounds per contest. The Bluejays are responsible for committing 16.0 fouls per game and they hit 66.2% from the free throw line. When it comes to executing on offense, the Bluejays are hitting on 49.0% from the field, which ranks them 38th in college basketball. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 16.7 times per game (39th in college basketball) and they cough up possession 11.2 times per contest. The Bluejays defensively are ranked 155th in D-1 in points given up per game with 69.4. They are able to force 13.0 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 39.9% from the floor (50th in college hoops). The Creighton defense allows 33.2% on 3-pointers (106 of 319) and their opposition knocks down 66.8% of their foul shots. They have relinquished 12.3 dimes and 37.4 rebounds every game, which is 133rd and 276th in those defensive categories.

In their last game, the Creighton Bluejays went home defeated by a final of 74-70 against the Providence Friars. The Bluejays were able to pull down 20 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive rebounds totaling 28 for the contest. They rejected 2 shots while getting 7 steals in the game. The Friars committed 21 personal fouls in this contest which got the Bluejays to the charity stripe for 24 attempts. They were able to bury 16 of the free throw tries for a rate of 66.7%. In reference to shots from distance, Creighton converted 4 out of their 23 tries (17.4%). When this game wrapped up, the Bluejays finished the game shooting 25 out of 58 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 43.1%. The Bluejays permitted the Friars to convert 25 out of their 56 attempts from the floor which left them with a shooting percentage of 44.6% for the game. They finished 27.8% from three-point range by shooting 5 of 18 and ended up shooting 19 out of 26 from the charity stripe (73.1%). When discussing rebounding, Creighton allowed Providence to pull down 39 in total (10 offensive).

Damien Jefferson was important for the Bluejays for the game. He knocked down 9 of 13 for this game giving him a field goal percentage of 69.2%, which earned him 26 points. Jefferson snagged 3 boards in his 36 minutes and earned 2 dimes in the matchup. Another guy that ended up playing a role for Creighton was Marcus Zegarowski. He totaled 17 points in his 36 minutes on the court by way of 4 out of 11 from the floor in the matchup. Zegarowski ended the game having shot 36.4% from the field while also contributing 3 assists and 4 rebounds.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Connecticut (-1.5)

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