Creighton Bluejays vs Villanova Wildcats Prediction, 3/9/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Creighton Bluejays vs Villanova Wildcats

Date: Saturday, March 9, 2024

Location: Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA

TV: ESPN+

The Villanova Wildcats (17-13) host the Creighton Bluejays (22-8) at Wells Fargo Center on Saturday.

The Creighton Bluejays stepped onto the hardwood against Marquette and went home with a win by a final score of 89-75 in their last contest. Creighton walked away from the game having earned a 54.1% FG percentage (33 out of 61) and knocked down 13 out of their 32 shots from beyond the perimeter. When they shot from the free throw line, the Bluejays made 10 of their 12 shots for a percentage of 83.3%. In relation to grabbing boards, they compiled a total of 33 with 6 of them being of the offensive variety. They also recorded 19 dimes in this game as well as forcing the other team into 7 turnovers and getting 5 steals. When talking about defense, Creighton allowed their opponent to shoot 46.9% from the field on 30 out of 64 shooting. Marquette doled out 7 dimes and had 3 steals for this game. Moreover, Marquette grabbed 26 rebounds (6 offensive, 20 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. Marquette finished the contest at 60.0% when shooting free throws by converting 6 of their 10 attempts. They made 9 of 29 tries from three-point range. In relation to personal fouls, the Bluejays walked away with 10 and Marquette recorded 9 personal fouls.

Baylor Scheierman is a player who had an impact for the contest. He notched 26 points on 8 out of 17 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 38 minutes played and also grabbed 16 boards. He finished the contest at 47.1% from the field and distributed 4 dimes.

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Creighton steps onto the court with a win-loss record of 22-8 this season. They turn the ball over 10.6 times per game and as a group are committing 11.4 fouls per contest. As a unit, Creighton is snagging 38.0 boards per contest and has accumulated 519 assists for the campaign, which has them ranked 15th in the nation in terms of passing the ball. The Bluejays are hitting 36.5% on three-point attempts (320 of 876) and 77.6% from the charity stripe. They average 81.2 pts per game (30th in D-1) while shooting 49.1% from the field.

On defense, the Bluejays are forcing 7.8 turnovers per contest and they draw 14.6 fouls. They give up 32.0% on shots from downtown and they are ranked 107th in D-1 in PPG from their opponents (69.5). The Bluejays are giving up a shooting percentage of 41.9% (832 of 1,986) and they surrender 33.4 boards per game as a squad. They are ranked 48th in college basketball in giving up assists with 333 surrendered this season.

For their last game, the Villanova Wildcats took a loss by a final score of 66-56 when they played Seton Hall. In the matter of cleaning up the glass, Villanova permitted Seton Hall to pull down 38 in total (12 on the offensive glass). They finished shooting 39.1% from behind the 3-point line by hitting 9 of 23 and finished the contest at 17 out of 22 from the charity stripe (77.3%). The Wildcats permitted Seton Hall to bury 20 of 51 attempts from the floor which gave them a percentage of 39.2% for the matchup. When this game wrapped up, the Wildcats went 19 for 54 from the field which gave them a rate of 35.2%. In regard to three-point attempts, Villanova made 9 out of 27 tries (33.3%). They were able to bury 9 of those for a percentage of 81.8%. Seton Hall was called for 13 fouls for the contest which took the Wildcats to the free throw line for a total of 11 tries. They turned the ball over 11 times, while earning 6 steals for the matchup. The Wildcats were able to collect 20 defensive boards and 7 offensive rebounds totaling 27 for this contest.

Eric Dixon ended up having an impact for the Wildcats for this contest. He made 5 out of 11 for the matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 45.5%, and had 6 rebounds. He recorded 14 points in his 33 minutes on the hardwood and earned 1 assist in the game.

Villanova has a win-loss record of 17-13 so far this season. In terms of offensive execution, the Wildcats are connecting on 42.6% from the floor, which has them ranked 288th in college basketball. Villanova has totaled 2,137 points this season (71.2 per contest) and they pull in 34.9 rebounds per game. They are getting an assist 12.7 times per game (221st in the nation) and they are turning it over 9.5 times per game. The Wildcats are responsible for committing 15.5 fouls per contest and they hit 81.7% from the charity stripe.

The Villanova defense gives up 32.4% on shots from beyond the arc (243 of 749) and their opposition makes 73.4% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have given up 13.0 dimes and 33.8 boards per game, which ranks them 188th and 134th in college hoops. The Wildcats on the defensive end are ranked 23rd in college basketball in PPG surrendered with 65.5. They are forcing their opponents into 10.9 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 40.9% from the field (39th in D-1).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Creighton

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