Sean Barnard details his pick and prediction for the DePaul Blue Demons vs. the Creighton Blue Jays college basketball matchup.
The college basketball season is winding down with conference tournament action right around the corner. Across the Big East slate tonight, the DePaul Blue Demons and Creighton Bluejays will be facing off as part of tonight’s CBB slate.
This is the second matchup between these two conference opponents. They faced off on February 11th, which resulted in a 72-71 victory by DePaul. Creighton will be looking to even up the season series tonight as each of these teams attempts to scrap their way to a respectable record to close the season.
Looking at the odds, Creighton enters as a 4.5-point favorite and holds -205 odds of winning outright on DraftKings Sportsbook. DePaul holds +170 odds of pulling off the outright upset, with the game total set at 142.5.
DePaul vs. Creighton prediction, preview
The DePaul Blue Demons enter this matchup with a 14-13 record on the season, and have gone 6-10 in Big East play. They suffered a narrow loss to Providence in the previous game, but won back-to-back matchups against Creighton and Seton Hall before this. On the season, DePaul has gone 16-11 against the spread, and the game total has remained under in 18 of their 27 games played.
CJ Gunn leads the team in scoring, posting averages of 14.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game. Layden Blocker adds 11.5 points, 3.6 assists, and 2.4 rebounds, while N.J. Benson is the lone other player to average in double figures with 11.2 points per game, along with a team-high 7.3 rebounds per game. Brandon Maclin, RJ Smith, Kaleb Banks, and Kruz McClure also play key roles in the rotation.
As a team, DePaul is scoring 71.5 points per game, which ranks 286th out of the 364 qualifying D1 teams. They also rank 277th in offensive rating, 258th in field goal percentage, and 261st in three-point percentage. On the defensive end, teams are scoring 69.8 points per game against the Blue Demons, which ranks 73rd in the country. DePaul also ranks 85th in defensive rating, 144th in opponents’ field goal percentage, 11th in opponents’ three-point attempts, and 337th in opponents’ three-point percentage.
The Creighton Bluejays enter with a 14-14 overall record on the season and are 8-9 in Big East Conference play. They are coming off an 81-52 loss to St. John’s in the previous game, and have dropped six of their last eight games. On the season, Creighton has gone 9-19 against the spread, and the game total is 14-14 to the over/under.
Josh Dix leads the team in scoring with 12.1 points per game, along with 3.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists. Austin Swartz adds 10.9 points and 2.6 rebounds, while both Jasen Green and Nik Graves add 10.1 points per game. Green leads the team with 5.6 rebounds per game while Graves posts a team-high 3.4 assists. Blake Harper, Isaac Traudt, and Fedor Zugic also play important roles on the team.
Creighton is averaging 75.7 points per game this season, which ranks 189th among the 365 D1 programs. The Bluejays rank 175th in offensive rating, 176th in team field goal percentage, and 138th in three-point percentage, but attempt the 32nd-most perimeter shots in the country. Defensively, opponents are scoring 75.7 points per game against the Bluejays, which ranks 233rd in the country. They rank 270th in defensive rating, 255th in opponent field goal percentage, 274th in opponent three-point percentage, and are allowing the 21st-fewest free-throw attempts per contest.
DePaul vs. Creighton pick, best bet
In the first matchup between these two teams, DePaul edged out a 72-71 victory. It was a back-and-forth matchup in which neither team took a lead by more than eight points. DePaul had more success on the interior, outscoring Creighton 46-12 in the paint, while Creighton outscored them 42-15 from beyond the three-point arc. Creighton led 71-68 with 2:36 remaining, but crumbled down the stretch, leading to a DePaul victory.
The second matchup will now travel to Creighton’s home court, where I expect a different result. The three-point battle will play a key role in this matchup. Creighton attempts the 32nd-most three-point attempts in the country and ranks 38th in made three-pointers per game. DePaul does an excellent job limiting three-point attempts, ranking 11th in the country, but ranks 337th in opponents’ three-point percentage.
Creighton was able to crack their defense in the first matchup and create good looks, shooting 14-for-27 from the perimeter. This has also been a matchup that Creighton has dominated historically, and expect them to be fired up to avenge the previous loss. The Bluejays have won 23 of the past 24 games against DePaul. The Blue Demons have also struggled to put together a consistent stretch, and have lost 14 of their last 15 road games following a home loss.
While they have had some rough stretches of late, Creighton is the better overall basketball team and expect them to put this on display at home. Count on the Bluejays to push the scoring to a level that DePaul cannot match, and there to be a clearer focus from start to finish in this matchup.
Best Bet: Creighton -4.5 (-112)
