Butler vs Creighton Lines: Blue Jays Big Favorites
Blue Jays Ride Defense to Top 20 Ranking
The Butler Bulldogs visit No. 13 Creighton on Friday in a Big East Conference battle. The Bulldogs have bounced back from a rough stretch with three straight wins. Creighton has won seven of its last eight NCAAB games after starting out 0-2 in conference play.
The Blue Jays are getting the job done defensively and that’s been the key reason for their recent success. The Butler vs Creighton lines show the Blue Jays are favored by 9.5 points. The total on the game is at 147.5.
Bulldogs vs Bluejays 
Day/Time:
Location: CHI Health Center, Omaha, Nebraska
Butler Battling For 20 Wins
The Bulldogs (14-7) are going to have to pull off a couple of upsets to get 20 wins. That’s usually the lower bar for NCAA March Madness consideration. The remaining schedule for Butler is tough, beginning with tonight’s game at Creighton. Butler is 5-5 in Big East Conference play, but just 5-5 against the spread.
The Bulldogs haven’t been great on the road this season, going just 2-4 ATS and 3-5 ATS as an underdog. Butler is 12-7-1 in totals this season and 7-3 in conference games.
Butler is a solid offensive team, averaging 80.8 points per game on 45.8% shooting. The Bulldogs take care of the basketball and can hit the outside shot.
Butler is hitting 35.2% of its 3-point attempts in Big East play, which is third in the conference. The Bulldogs’ 2-point shooting percentage has dropped to 47.1% since conference play started. Butler is pretty average in terms of pace.
The Bulldogs aren’t anything special defensively. But they’re not bad, either. Butler ranks No. 8 in the Big East in the KenPom defensive efficiency ratings. The Bulldogs are a little better defending the 3-pointer than the inside. Butler doesn’t force a lot of turnovers and is pretty average when it comes to allowing offensive rebounds.
Blue Jays Best Defensive Team in Conference
Creighton is No. 1 in the KenPom defensive ratings for the Big East. The Blue Jays don’t force many turnovers, but are No. 1 in the conference when it comes to allowing offensive rebounds.
Creighton allows just 41.5 from 2-point range in conference games. The Blue Jays hold college basketball teams to 31.7% on 3-point attempts. Creighton doesn’t send the opposition to the foul line often.
Offensively, the Blue Jays aren’t great. But with their defense, they don’t have to be. Creighton is No. 7 in the Big East in offensive efficiency. The Blue Jays thrive from the inside, hitting a conference-best 56.8% of 2-pointers.
Creighton is No. 7 in the Big East in 3-point percentage, although it shoots plenty of them. Nearly half of Creighton’s field goal attempts (47.7%) are 3-pointers.
Creighton is a bit of a name team and as a result, has gone 10-11 against the point spread so far this year. The Blue Jays are 9-2 straight-up as a home favorite of 8 or more points. But they’ve gone just 4-7 against the spread in those games.
Creighton is 9-12 in totals and 3-7 in Big East play. The Blue Jays haven’t played since Saturday and are 2-0 ATS this year and 5-1 the last three NCAAB seasons when playing with five or six days rest.
What to Expect
The Blue Jays will come out and put up their 3-pointers. The outside shots serve a purpose even if they’re not falling. It keeps the defense guarding the perimeter. That opens up things inside and Creighton has the NCAAB players to take advantage. That’s why it shoots so well from inside the paint.
The Bulldogs need to show a little bit of patience and look for open shots. You don’t always get those against Creighton. Butler should have a little more success shooting from the outside. The Blue Jays are one of the best 2-point defending teams in the country. Your college basketball predictions should have that factored in.
Who to Bet On?
The Butler vs Creighton lines are pretty solid. The point spread of Creighton -9.5 is pretty much what you would expect. It’s indicative of the talent disparity between the two teams and how they’ve played up to this point. The Bulldogs haven’t been great underdogs, while the Blue Jays have struggled a bit as a larger home favorite.
The Butler vs Creighton lines on the total might be a shade high. But it’s definitely in the ballpark. How the teams shoot from the outside will be the determining factor for the total.
Despite being a defensive team, Creighton has scored at least 85 points in its last three games. All three went over the total. But that three-game stretch also ended a run of seven straight unders by the Blue Jays.
Looking at the game strictly for betting value, the under 147.5 is the way to go in this one.
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