Oregon’s Dream Run Could End On Saturday
The Oregon vs Creighton Spreads Have Caught Our Attention!
The Oregon Ducks are an 11-seed to watch out for. The Ducks only earned an NCAA Tournament bid after winning the Pac-12 Championship.
Some teams fatigue after a massive Power-5 Conference Championship run. But not Oregon. The Ducks looked well prepared against No. 6 South Carolina and will now take on the Creighton Bluejays in the Round of 32 on Saturday.
While Oregon took care of business, so did Creighton. The Bluejays earned a 17-point win over Akron and scored 77 points in the win. The Bluejays are considered one of the better teams in the NCAA Tournament, with some of the best metrics in college basketball.
Creighton is No. 12 in offensive efficiency and No. 26 in defensive efficiency. Having a college basketball ranking better than 40 in both of those areas typically means you have a chance to win the entire NCAA Tournament. However, it’s no guarantee.
The Bluejays are currently -5.5 (-105), with the total currently at 146.5. Creighton went from -5.5 (-115) to (-105) overnight. However, the Oregon vs Creighton spreads didn’t change. Let’s take a deeper dive into this matchup below.
Oregon Ducks vs Creighton Bluejays 
Location: PPG Paints Arena
Day/Time:
Streaming: TBS
Oregon vs Creighton Spreads & Trends
Oregon might have 24 wins on the season, but the Ducks haven’t been profitable against the spread. Oregon has covered only 17 of 35 games this season, but it has at least hit the Over in 21 matchups this year.
On the other hand, Creighton has covered 18 of 33 games but has hit the Under in one more game than the Over this season.
The last time Creighton and Oregon faced off was in 2011. The game was in Oregon, and the Ducks added a 71-69 win. However, Creighton was a 4.5-point underdog and actually covered the spread. The game also went Under. But again, that was in 2011. It’s been a while since that matchup and now we’re on a different stage in the Men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament.
Jermaine Couisnard’s 40-Piece
In our first preview of the Oregon-South Carolina matchup, we discussed Couisnard playing against his former team. He said he still talked to a couple of players on the team and knew some of the training staff members who were still at South Carolina.
He woke up ready to play this game against his former team. Couisnard scored 40 points and got help from N’Faly Dante’s 23 points to earn a massive upset over South Carolina.
Couisnard’s 40-point game was an Oregon-best in the NCAA Tournament. He also eclipsed the previous record of 39 points against Oregon State in February.
Creighton’s Revenge Tour
Creighton was seconds away from making the Final Four last season. However, the Bluejays dropped a super close one to San Diego State in the final seconds.
The Aztecs got a foul call with 1.2 seconds left on the clock and watched their season end last year in the Elite Eight.
After being so close last season, the Creighton Bluejays really want to get back into the Elite Eight and make a push into the Final Four.
The Bluejays are super focused this season and continue to use that loss as a motivator for this year. Creighton’s journey has been exciting. They’re one of only three teams to beat UConn this year. But that win wasn’t just an ordinary win. It was a 19-point win over the country’s highest-ranked team.
It proves Creighton can beat anyone. The revenge tour continues for Creighton against Oregon in the Round of 32.
There’s No Stopping Creighton
Oregon is on some run right now. But analytically, the Bluejays have been so much better throughout the entire NCAA season.
Creighton has drilled a 57.7% effective field goal percentage, hitting 36.5% from deep and 60.5% from inside the arc this season. This is significant because Oregon has allowed 34.8% from three and 51.3% from two-point range.
Oregon isn’t a quality defense; instead, it gives up a lot of quality shots.
The Ducks are typically good at limiting offensive rebounds, and that will still be the case in this game. But it won’t matter if Creighton scores over 60% from inside the arc.
While the Bluejays don’t get to the foul line much, they’ve also been the best defense in the nation in FTA/FGA. Teams don’t get to the foul line much against Creighton, either.
Creighton isn’t going to try and force steals and be aggressive. Instead, the Bluejays want to force bad shots and clean up the glass.
That’s a likely scenario for this game. Creighton has held teams to 31.7% from deep and 45.8% from inside the arc. Opponents have also hauled in just 24.5% of offensive rebounds.
On the other hand, Oregon has drained just 33.8% from deep and 53% from inside the arc while adding only 28.5% of offensive rebounds. Creighton’s got the edge in all of the major categories. The Bluejays have also been much more consistent throughout the year than Oregon.
Creighton’s NCAA Tournament odds have only increased since its win over Akron. We’ll back the Bluejays at -5.5 (-105) after reviewing the Oregon vs Creighton spreads.
For NCAAB picks and parlays, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
