The Big East helps to get our Saturday afternoon going with a matchup between the Creighton Bluejays (9-6, 2-2 Big East) and the Butler Bulldogs (7-9, 0-5 Big East). These teams met twice last season, with the road team winning each time. Creighton just lost on the road against #8 Marquette, going down 79-71 but covering as 10.5-point underdogs. Butler is coming off a tough road loss at Providence, losing 84-65 and coming nowhere near covering the 2.5-point spread as dogs. Tipoff is scheduled for 12:00 EST from Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, and can be found on FOX.
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Who starts off their Saturday with a win? Read on to see our Creighton vs. Butler prediction.
Creighton is in the Middle of the Pack
The teams in the Big East are beginning to separate themselves in the standings, but the Creighton Bluejays are stuck in the middle with a 2-2 league record. Both losses came on the road as they fell at Georgetown and most recently at Marquette. Both of their wins came at home as they took down Villanova and St. John's. They are coming off the loss to Marquette, big man Ryan Kalkbrenner had 16 points and 12 rebounds, but it was not enough as they still lost by eight.
Kalkbrenner is a 7'1, 270-pound center in the middle for Creighton, the senior played his whole career with the Bluejays and is averaging 17.1 PPG and 8.1 RPG. He is second in the conference in rebounding and leads the league in blocked shots with 2.5 per game. Kalkbrenner opened his season with a 49-point game against UT Rio Grande. Their outside shooter is Steven Ashworth, he has 45 made threes on the year on 36.6% shooting from the outside and adds another 16.8 PPG as a 6'0 senior guard. He is third in the Big East with 6.5 assists per game. Pop Isaacs was a big scorer, but is out for the season with a hip injury, leaving 6'5 senior Jamiya Neal as their next-best scorer with 10.9 PPG.
Creighton is currently ranked 48th out of 364 Division I schools according to KenPom. They are 55th in offensive efficiency and 38th in defensive efficiency. They play at the 129th fastest pace in the country based on their offensive tempo.
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Bulldogs Search for First League Win
The Butler Bulldogs have some soul-searching to do, as they come into this matchup on an 8-game losing streak. They were only favored to win two of those games, one bad loss against North Dakota State, and a conference game against Villanova where the nation's leading scorer, Eric Dixon, put up 28 for Nova in the win. They just played two games on the road, losing at St. John's and Providence. They are now 0-5 in the Big East, tied with DePaul for last in the conference. Against Providence, they were led by Pierre Brooks and Jahmyl Telfort who each had 17 points.
Telfort is their leading scorer on the season, he is a 6'7 senior forward getting 15.9 PPG and 4.8 RPG. He can shoot from the outside, but is more likely to attack the basket with his 225-pound frame. Telfort has started every game for Butler over the past two seasons, and scored 25 in the loss to Villanova. Brooks is another wing with size on the perimeter at 6'6, 240 pounds, he is a 6'6 senior averaging 14.9 PPG and 4.6 RPG and has knocked down 30 threes on 45.5% shooting from the outside. Their top shooter is Patrick McCaffery, he is a 6'9 senior transfer from Iowa with 40 made threes and adds another 12.8 PPG.
Butler is ranked 83rd overall according to KenPom. They are 88th in offensive efficiency and 93rd in defensive efficiency. They play slightly slower than Creighton, ranking 183rd in pace of play.
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Best Bets for Creighton vs. Butler
Full-Game Side Bet
Insiders Status:
Butler is not as bad as this eight-game losing streak would imply. According to KenPom's analytics, they are in the top 100 overall, and offensive and defensive efficiency. They have played a tough schedule, four of the eight teams were ranked in the Top 25, they hosted the leading scorer in the nation, and are coming off two tough road conference games. Butler will bounce back here, especially since they have a weapon to combat Creighton's biggest strength. Creighton runs their offense around Ryan Kalkbrenner, he is a mountain in the middle at 7'1, but Butler has an answer. Andre Screen is a 7'1, 260-pound center for Butler, he is not a big scorer, but he doesn't need to be here, he just needs to limit Kalkbrenner's efficiency around the rim, and let his high-scoring forwards take care of the offense. Butler has not given up yet, and matches up well with Creighton, they will get the cover at home.
Take Butler to cover.
Full-Game Total Pick
Insiders Status:
This is going to be a physical game, with each team battling for dominance in the paint. Both teams feature a 7'1 center that will make life difficult for the opposing perimeter players when driving to the hoop in halfcourt situations. Kalkbrenner is leading the Big East in blocked shots, and Andre Screen will need to get more minutes here to battle the big man inside. Neither team is in the top 125 in pace of play according to KenPom, they will fall into a slow rhythm, as neither team will look to push the ball down the floor consistently. Butler has scored 65 or fewer in each of their last three games, and Creighton has the 38th defense in terms of efficiency. The Bulldogs will want to keep this one low-scoring to keep it close.
Take the under.
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