The defending national championship Villanova Wildcats haven’t played at the same level this season as last and have fallen out of the top-25 in both the AP and Coaches Polls. The Wildcats will try to climb back into those rankings as they journey to Omaha to take on the Creighton Bluejays on Sunday.
While Villanova has slid back a bit, they still represent the most reliable team in the Big East as they continue conference play, looking to improve to 4-0 in the early going in what will be their second road game in the conference schedule.
Creighton, meanwhile, is coming off back-to-back losses after falling short in an overtime battle against Marquette. Can the Bluejays get back to .500 in conference with a win over the Wildcats or will Villanova emerge victorious on the road?
NCAA Basketball Betting at Bookmaker.eu
Villanova Wildcats vs. Creighton Bluejays
Date and Time: Sunday, January 13, 2019, 12 p.m. ET
Location: CHI Health Center, Omaha, Nebraska
College Basketball Odds: Check Back Later
Wildcats vs. Bluejays TV Coverage: FOX
It hasn’t been an easy start to the season for Villanova. The defending national champions have been up-and-down, suffering losses to Furman and Penn, but—at the same time—gaining positive momentum with a big win over Florida State and a near victory in Kansas.
The Wildcats are 12-4 and have started off the conference schedule with three straight victories. This is still a very dangerous team.
Most recently, Villanova toppled St. John’s, 76-71, as Eric Paschall and Phil Booth took the team on their shoulders with 25 and 23 points respectively. Nobody else on the team had more than seven points.
Paschall has 16.3 PPG this year and leads a strong front court that also includes Saddiq Bey and Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree. Paschall is the big scorer inside while Bey is a solid shot and Cosby-Roundtree provides a strong defensive presence, leading the team in blocks and rebounds.
As a whole, Villanova doesn’t have a towering front court and doesn’t stand out on the glass. The team has some good rebounders inside and out, but nobody that dominates the boards.
In the backcourt, Phil Booth contributes a few rebounds per game, but he does much more than that. The team’s leading scorer has 17.6 PPG and is a threat on the perimeter. The fifth year senior has really stepped up his game. He’s scored 46 in the last two games and put up 29 in the near miss to Kansas.
He’s a huge weapon outside with nearly three three-pointers a game. He sinks 45-percent of his shots from the floor and has good vision on the floor as well, leading to 3.5 APG.
Collin Gillespie is a nice compliment to Booth outside. He’s not as strong of a shot, but plays good defense and is a solid ball-handler. He also gives the team another double-digit scorer along with Booth and Paschall.
Joe Cremo is another useful piece outside. His scoring numbers aren’t consistent, but he’s a weapon outside.
As for Creighton, the team is scoring more PPG than Villanova and is a better shooting team overall. At 51.5-percent from the floor and 44.2-percent from the outside, the Bluejays are a very efficient offense.
The team, however, does struggle defensively. This team doesn’t have anyone particularly good at blocking shots nor anyone with as much as one steal per game.
What the team does have, however, is four players with at least 10.5 PPG and six getting at least 9.4 PPG. Creighton primarily uses a six-man rotation with the rest of the roster getting a lot less time, just filling in a few minutes at a time.
Ty-Shon Alexander leads the team with 17.1 PPG. Alexander, Mitch Ballock, Marcus Zegarowksi, and Davion Mintz are a strong backcourt rotation, all able to shoot effectively from three-point range. This team can hammer you from the outside, but can be dependent on the three-pointer.
Even forwards Martin Krampelj and Damien Jefferson can sink the occasional outside shot.
Live Betting
Villanova comes into play with a better record, particularly in conference, and sits No.25 in the KenPom ratings thanks to a strong offense and good-enough defense providing a +18.11 adjusted efficiency margin. Creighton is a few spots further down the list at No.37 with a +15.32 margin.
According to the KenPom numbers, Creighton boasts an excellent offense, one we saw on display in the shoot-out against Marquette a team falling between Villanova and Creighton according to KenPom.
Watch the offenses of both teams early. This should be a high-scoring affair given both teams boast much better offenses than defenses. In particular, though, watch how well Creighton is able to push towards the basket and how well the team is shooting.
The Bluejays have an uphill battle against the Wildcats defense which hasn’t been as good as the offense, but is still better than average with an adjusted defensive metric of 97.1. By comparison, Creighton’s defense is below average at 102.0, the 100 mark represents the average for college hoops.
Based on the early looks, be sure to take advantage of all the props and live betting opportunities available at BookMaker.eu.
Key Player
Since missing the UConn game, Collin Gillespie has regressed in his production with just 18 points scored over the team’s last three games after putting up a combined 36 in the two games prior.
This Wildcats team had a terrible loss to Penn last month, but fought back in their next game, keep a then No.1 ranked Kansas team close in a 71-74 loss. Gillespie didn’t shoot particularly well from the floor in that game, but did score 15 while adding three assists.
Gillespie is a bit more volatile inside than Booth, but when both are on, the two form a dynamic backcourt.
Wildcats vs. Bluejays Live Betting
The Bluejays are a better shooting team from the floor, but have struggled at times from the free-throw line. Villanova is a much more disciplined team on free throws and that could ultimately be the difference in this game.
Look for both teams to score some points, but ultimately Villanova is the more complete teams. Bank on them winning this game on the glass and from the free-throw line.
Count on some solid defense inside from Cosby-Roundtree and goo offensive performances from Paschall and Booth as they spread the court a bit.
At the end, the Wildcats pull this one out in Omaha just as Ohio State, Gonzaga, and Marquette have done. Creighton is a good team and they play top teams tough at home, but are still beatable.
Check out all of the live betting at BookMaker.eu for this weekend’s college basketball action.
NCAA Basketball Score Prediction: Villanova 89, Creighton 86
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