The Creighton Bluejays are one of the most captivating teams in the country every season. Creighton plays an exciting brand of basketball that’s easy to fall in love with, but it has not had much success come NCAA Tournament time. The Bluejays have not made it to the Sweet 16 since 1974.
Creighton is going to have its work cut out for it if it’s going to make it to the Sweet 16 this season. The Bluejays would have to beat the No. 1 overall seed, the Virginia Cavaliers, on Sunday to get there. First, they need to get past the Kansas State Wildcats though.
This war on the floor will go down Friday, March 16, 2018, at 6:50 p.m. ET at Spectrum Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina. The game will be televised live on TNT. We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game throughout March Madness.
Opening NCAAB Basketball Betting Odds at BookMaker.eu
Kansas State +2
Creighton -2
Over/Under 144.5
You want to enter March on a high note, but Creighton ended up backing its way into a spot after a strong start. The Bluejays did win an overtime thriller against Villanova to cement their bid a few weeks ago, but it’s been tough sledding aside from that. They are 2-7 ATS over their last 10, including three outright losses when the CBB betting lines had them favored.
Kansas State had some nice wins down the stretch in order to make it to the NCAA Tournament in a very difficult conference. The Wildcats knocked off Texas twice and then beat Baylor and TCU in early March to short up their spot here. Bruce Weber’s Wildcats relied on their defense to win games this season, leading to the under posting an 18-11 mark in Kansas State games according to the NCAAB betting odds.
Key Stat
There aren’t many teams that are as efficient on offense as Creighton. The Bluejays spread the floor and create space through pick-and-rolls and dribble handoffs, giving themselves some room to work with.
What really separates this team from others that try to run this style is that everyone can shoot. Creighton is hitting 49.7 percent from the floor this season and of the team’s four leading scorers, no one is shooting less than 49 percent.
This team suffered a tough blow in mid-January when it lost Martin Krampelj for the season with a torn ACL. That somewhat hindered Creighton’s ability to create space as they no longer had a big man who could force opponents outside of the paint with his range. Unsurprisingly, the team’s woes started shortly after that.
Key Injuries
Kansas State is hoping that its two leading scorers will be ready to go in this one. Barry Brown and Dean Wade have been the Wildcats’ two top players all season long, but both were injured at the Big 12 Tournament.
All indications are that Brown will play. He was accidentally poked in the eye in the first minute of action against Kansas in Kansas State’s last game and was held out for the rest of the game as a precaution. Everything seems fine now, and Weber has stated that he expects Brown to be fully recovered by Friday.
Things are a little murkier for Wade. Wade was injured in the win over TCU and missed the Kansas game. He has been in a walking boot with a sprained foot, and the coaching staff seems less confident about his availability for this one. If Wade can’t play, that is a huge blow to Kansas State.
Free March Madness ATS Picks
If Wade was fully healthy coming into this one, I would call for Kansas State to pull off the slight upset. However, he is not likely to be 100 percent even if he plays, so Creighton is going to be the play.
NCAAB Basketball Betting Odds: Creighton 79, Kansas State 73
BookMaker.eu offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker.eu!
