The Gonzaga Bulldogs play in their first official game of the year as the visiting club on Saturday afternoon when the Creighton Bluejays host them at the CHI Health Center in Omaha.
A solid win over Duke in the Maui Invitational followed by a 58-point victory over North Dakota State on Monday have combined to catapult the Bulldogs to the top spot in the early college hoops rankings, ahead of the Blue Devils themselves.
On paper, Duke may have a more impressive team—particularly in terms of NBA Draft prospects—but Gonzaga has played excellent basketball all year, behind its own set of starts, shooting remarkably consistently inside the paint and beyond the arc.
Can this continue at Creighton or can the Bluejays use home court advantage to keep close with the best of the best in college basketball? We’ll see if the Bluejays can keep this one close and watch for the live betting opportunities and a look at where the spread falls at BookMaker.eu.
NCAA Basketball Betting at Bookmaker.eu
Gonzaga Bulldogs at Creighton Bluejays
Date and Time: Saturday, December 1, 2018, 2 p.m. ET
Location: CHI Health Center, Omaha, Nebraska
College Basketball Odds: Check Back Later
Bulldogs vs. Bluejays TV Coverage: FOX
The Bulldogs are the top ranked team in college hoops after their impressive 7-0 run to open the season which includes wins over Illinois, Arizona and Duke in the Maui Invitational.
This team has scored 98 PPG over its first seven as the offense and shooting has been excellent.
Inside the paint, Gonzaga has Rui Hachimura and Brandon Clarke as a dynamic duo, providing height along with athleticism. Both men can shoot, defend and rebound. Hachimura has steadily improved year over year and he’s taken a huge step forward with 21.9 PPG and 5.4 RPG this year. Clarke, meanwhile, has scored 15.9 PPG while notching 7.4 RPG and 4.1 BPG.
Against Duke, Clarke recorded six blocks while Hachimura added three. The two slowed a strong Blue Devil frontcourt while combining for 37 of the team’s 89 points.
Outside, Zach Norvell Jr. and Josh Perkins are a good team. Norvell is second on the team in scoring with 17.3 PPG while Perkins has eight assists per game thus far.
Over the team’s last five games, Norvell has scored at least 15 in each and put up 18 agianst Duke while sinking four of seven shots from three point range.
Shooting from beyond the arc has been the one mediocre part of the team’s game, but Norvell has stepped up in that department in the last two games. The team has shot better than 50-percent from three in those two games.
Gonzaga’s established itself as one of the elite teams in the sport and while strength of schedule issues have been there in years’ past, the schedule has been difficult early and the Zags remain undefeated.
Creighton is a solid team, too. A NCAA Tournament squad last year, the Bluejays are in a bit of a transition, but should still be in consideration to go dancing this season, too.
Replacing all but two starters, the Bluejays brought in some talent to supplement a strong crop of players already in place.
Creighton’s played well against the lesser competition, but did struggle in their first real test of the season, losing to Ohio State.
Against the Buckeyes, the Bluejays managed just 60-points as the team struggled shooting. That’s crucial for a team like Creighton who doesn’t have the size or talent to battle inside and needs to live on the perimeter.
Ty-Shon Alexander will be key in this game. He’s the leader for Creighton with 19.2 PPG though he’s one of four with at least 10 PPG this year. Damien Jefferson is the only forward amongst them, but at 6’5”, he’s not one to control the paint. He’s more of a shooter himself and while he does have a 20 point game against George State this year, he had just two points and four rebounds in the loss to Ohio State. He also managed just five points against Clemson. He’s done most of his shining against the lesser opponents.
Live Betting
The Bulldogs have the better team inside and will wear down the front court of the Bluejays pretty quickly, especially with their size advantage.
It’s the backcourt that may be key to the live betting in this one. As a team, Creighton generally lives outside. The Bluejays are shooting 45.5-percent as a team through six games and boast a solid group of versatile and athletic guards. This is where Creighton needs to find success.
Of course, Gonzaga is a good shooting team inside and out with excellent athletes on the perimeter as well as under the basket. That said, the team’s numbers from three aren’t as strong, shooting just 38.8-percent, while taking fewer shots outside than the Bluejays.
Even with all that, we have had some exceptions already this season with Creighton’s loss to Ohio State coming in a game that struggled outside and, consequently, failed to muster much offense. At the same time, the impressive win by Gonzaga over Duke saw the Bulldogs shooting over 50-percent from three.
Overall, it’ll be important to watch how both teams fair on the outside. We know Gonzaga can push towards the basket and win the battles inside the paint, but can Creighton make up the difference—or at least hold steady—on the perimeter? If they can shoot like they have all year, save their games against Ohio State, from there, they could keep this close, at least for a while. That said, if the Zags are hot outside like in the Duke game, you should bet the spread at BookMaker.eu accordingly.
Key Player
It’s easy to point to a Gonzaga player as the key. Hachimura and Norvell are probably the two best players on the court. Brandon Clarke is the team’s best rebounder and Perkins has an impressive eight assists per game on the young season. Those are all really impressive numbers, but truth be told, this team is deep and a single player doesn’t hold the key for the Bulldogs.
On the other side of this matchup, the Bluejays have some quality players outside that can compete with Norvell and Perkins in the backcourt, but they’re a bit small and are seemingly mismatched inside.
Damien Jefferson is the team’s leading rebounder at 5.5 per game and a good shooter. He’s scoring 10.8 PPG. The next highest total for a forward on the team belongs to Martin Krampelj and he’s the key.
The junior stands at 6’9” which still puts him a hit short, but he’s a solid rebounder and blocker.
Kreampelj also saw more playing time against Clemson and was a big part of the team’s win. He scored a season high eight points while adding a presence inside.
Bulldogs vs. Bluejays Live Betting
The Bluejays are a solid Big East team. They’ll be a bubble team at year’s end for the NCAA Tournament. Gonzaga, meanwhile, is ranked No.1 and has one of the deepest, most balanced rosters in the game. We’ve already seen them top Duke on a neutral court so Creighton in Omaha shouldn’t pose a problem.
Look for the Zags to exploit a Bluejays team in transition. There’s still a lot of youth on that roster and the Bulldogs should be the steady force. The elite front court should wear down a smaller Creighton team who will put up a good fight into the second half before Gonzaga began to break out.
The Bulldogs topped Creighton by 17 points last year and could have a similar result this year, even in Omaha.
Count on a solid game, but Gonzaga should outlast Creighton and win by a solid margin when it’s all said and done.
Check out all of the live betting at BookMaker.eu for this weekend’s college basketball.
NCAA Basketball Score Prediction: Gonzaga 88, Creighton 75
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