Creighton Bluejays vs Xavier Musketeers Prediction, 2/27/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Creighton Bluejays vs Xavier Musketeers

Date: Saturday, February 27, 2021

Location: Cintas Center in Cincinnati, OH

TV: ESPN3

Odds/Point Spread: Creighton (-4.5)

Cintas Center is the venue where and the Xavier Musketeers (12-5) will take on the Creighton Bluejays (17-5) on Saturday. Xavier opens this matchup as 4.5-point underdogs. The total opens at 148.5.

Creighton steps onto the court with a win-loss record of 17-5 for the campaign. They turn it over 11.4 times per game and as a team they are committing 15.4 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Creighton is collecting 36.0 boards per game and has accumulated 351 assists so far this season, which has them ranked 29th in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. The Bluejays are shooting 36.7% on 3-point shots (214 of 583) and 66.4% from the free throw line. They are averaging 79.0 pts per game (38th in Division 1) while connecting on 48.7% from the field. On the defensive end of the court, the Bluejays are forcing their opponents into 13.1 turnovers per contest and they draw 16.8 personal fouls. The Bluejays defense is allowing a field goal percentage of 39.9% (542 of 1,360) and they concede 36.7 rebounds per game as a team. They are currently ranked 205th in the nation in giving up assists to their opponents with 270 surrendered so far this year. They give up 32.8% on shots from downtown and they are 122nd in college basketball in points per game allowed (68.4).

The Creighton Bluejays took the court against the DePaul Blue Demons and went home with a win by a final score of 77-53 in their last game. Creighton wrapped up the game having earned a 49.1% FG percentage (27 of 55) and knocked down 11 of their 31 shots from beyond the perimeter. From the charity stripe, the Bluejays converted 12 of their 20 attempts for a percentage of 60.0%. In reference to grabbing rebounds, they compiled a total of 34 with 8 of them being offensive. They also dished out 15 assists for the contest in addition to forcing 15 turnovers and earning 10 steals. With regard to defending, Creighton let their opponent shoot 35.5% from the field on 22 of 62 shooting. DePaul dished out 9 assists and had 8 steals in the game. In addition, DePaul pulled down 30 rebounds (9 offensive, 21 defensive) and earned 2 rejections. DePaul shot 66.7% at the free throw line by knocking down 2 of 3 tries. They knocked down 7 of their 24 shots from downtown.

Marcus Zegarowski is one player who was important in the game. He ended up finishing with 13 points on 5 out of 10 shooting. He played 27 mins and also collected 4 rebounds. Zegarowski walked away from this one shooting 50.0% from the field and earned 4 assists. An additional guy that was a major factor in this matchup for the Bluejays was Denzel Mahoney. He totaled 4 rebounds in his 24 minutes on the basketball court. He finished shooting 40.0% from the floor for the game by shooting 4-of-10 (13 points). Overall, Mahoney totaled 1 assist.

Xavier has a mark of 12-5 for the year. As an offense, the Musketeers are connecting on 46.5% from the field, which is 68th in college basketball. Xavier has 1,300 pts on the year (76.5 per contest) and they average 38.1 boards per contest. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 18.1 times per contest (7th in the nation) and they cough up possession 11.5 times per contest. The Musketeers are responsible for committing 15.1 fouls per contest and they go 68.4% from the free throw line. The Musketeers on the defensive end are ranked 194th in the nation in points allowed per contest with 70.4. They have conceded 15.0 assists and 36.9 rebounds every game, which ranks them 303rd and 262nd in Division 1. The Xavier defense allows 33.3% on shots from beyond the perimeter (134 of 402) and their opposition makes 75.0% of their shots from the free throw line. They have forced 11.9 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 40.8% from the field (56th in college hoops).

The last time they took the court, the Xavier Musketeers went home defeated by a final of 83-68 when they faced the Providence Friars. The Musketeers were able to pull down 22 defensive boards and 4 offensive boards for a total of 26 for the matchup. They also turned the ball over 7 times, while recording 7 steals for the game. The Friars earned 16 fouls for this game which got the Musketeers to the free throw line for a total of 15 shots. They were able to knock down 11 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 73.3%. In relation to shots from beyond the arc, Xavier made 3 of their 17 tries (17.6%). When the final whistle blew, the Musketeers shot 27 for 61 from the field which gave them a rate of 44.3%. The Musketeers permitted the Friars to convert 29 of their 54 tries from the field which had them shooting 53.7% in this game. They wrapped up this game 52.4% from downtown by connecting on 11 out of 21 and ended up shooting 14 of 17 at the charity stripe (82.4%). With respect to rebounding, Xavier allowed Providence to get 33 overall (4 on the offensive glass).

Zach Freemantle ended up being a factor for the Musketeers in the matchup. He knocked down 10 of 17 in the matchup giving him a rate of 58.8%, and tallied 12 rebounds. Freemantle tallied 24 points in his 37 mins of playing time and tallied 1 assist for the matchup. An additional guy who came through for Xavier was Paul Scruggs. He ended up walking away with 3 dimes in 34 mins on the court, and he shot 8 out of 21 from the floor. Scruggs ended up shooting 38.1% from the floor and also earning 22 points and 2 boards.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Xavier (+4.5)

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