Creighton Bluejays vs Marquette Golden Eagles Prediction, 1/3/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Creighton Bluejays vs Marquette Golden Eagles

Date: Friday, January 3, 2025

Location: Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, WI

TV: ESPN+

The Creighton Bluejays (8-5) are traveling to Fiserv Forum on Friday where they will attempt to beat the Marquette Golden Eagles (11-2).

The Creighton Bluejays took the court against Villanova and notched a win by a score of 86-79 in their last contest. Creighton wrapped up the contest with a 55.4% field goal percentage (31 of 56) and made 14 of their 25 shots from beyond the perimeter. From the charity stripe, the Bluejays knocked down 10 of their 14 tries for a rate of 71.4%. In relation to getting rebounds, they compiled 29 with 7 of them being on the offensive end. They also dished out 22 dimes in this matchup in addition to forcing the opposition into 1 turnovers and having 1 steal. Concerning the defense, Creighton allowed the other team to go 50.0% from the field on 32 of 64 shooting. Villanova dished out 8 assists and had 4 steals for the matchup. On top of that, Villanova snagged 28 boards (8 offensive, 20 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Villanova walked away from this one shooting 77.8% at the charity stripe by making 7 of their 9 attempts. They knocked down 8 of their 20 tries from 3-point land. When discussing fouls, the Bluejays finished with 8 while Villanova finished the game with 13 fouls.

Ryan Kalkbrenner is one guy who was a major factor in the game. He went 66.7% from the floor and distributed 1 assist. He played 35 mins and also totaled 5 boards. He totaled 23 points on 10 out of 15 shooting.

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Creighton heads into this matchup with a record of 8-5 on the season. They average 76.8 pts per game (162nd in the country) while hitting 47.1% from the field. The Bluejays are shooting 35.1% on 3-point shots (133 of 379) and 77.0% from the free throw line. As a team, Creighton is pulling down 38.0 boards per game and has tallied 225 dimes so far this year, which ranks 35th in the nation in terms of passing the rock. They turn the ball over 13.4 times per game and as a unit they are committing 10.8 fouls every game.

On defense, the Bluejays are forcing 8.5 turnovers per contest while drawing 15.9 personal fouls. They surrender 32.0% on shots from beyond the perimeter while they are 181st in college in PPG allowed (71.1). The Bluejays defense is allowing a field goal percentage of 40.5% (354 of 873) and they surrender 35.5 boards per contest as a group. They are 68th in the nation in giving up assists with 142 surrendered so far this year.

In their last game, the Marquette Golden Eagles went home victorious with a score of 72-70 against Xavier. The Golden Eagles corralled 23 defensive rebounds and 4 offensive boards totaling 27 for the matchup. They also turned the ball over 10 times, while earning 10 steals in the game. Xavier was called for 14 personal fouls for the matchup which got the Golden Eagles to the charity stripe for a total of 11 attempts. They were able to knock down 7 of them for a rate of 63.6%. In regard to 3-point shots, Marquette made 7 of their 19 tries (36.8%). Overall, the Golden Eagles finished 29 out of 59 from the floor which had them at 49.2%. The Golden Eagles allowed Xavier to knock down 24 out of their 52 tries from the floor which had them at 46.2% for the contest. They finished 31.6% from distance by hitting 6 out of 19 and ended up shooting 16 of 20 at the free throw line (80.0%). In reference to rebounding, Marquette permitted Xavier to snag 26 in all (4 on the offensive side).

Kameron Jones ended up being a factor for the Golden Eagles for this game. He had 20 points in his 35 mins on the court and added 8 dimes in this matchup. He converted 8 of 20 in this contest for a field goal rate of 40.0%, and had 4 rebounds.

Marquette has a mark of 11-2 this season. As an offensive team, the Golden Eagles are connecting on 46.8% from the floor, which is ranked 108th in college. Marquette has scored 1,049 points on the campaign (80.7 per game) and they collect 33.9 boards per game. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 14.9 times per game (130th in Division 1) and they are turning it over 9.2 times per game. The Golden Eagles commit 16.5 fouls per game and they hit 73.9% from the charity stripe.

The Marquette defense surrenders 31.6% on three-point shots (91 of 288) and opponents are knocking down 72.0% of their free throw shots. They have allowed 15.1 dimes and 33.5 boards per contest, which ranks 310th and 149th in college hoops. The Golden Eagles defensively are ranked 86th in the nation in PPG given up with 67.3. They are forcing 15.9 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 44.3% from the floor (256th in D-1).

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Creighton

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