The Fiserv Forum will host the first Big East Conference NCAAB matchup between the Creighton Bluejays and the Marquette Golden Eagles on Friday (December 16) night.
The Bluejays are 6-5 this season and are on a five-game losing streak after a 73-71 home loss on Monday against the Arizona State Sun Devils. The Golden Eagles, meanwhile, are 8-3 and are riding a two-game winning streak after a 79-64 road win over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Sunday.
Creighton Bluejays vs Marquette Golden Eagles Betting Odds
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Creighton Bluejays vs Marquette Golden Eagles Match Details
Fixture: Creighton Bluejays vs. Marquette Golden Eagles
Time and date: Friday, December 16; 8:30 pm ET
Venue: Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, WI
Creighton Bluejays vs Marquette Golden Eagles Key Stats
The Bluejays are a strong offensive team, averaging 78 points per game. They distributed the basketball well, averaging 16.2 assists over the course of the season.
Junior center Ryan Kalkbrenner has led the team, averaging 15.9 points, 7.6 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 1.6 blocks, and 0.7 steals in 30.2 minutes per game. He definitely made his presence felt throughout the game with his overall production.
Their defense needs a bit of improvement, as they're allowing 69.2 points per game. The Bluejays are doing decently, forcing 4.1 blocks and 5.9 steals per game. They need to continue to improve on that side of the floor to do well and snap their losing streak.
The Golden Eagles are a dominant offensive team as they are scoring 82.2 points per outing and shooting 49.5% from the field. Sophomore guard Kam Jones has been doing well, averaging 16.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 0.3 blocks, and 1.3 steals per game in 29.3 minutes this season.
Defensively, they have been doing decently well throughout the year as they have given up 68.5 points per game. They need to do better as they're forcing 3.6 blocks and 8.7 steals per game up to this point.
Creighton Bluejays vs Marquette Golden Eagles Best Picks and Prediction
The Bluejays might be on a losing streak, but they are losing by an average of 4.4 points per game in that stretch, so they will play a close game either way. The two conference opponents also know one another well, so they will have a very close game and make this a one-possession game when the final buzzer goes off.
The underdog has covered in each of the previous six games between these teams so go with the Creighton Bluejays getting a handful of points to cover the spread here.