The Villanova Wildcats will look to get back on track, on the road, against the Creighton Bluejays.
In their last outing, the Wildcats scored just 36 points in a blowout loss to Baylor. The Bluejays are also coming off a loss to Arizona State, at home, by one point.
Both teams will look to get back on track Friday night — here are our college basketball picks and predictions for Villanova vs Creighton on Friday, December 17.
Villanova vs Creighton odds
Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.
Villanova opened as a 6-point favorite against Creighton and is now trending upwards to a 6.5-point favorite. Meanwhile, the total has shifted from 129 to as high as 130.5 at multiple outlets.
Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right up until tip-off and be sure to check out the full college basketball odds before placing your bets.
Villanova vs Creighton predictions
Predictions made on 12/16/2021 at 8:30 p.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.
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Villanova vs Creighton game info
• Location: CHI Health Center, Omaha, NB
• Date: Friday, December 17, 2021
• Tip-off: 8:00 p.m. ET
• TV: Fox Sports 1
Villanova at Creighton betting preview
Injuries
Villanova: Bryan Antoine G (Out).
Creighton: None.
Find our latest NCAA basketball injury reports.
Betting trend to know
Wildcats are 9-2-1 ATS in their last 12 Friday games. Find more NCAA betting trends for Villanova vs. Creighton.
Villanova vs Creighton picks and predictions
Our predictions are compiled from the analysis of the spread and total and are indications of where we are leaning for this game.
Our best bet is the play that we like the most for this game, which we would actually put some of our bankroll behind.
Spread analysis
Both of these teams are looking to start a new win streak. Fortunately, for one of them, that’s going to happen.
The Wildcats are still one of the best offenses in the nation, despite only scoring 36 against Baylor. Villanova is shooting an effective field goal percentage of 52% while limiting turnovers to 14.1%.
Villanova is also earning 33.4 % offensive rebounds while shooting 37.7% from long range. The Wildcats aren’t that great at getting to the line and have struggled inside the arc this season, but the good news for Villanova is that it shoots plenty of 3-pointers and makes them at a high percentage.
On the other hand, Creighton limits foul shooting but won’t earn many turnovers. The Bluejays also struggle to contain 3-point shooting, allowing 35% from long range on the year. So, there’s your advantage for Villanova.
Still, Creighton is limiting teams to 42.4% inside, so Villanova will struggle to score inside, but with quality looks from long range, the Wildcats will get their points.
Meanwhile, Creighton has been the exact opposite of Villanova offensively. Creighton is shooting just 30.3 % from long range but 58% from inside. The Bluejays will turn the ball over 20.4% of the time but are earning 30.4% offensive rebounds, which should earn them a couple more possessions in this game.
Villanova, like Creighton, limits teams when it comes to getting to the line, but ultimately, threes are worth more than twos. That favors Villanova in this one.
Prediction: Villanova -6.5 (-110)
Over/Under analysis
Despite Villanova ranking 21st in the nation in defensive adjusted efficiency, Creighton can still score plenty of points inside. The Bluejays are hitting 58% inside the arc and have a higher effective field goal percentage than Villanova on the year.
I get that Villanova is a slow and methodical offense, but as long as the Wildcats are shooting threes, I’m not worried about Villanova scoring. On the other hand, Creighton is a bit faster, and while the Bluejays might turn the ball over a lot of the time, they’ll get some great looks inside. The Bluejays will more than likely get to the foul line more often, which will help, despite Creighton only shooting 69% from the stripe.
I’ll take the Over in this bout for those reasons.
Prediction: Over 129.5 (-110)
Best bet
I’m sticking with the Over here. Both teams are averaging over 70 points per game on the year, and I also think that both teams should be able to reach 70 in this game.
Villanova should be able to get quality looks from long distance while Creighton will more than likely attempt more foul shots and dominate inside the arc on offense.
So, I’ll make my best bet Over 129.5.
Pick: Over 129.5 (-110)
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