Stuck in the middle of the Big East standings with identical 13-7 records overall, Creighton and Seton Hall each look to begin a late surge up the ranks when the Blue Jays visit the Pirates on Friday’s sports betting card.
Let’s go ahead and break down this matchup.
Creighton Bluejays vs. Seton Hall Pirates
Friday, February 04, 2022 – 07:00 PM EST at Prudential Center
Seton Hall has been in a one-step forward, two steps back rut for more than a month as it welcomes Creighton to Newark. It’s almost easy to forget the Pirates were still lingering in the top 25 just a few short weeks ago but have since dropped four of six – with the two wins coming away from home – to fall 5-games off the pace in the Big East.
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It has pretty much been the same story for the Bluejays. Creighton opened its conference slate with wins over Villanova and Marquette, arguably the two best teams in the Big East.
The Bluejays have since lost four of seven, failing to cover the NCAA basketball odds in two of the last three, and are dangerously slipping into bubble territory heading into Friday’s affair.
‘Jays off Upset at UConn
With much of the Lower 48 dealing with the latest winter storm, it’s a good night to stay inside and catch a full evening of college hoops on FS1. The Bluejays and Pirates tip things off on the network, and it’s Seton Hall drawing a chalk line of 6-6½. Both sides have trended to the ‘under’ this year, and Friday’s scoreboard mark is in the 137-138 range.
Last Saturday saw Creighton suffer one of its most embarrassing losses in Greg McDermott’s tenure as head coach. Small underdogs at home against Xavier, the Bluejays came out hot and took a 17-point lead over the Musketeers into the locker room.
McDermott’s crew was then thoroughly dominated in the second half as Xavier opened the period on a 29-2 run and eventually left with a 74-64 triumph.
To their credit, the Bluejays bounced back in admirable fashion earlier this week on the road at Connecticut. BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review) closed Creighton as a 10-point underdog Tuesday night in Harford, and though they briefly gave away another double-digit lead in the second half, the Bluejays hung on to bring a 59-54 victory back home to Omaha.
‘Under’ on 5-Game Roll for Hall
Putting the rock in the basket has been an issue all season for the Pirates, and really noticeable in recent action. Kevin Willard’s squad has connected on just 34.2% (84-245) from the field over the last four games, well below their season clip around 42% that ranks 266th nationally.
The Pirates have actually shot better from outside the last couple of weeks, canning 21-of-84 (25%) from 3-point range the last four games.
Seton Hall has also done a poor job covering the betting odds on the Big East slate, going 2-7 against the spread before just managing to grab the cheddar Tuesday night at Georgetown.
Favored by 6½ against a hapless Hoyas bunch, the Pirates grabbed a 70-63 decision thanks to a strong first half. The final stopped six points shy of the total for the 5th-straight Pirates ‘under.’
Helping the Pirates make up for another poor evening from the field was the fact Seton Hall managed to pull down 16 offensive rebounds. Tray Jackson led the way with 21 points to match his career-best, and Kadary Richmond filled his box score with 13 points, 8 boards and 7 assists.
Pirates Aim to Stop 4-Game Skid in Rivalry
This is the first of two scheduled matchups between the Bluejays and Pirates, with Seton Hall scheduled to be in Omaha for the final regular-season game of the year.
Seton Hall owns a 14-10 advantage in the all-time series, but Creighton holds the slim 9-8 lead as Big East rivals. The Bluejays have gained that advantage by winning the last four meetings and covering the numbers at top sportsbooks each time.
Last year’s contest at Prudential Center was a tale of two halves, and Creighton’s explosive second half was the difference in an 85-81 final. The Bluejays were giving up 2 on the road in the January 2021 clash after annihilating Seton Hall by 36 in Omaha three weeks earlier. The final went past the total by nearly 20, the fourth ‘over’ in the last five contests in Newark.
The Pick
We’re looking at two teams that have been extremely inconsistent, making the difficult process of coming up with a winning college basketball pick even tougher. Given the series history, I’ll take the Bluejays plus the points.
NCAAB Pick: Creighton +6½ (-108) at Heritage Sports (visit our Heritage Sports Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
