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UConn vs Creighton Game Preview, Odds, Picks & Predictions

Creighton Looks for 5th Win in a row against UConn

UConn Has Longest Active Winning Streak in Big East

Third place in the Big East is on the line when the 18th-ranked UConn travels to meet up with Creighton. The Huskies take a five-game winning streak into the game, including a win over preseason favorite Villanova.

Creighton is 3-5 against ranked teams. The game could mean more to the host Blue Jays in their bid to be part of the March Madness bracket. Creighton ranks 66th in the NCAA NET rankings which is a formula that helps the NCAA selection committee award at-large bids into the NCAA tournament while UConn is 17th. The Blue Jays don’t own a Quad 1 win this season while UConn has four.

UConn vs Creighton Game Preview, Odds, Picks & Predictions
Andy Lyons/Getty Images/AFP

In Jerry Palm’s latest Bracketology has UConn as a No. 4 seed and Creighton seeded ninth.

UConn (+6000) has the second-best odds to win the national championship among Big East teams according to the March Madness odds.

UConn Lighting it up from Perimeter

The schedule set up UConn to play one of the best teams in the Big East followed by one of the worst teams in the history of the league.

One constant in the two wins by the Huskies was the ability to connect from long range. UConn had back-to-back games with at least 10 3-pointers for the first time this season in victories against preseason favorite Villanova and last-place Georgetown. It was not a case of volume shooting either as the Huskies shot 47.7% on 3-pointers. Just over 40% of the field-goal attempts in those two games came from 3-point range.

Leading scorer R.J. Cole led the way as he was 6-of-10 from 3-point range in those two games, Tyler Polley and Tyrese Martin were both 4- for-9 and Isaiah Whaley 3-for-5.

UConn has eight players with more than 10 3-pointers with three of them connecting on at least 40% from 3-point range. UConn, which has shot better than 40% on 3-pointers, is 6-1 this season when making at least 10 3-pointers highlighted by making a season-high 15 in a win over Auburn, which is currently ranked fifth in the Associated Press Top 25 poll.

UConn (+1400) trails only Villanova among Big East teams in the odds to reach the Final Four while Creighton comes in at +5000 according to the March Madness predictions.

The Huskies are 2-7-1 against the college basketball spreads in their last 10 games.

Kalkbrenner Making History at Creighton

Ryan Kalkrenner is getting his name mentioned among the best players to suit up at Creighton.

Beginning with a November 16 win over Nebraska, the 7-foot-1 sophomore center has at least one blocked shot in 26 consecutive games. It is the longest streak for a Creighton player since Benoit Benjamin, who played for nine franchises during a 15-year NBA career, had blocked shots in 28 straight games during the 1984-85 season.

Kalkbrenner also became the first Creighton player with 100 offensive rebounds in a season since Randall Crutcher in 1996-97. Kalbrenner, the Blue Jays’ second-leading scorer, has scored in double figures in each of the last six games. He had a quiet game with four points and six rebounds the first time UConn and Creighton played this season but with freshman guard and fourth-leading scorer Ryan Nembhard out for the rest of the season, there could be more offensive responsibility for Kalkbrenner.

Kalkbrenner leads the Big East with 102 offensive rebounds, 12 more than any other player and also leads the conference with 77 blocked shots.

The Las Vegas odds total has gone over in four of Creighton’s last six games.

UConn vs Creighton Head-to-Head

Creighton has won all four games in the series against UConn including a 59-55 victory on February 1 as a 10½-point on the road. It was the second straight game between the teams to finish under the total.

Something of interest for those who bet online, each of the four games between the teams has been decided by eight points or less including Creighton’s 59-56 win in the semifinals of the 2021 Big East tournament. Creighton won 74-66 in the lone home game for the Blue Jays but failed to cover as an 8.5-point favorite.

UConn vs Creighton Game Information

  • Game: UConn (21-7) at Creighton (19-9)
  • Location: CHI Health Center Omaha
  • Day/Time: Wednesday, March 2, 8:30 p.m. ET
  • Television: FS1

UConn Huskies at Creighton Blue Jays Betting Lines

UConn vs Creighton Prediction

UConn and Creighton rank first and second in the Big East in field-goal percentage defense. When the teams met in January, Creighton shot 39% and UConn 30%. The Huskies are playing much better now than they were at that time. Eleven of the last 16 UConn came went over the total. The total of 134½ is a reasonable number and it wouldn’t be surprising to see the game over the total.

The leading scorer for each team has scored more than 2,000 points. Creighton’s Ryan Hawkins has 2,498 points most coming at Division 2 Northwest Missouri State while Cole’s 2,241 points have come during his time at Howard and UConn.

One concern for Creighton is that the Blue Jays rank last in the Big East free throws made and attempted. The Blue Jays also are last in the conference in turnover margin and now without Nembhard, the team leader in assists, turnovers could be even more of an issue.

Pick: UConn Huskies -175

Pick: Creighton Blue Jays +4 (-110)

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