The 3rd-seeded Creighton Bluejays (21-11) and No. 2 Xavier Musketeers (24-8) tussle in a Big East Tournament semifinal Friday in New York. Tip time at Madison Square Garden is slated for 9 p.m. ET (FS1). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Creighton vs. Xavier'odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Creighton, ranked 22nd in the nation, beat 6th-seed Villanova 87-74 Thursday as a 4.5-point favorite to advance. No. 15 Xavier escaped an upset with an 89-84 win over 12-point underdog DePaul. The highest-scoring team in the Big East (82.1 points per game), Xavier has tallied 78 points or more in each game of a current 4-game win streak.
The teams split their reguIar-season meetings. Xavier won 90-87 as 2.5-point home favorites on Jan. 11 as the 151.5 Over cashed. Creighton won 84-67 as 5.5-point home favorites on Jan. 28 while the 157.5 Under hit. Creighton’s win snapped a 4-game losing streak against the Musketeers.