Connecticut (24-2) at Creighton (19-7)
When: Tuesday, February 20th, 2024
Where: CHI Health Center,
Omaha, NE
Time: 8:30 ET | TV: FS1
Opening Odds: Connecticut -2/145
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The Connecticut Huskies are the hottest team in the country and clearly the No. 1 overall seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament, as of right now. The Huskies will put their 14-game winning streak on the line when they visit the Creighton Bluejays on Tuesday night. In the latest rankings that came out on Monday, UConn is the first team this season to be a unanimous No. 1 after their impressive 81-53 win over then-No. 4 Marquette on Saturday. It was the largest margin of victory in a conference game played between a pair of top-five teams in the history of the Associated Press Top 25 poll.
The Bluejays will try and prevent the Huskies from becoming the first Big East team in history to win 15 consecutive conference games. Creighton might not be as hot as the Huskies right now, but the Bluejays are playing some very good basketball. They have won three in a row including two road wins over Xavier and most recently Butler, 79-57 on Saturday. This will be the first time Creighton has been an underdog in a game since losing 62-48 at Connecticut back on Jan. 17 – the Bluejays lowest scoring output of the season.
Including that game, the home team has won four straight and six of seven in the series with UConn covering the spread in the last three. The Under has cashed in six straight meetings dating back to the 2020-21 season. Creighton is just 5-8 ATS at home this season, while the Huskies are 9-3 ATS away from home. UConn is a 3-point favorite in Tuesday’s contest with a total set at 145.5.
RECENT TRENDS
Over is 12-4 in Connecticut’s last 16 Tue. games.
Huskies are 16-6-2 ATS in their last 24 Tue. games.
Bluejays are 1-7 ATS in their last 8 home games.
Over is 6-2 in Creighton’s last 8 overall.
Over is 6-2 in Creighton’s last 8 vs. Big East.
CONNECTICUT HUSKIES
The Huskies put together one of their best games on Saturday in the win over Marquette, led by Donovan Clingan’s 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the floor, while also adding 10 rebounds. Tristen Newton had 15 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, while Cam Spencer and Hassan Diarra each contributed 14 points. The Huskies shot 55.6 percent from the floor in the second half to put the game away, including 58.3 percent from beyond the arc. They also outrebounded the Golden Eagles 45-27.
CREIGHTON BLUEJAYS
Creighton wasn’t looking ahead to this game and were focused on beating Butler on the road. Baylor Scheierman recorded his Big East-leading 12th double-double with 27 points and 10 rebounds in the 22-point victory. It was his sixth consecutive game with a double-double. The Bluejays defense limited the Bulldogs to just 31.6-percent shooting in the second half and 57 points for the game, a season low in conference play. Ryan Kalkbrenner had 21 points for his 13th consecutive game in double figures, while also going over 1,600 points for his career.
PREDICTION
I hate taking road favorites in conference play, but this Huskies team is for real and aren’t afraid of any atmosphere. Creighton has not been good at covering the number at home, going 1-7 ATS in their last eight. Not only do the Huskies rank 14th in scoring defense, but they can put up the points as well, ranking 25th at 82.0 a contest. I’ll lay the three points.
