Marquette vs Creighton Picks and Odds
- Creighton is a 7.5-point favorite at home over Marquette on Monday night in the Big East opener for both teams
- Creighton point guard Marcus Zegarowski is averaging 15.0 points and 6.0 assists, both team-leading figures
- Get the odds, analysis and betting prediction for this matchup below
Creighton won a share of the Big East championship last season and now begins its chase of back-to-back titles.
The No. 8-ranked Bluejays open conference play by hosting Marquette at 9pm ET Monday at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Neb. It is also the first conference game for the Golden Eagles, who are underdogs in this game.
Marquette vs #8 Creighton Odds
| Team | Moneyline | Spread | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marquette | +280 | +7.5 (-110) | Over 146.5 (-110) |
| Creighton | -350 | -7.5 (-110) | Under 146.5 (-110) |
Odds taken Dec. 13 from FanDuel
Creighton is 4-1 with its lone loss coming by one point at No. 5 Kansas last Tuesday. Against the spread, the Bluejays are 3-2.
Marquette is 4-2 both overall and ATS.
Bounce Back For Creighton
Creighton bounced back from the tough loss at Kansas by handling in-state rival Nebraska 98-74 on Friday at home. The Bluejays were favored by 14.5 points.
Marcus Zegarowski missed the third of three free throws with one second left that would have enabled Creighton to tie the game in Lawrence. However, the junior point guard shook off that disappointment against Nebraska by scoring a team-high 22 points, making five of seven 3-point field goal attempts, dishing out five assists and adding four steals.
🍞 let's get this 🄱🅁🄴🄰🄳 pic.twitter.com/W1xsSmkboh
— Creighton Men’s Basketball (@BluejayMBB) December 12, 2020
Senior wing Denzel Mahoney added 20 points and drained four threes.
Mahoney, who is a starter after winning the Big East’s Sixth Man of the Year award last season, is tied with Zegarowski for the team lead in scoring. Both are averaging 15.0 points. Zegarowski is also averaging 6.0 assists.
Junior Christian Bishop (13.6) and senior forward Damien Jefferson (10.8) also have double-digit scoring averages.
🎥 𝙷𝚞𝚖𝚊𝚗 𝚑𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚕 pic.twitter.com/AAK6Jg6GVE
— Creighton Men’s Basketball (@BluejayMBB) December 12, 2020
Creighton showed its offensive explosiveness against the Cornhuskers, going on a 30-7 run in the second half that stretched its lead from 48-46 to 78-53. The Bluejays made 11 of 14 shots in that stretch, including four dunks.
The Bluejays’ 16 steals accounted for 25 of Nebraska’s turnovers.
Road Unkind To Marquette
After playing their first five game – winning four – at home, Marquette lost on the road Friday night, 69-60 to UCLA at fan-less Pauley Pavilion as a five-point underdog.
The score was tied 56-56 before UCLA went on a game-ending 13-4 run.
However, Marquette was hurt by turnovers and foul trouble. The Golden Eagles turned it over 18 times and were whistled 24 times with guard Koby McEwen fouling out and four other players finishing with at least three personals.
McEwen was limited to 28 minutes and scored nine points, six below the graduate transfer’s team-high average.
KOBY MCEWEN DEATH STARE pic.twitter.com/5OJmKkRX2k
— (2) Marquette Nation (@mubbnation) December 8, 2019
Newcomers D.J. Carton had 18 points and Dawson Garcia scored 12 but no other Marquette players reached double digits.
Carton, a sophomore guard who transferred from Ohio State, is averaging 10.3 points a game. A freshman forward who was a McDonald’s All-American in high school, Garcia is scoring at a 12.2 clip.
The Warriors clearly miss graduated guard Markus Howard, who led the nation in scoring in 2019-20.
Hurting Warriors
Senior forward Theo John is playing through knee pain that has limited his practice time. John logged 26 minutes on Friday and had six rebounds but failed to score.
https://twitter.com/nathanmarzion/status/1331815244616904705
John is averaging 6.8 points and a team-leading 8.2 rebounds.
Marquette sophomore guard Symir Torrance missed the game at UCLA with a toe injury and his status is in question for Monday. He has started three of his five games this season and is averaging 3.8 points.
Bluejays In Charge
Creighton has won three straight games against Marquette after losing seven in a row in the series.
The Bluejays beat the Warriors twice last season, 92-75 in Omaha then 73-65 at Milwaukee.
Look for Creighton to prevail again as the deep and experienced Bluejays are too much for a Marquette team having problems finding scorers.
The Pick: Creighton -7.5 (-110)
John Perrotto has been covering and writing about sports for various outlets for over 40 years. His work has appeared in the likes of USA TODAY, ESPN.com, SI.com, Forbes.com, The Associated Press, Baseball Digest, and more. John is based out of Beaver Falls, PA.
