Creighton vs. Arkansas Prediction and Odds for Tuesday, November 22 (Creighton's Experience Pays Off)
By Josh Yourish
This is why you absolutely have to love the Maui Invitational and Feast Week. We get some fantastic non-conference college basketball games, like No. 10 Creighton and No. 9 Arkansas.
It will be one of the best matchups in the college basketball season so far and a much needed test for each of these very promising teams. Creighton looked like a legitimate contender yesterday in its 76-65 win over No. 21 Texas Tech and Arkansas absolutely ran Louisville out of the gym, 80-54.
Eric Musselman’s young athletic Razorbacks, or Greg McDermott’s veteran Blue Jays? Let’s take a look at what Vegas thinks.
Creighton vs. Arkansas Odds, Spread and Total
Creighton vs. Arkansas Prediction and Pick
Honestly, I absolutely love both of these teams as contenders this year. I always enjoy Eric Musselman teams and he’s added some serious freshman to his fast-paced style that has been effective in March. Jordan Walsh and Anthony Black have already impressed this year.
Yesterday, Black had 26 points and six assists in the win and Walsh is averaging 8.3 points through his first four collegiate games. Nick Smith Jr. is the final piece of this puzzle, the No. 3 recruit in the nation, but he has yet to take the court.
The Razorbacks finally shot the ball well from behind the arc. For the season they were shooting 22%, but yesterday they went 8-for-22. It’ll be interesting to see if the shooting stays against higher level competition like Creighton. Davonte Davis is the Razorbacks junior leader in the back court and they might have to rely on his experience today, but he was very quiet against Louisville.
The Blue Jays are a very veteran team with one of the best starting fives in the country. They were so balanced against Texas Tech, Arthur Kaluma had 18 points, Trey Alexander had 17, Ryan Nembhard had 16 and Baylor Scheierman finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Their leading scorer this year is actually Ryan Kalkbrenner, their 7-foot-1 center.
I have no questions about Creighton, it can score in a variety of ways and have more than enough shooting. Arkansas probably has a higher ceiling this season, but shooting is still a question and I don’t know how well their freshman will respond to this level of competition.
Pick: Creighton -1 (-110)
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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change