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Creighton vs. Marquette Prediction and Odds for Friday, December 16th (It Doesn't Get Easier for Slumping Bluejays)

By Reed Wallach

Dec 1, 2022; Austin, Texas, USA; Creighton Bluejays guard Baylor Scheierman (55) drives to the
Dec 1, 2022; Austin, Texas, USA; Creighton Bluejays guard Baylor Scheierman (55) drives to the / Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports
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Creighton entered this season as one of the darlings of the prognosticators, but have stumbled amidst a difficult non conference schedule, losing five straight after a 6-0 start.

The Bluejays will get a chance to turn it around in Big East play, though, but it won't get any easier, as they head to Milwaukee to face a revamped Marquette squad that is 8-3 on the year. The Golden Eagles have blowout wins over Baylor and Notre Dame this season and will look to take out another NCAA Tournament hopeful.

Here are the odds for the Big East opener for each team:

Creighton vs. Marquette Odds, Spread and Total

Creighton vs. Marquette Prediction and Pick

While Creighton is going to round into form at some point, I'm not sure this matchup is the get right spot. Creighton isn't a ball pressure heavy defense, outside the top 300 in turnover rate, but are a strong rebounding unit, a top five defensive rebounding percentage on the year.

However, the Bluejays have been playing without defensive fulcrum, big man Ryan Kalkbrenner, who has been sick for the past two games. We don't know if Kalkbrenner plays, but either way this is an elite Marquette offense on the interior, shooting 61% on two-point shots. If Kalkbrenner can't play, this is a real problem, if the big man can go, this is a fight on the block.

On the other side, Shaka Smart's team is based around their intense ball pressure, 52nd in defensive rebounding rate. However, the Bluejays are top 15 at protecting the rock while playing some heavy ball pressure teams like Arizona State.

Ultimately, Creighton will be fine, but I think that Marquette's two way capabilities are going to be trouble for the Bluejays on the road on Friday night in a Big East opening game. While I'll be looking to catch Creighton in the next few weeks, I need to back the home team to take care of buisness.

Track all of Reed's bets at Betstamp HERE!

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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