Creighton vs. Texas Prediction and Odds for Thursday, December 1 (Kalkbrenner is a Tough Matchup on Both Ends)
By Josh Yourish
The No. 7 Creighton Bluejays have already punched with the heavyweights of college basketball out in Maui, and now they have the No. 2 Texas Longhorns in Austin to deal with.
Creighton hasn’t played since their two-point loss to No. 4 Arizona in the Maui Invitational Final, but they have an impressive win over No. 11 Arkansas from their island vacation. Texas didn’t need to travel for a big game, they got Gonzaga, in Austin, and beat them by 19.
Texas is unbeaten at 5-0 and haven’t even had a close call yet, but the close game experience of the 6-1 Bluejays could be the difference in this game.
The Longhorns are favorites in this one, but Creighton can beat any team in the sport. Let’s get right into the odds for this massive Thursday night matchup.
Creighton vs. Texas Odds, Spread and Total
Creighton vs. Texas Prediction and Pick
Not only did Texas beat Gonzaga 93-74, but that is the closest game they have played all season. They aren’t beating teams, they're dismantling them. Tyrese Hunter, the Iowa State transfer is leading them offensively scoring 16.2 points per game and he is only averaging 25.8 minutes a game because of all the blowouts. The team only has four players averaging over 20 minutes on the court through their first five outings.
The Longhorns don’t have a lot of height, but freshman Dillon Mitchell makes up for that with insane athleticism. He is their leading rebounder at 6.8 a game and Dylan Disu averages 2.0 blocks at 6-foot-9. He is the tallest player on the team and he will have to deal with all 7-foot-1 of Ryan Kalkbrenner. Kalkbrenner leads Creighton in scoring, but they have an incredibly balanced and versatile offense when their starting five is on the floor. Trey Alexander is their best isolation scorer, while Ryan Nembhard is the playmaker dishing out 5.7 assists, and Arthur Kaluma and Baylor Scheierman each bring a different element of athleticism or shooting. It’s a really fun team to watch.
Gonzaga is good, but they’re very flawed this year and I know Texas has not seen a team like Creighton yet. It’ll be very interesting to see how their defense responds and I think they struggle with the size of Kalkbrenner. Conversely though, Texas can absolutely play Kalkbrenner off the floor on the other end. He will have to guard Mitchell, Disu, or Timmy Allen off the bench, and all three should be able to beat him off the dribble and score.
This is a unique and interesting matchup that will lead to a lot of points, so let’s take the over, make a bowl of popcorn and enjoy.
Pick: Over 137.5 (-110)
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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change