Creighton at Arizona State Betting Pick, Prediction & TV Info

Posted by Kenny Bell on Monday,December 19, 2016 2:19, EDT in

NCAA Basketball News, Betting Tips, Picks & Previews

The highest-ranked college basketball team in action on Tuesday during this holiday week is No. 10 Creighton of the Big East as the Bluejays conclude their non-conference schedule by visiting Pac-12 school Arizona State. You can check out for more college basketball odds by clicking here.

Creighton at Arizona State Betting Pick, Prediction & TV Info

Creighton moves up one spot in the @AP_Top25 Poll to No. 9 – matching its highest rank ever! #GoJays #TakeFlight pic.twitter.com/AwtQvvpOHw

— Creighton Basketball (@BluejayMBB) December 19, 2016

When: Tuesday, Dec. 20, 9 PM ET
Where: Wells Fargo Arena, Tempe
TV: ESPN2
Stream: WatchESPN
Radio: Creighton / Arizona State
Opening NCAA Basketball Lines: TBA

Why Bet On Creighton?

The Bluejays (11-0) are one of just a handful of unbeatens left. Creighton hasn’t played that tough of a schedule but does have solid wins over Wisconsin, Washington State, NC State and Ole Miss. This is Creighton’s final non-conference game as it opens Big East play on Dec. 28 vs. Seton Hall, the defending Big East Tournament champion.

Creighton comes off a 66-65 home win over Oral Roberts on Saturday. The Bluejays led by as many as 13 early in the second half, but saw the Golden Eagles (2-10) claw back to take a five-point lead with 6:08 left. But Creighton held Oral Roberts scoreless the rest of the way, taking the lead on Marcus Foster’s short jumper in the lane with 3:28 left. Creighton, which shot 58 percent and had 21 fast break points in the first half, hit just 37 percent of its shots in the second half and didn't have a fast break point. The high-scoring Bluejays, who have averaged 91.6 points per game, scored just 21 points in the first half.

Foster led Creighton with 22 points and shared team-high honors with six rebounds. He scored 10 points in the first three minutes as Creighton bolted to a 12-5 lead in the opening minutes. CU took the lead for good with 3:21 left as Foster overpowered a defender on a drive to the hoop to score from six feet out. Neither team scored in the final 3:21, as ORU missed four shots and had three turnovers in its final six possessions.

Watson became the first Creighton player since Doug McDermott in 2014 to record double-doubles in consecutive games, as the nation’s leader in assists per game finished with 13 points and 10 assists. Patton finished with 10 points and six rebounds while adding a pair of blocked shots.

Creighton improved to 11-0 for the fifth time in program history, and first time since a 12-0 start in 2003-04. Creighton has won 97 straight home games against teams with a .500 or worse record. Creighton has won 67 straight games when scoring 42 points or more in the first half.

Why Bet On Arizona State?

The Sun Devils, coached by former Duke star Bobby Hurley, dropped to 6-5 following an 81-70 home loss to New Mexico State on Saturday. Hurley missed the final 9:47 due to ejection after his second technical foul, which came during a 16-4 Aggies run as they built their lead to 63-47 en route to an eighth consecutive victory.

“I knew it was going to be a hard game,” Hurley said. “We tried to get that across this week. They play both ends very well, get good shots on offense, defend with good energy. So I wish I could have congratulated them for the game they played.”

Leading the Sun Devils was senior forward Obinna Oleka who scored 18, while adding a team-high 11 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season. Three Sun Devils scored in double-figures. Senior guard Torian Graham contributed with 14 points while junior guard Tra Holder notched 13 points, hitting all eight of his free throws. The Maroon and Gold struggled to find a rhythm on the offensive end for most of the night, closing the game shooting 41.3 percent (26-63) from the field, including just 10-33 (.303) in the second half. Three bench players combined for 24 points to give ASU a 24-12 advantage over the NMSU in bench points. ASU shot 14-17 (.823) from the free throw line.

ASU is down to eight scholarship players after the transfer of freshman guard Sam Cunliffe and was without junior guard Maurice O’Field due to a concussion.