Crick's Picks: 2/21/23

SportsPicks@SportsPicks

February 21, 2023

These are not Sportspicks "Recommended Picks"

2/20/23 Results

3-4 ATS
4-2 ML's Parlay Lost
0-1 "Longshots"

Game of the Night

#10 Marquette vs #19 Creighton

Location: CHI Health Center - Omaha, Nebraska
Tip-Off: 8:30 PM EST

Tale of the Tape

Marquette / Creighton

FGA - 61.0 pg / 59.1 pg
FG% - 49.4% / 46.7%
2P% - 59.3% / 54.8%
3P% - 35.3% / 35.3%
FTA - 16.3 pg / 16.4 pg
FT% - 71.0% / 75.7%
EFG% - 56.7% / 54.0%
DReb% - 68.6% / 76.9%
OReb% - 27.0% / 25.6%
TO's - 10.9 pg / 11.7 pg
Fouls - 15.9 pg / 12.9 pg
Adj. Off Eff - 120.3 / 114.6
Adj. Def Eff - 98.5 / 92.5
PPG - 80.7 pg / 76.3 pg
PAG - 70.6 pg / 67.5 pg
% FGA in Paint - 42.7% / 37.7%

Match-Up

This may not be the "Biggest" game of the night, but I wanted to give some love to the Big East. I could have chosen one of the Top-25 matchups in the Big 12 (#9 Baylor @ #14 Kansas State , #23 Iowa State @ #8 Texas) or the SEC (#11 Tennessee @ #25 Texas A&M), but we talk about those guys plenty. Instead, I want to give credit where credit is due for one of the OG Conferences in College Basketball. The Big East, currently, has five teams ranked in the AP Top 25, and four of those teams have already reached 20+ wins for the season. All 5 of those squads will, most likely, be in the NCAA Tournament Field. However, it's a WIDE-OPEN race for who is going to bring home the regular season crown!! Tuesday night's showdown in Omaha, Nebraska is one of the KEY games left on the schedule that will help decide who will be the #1 seed in the Big East Tourney. #10 Marquette will travel to CHI Health Center to take on the 19th-ranked Bluejays of Creighton. For the time being, the Golden Eagles sit alone atop the Big East standings at 13-3. However, right behind Shaka Smart's crew is a 3-way tie for 2nd between Xavier, Providence, and Creighton. Who are all 12-4 in Big East play. Clearly it's still ANYONE'S race!!
Marquette comes into this contest, winners of 7 of their last 8, coming off a 69-68 home victory over Xavier last Wednesday. Picked to finish 9th in the conference by the league's coaches, during the pre-season, the Golden Eagles are aiming for their first conference title since the 2012-13 campaign. They have four guy's averaging double-digits in scoring, and a 5th player right there knocking on that door. Marquette is led by a pair of Sophomore Guards, Kam Jones (14.9 ppg , 1.4 spg, 35.7% 3-Point) and Tyler Kolek (11.7 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 7.6 apg, 1.7 spg), who are the glue that holds HC Smart's up-tempo offense together. Junior Forward Olivier Maxence-Prosper is averaging 12.7 ppg, and had the game winning tip-in with 1.6 seconds left last week against Xavier. Sophomore Forward Oso Ighodaro averages 11.7 ppg while shooting 65.4% from the field, and classmate David Joplin is shooting 38.8% from long range. The Golden Eagles average 80.7 ppg and can score with anyone, but they have been suspect at times on the defensive end.
Creighton comes into this one right behind Marquette in the Big East standings, and HAVE to have this game to keep themselves in the thick of things coming down the stretch. The Bluejays have won 9 of their last 10 games, the only setback being a 94-86 loss at Providence. Head Coach Doug McDermott has five players averaging 12+ points on the offensive end, and outside of the Providence game, his squad has really picked it up of late defensively. Junior 7-footer, Ryan Kalkbrenner, leads the team in scoring at 14.8 ppg (70.3 FG%) and averages 6.8 rebounds per game. McDermott's back-court consists of Senior Baylor Scheierman (12.9 ppg , 8.1 rpg) and a pair of very talented Sophomore guards, Trey Alexander ( 13.4 ppg , 41.5% 3-Point) and Ryan Nembhard (12.0 ppg , 5.0 apg). Their 5th guy is no slouch either. Sophomore Forward, Arthur Kaluma, averages 12.2 ppg and grabs 6.3 boards per game. McDermott's teams are usually very-well coached, and rarely beat themselves. It'll be ROWDY in Omaha this evening, and if this crowd gets behind their team for 40 minutes, it could be a tall task for Shaka Smart's guy's to steal a W on the road.

Prediction

This league ALWAYS produces some of the most exciting games of the season every single year. Everything from overtime clashes to soul-crushing buzzer-beaters can happen on any given day in the Big East. These two teams have been among the hottest squads in the country for the last month, and I expect a DANDY on Tuesday night!! I believe this is going to be a SLUGFEST throughout this one. Creighton has not lost at Home since December 4th to Nebraska (63-53), and the majority of Marquette's struggles this season have come on the road. Of their 6 losses, 5 have come in "true" road games or at a "neutral" site, and I believe they'll have their hands FULL on Tuesday night. I do see this being a battle all the way into the waning minutes of the game. The Golden Eagles are a scrappy bunch, and Shaka Smart's teams ALWAYS battle for 40 minutes and will do so again on Tuesday. I think this one goes back-and-forth ALL night, but Creighton's superior free-throw shooting puts them over the top in the end!! I see the Bluejays getting the much-needed victory and keeping themselves in the Big East race. However, I DO NOT think they cover the spread.

My Pick: Marquette +5.5

Final Score: Creighton 76 Marquette 73

Crick's Picks 2/21/23