No. 18 Creighton Blue Jays at Missouri State Bears
Wednesday, 1/18/12, 8:05 PM EST, TV: N/A
Opening Point Spread: Creighton -1
Current Betting Line: Creighton -1
Opening Total: 146
Current Total: 146
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker
Creighton has won six straight games since suffering a 77-65 loss to Wednesday night’s opponent as 10-point home favorites on Dec. 28. The Blue Jays are led by Doug McDermott offensively, as he ranks among the nation’s scoring leaders in averaging 24.3 points per game. “He’s done some special things,” commented Blue Jays head coach Greg McDermott. “He’s playing with unselfish guys who know his capabilities.” Other players will definitely need to get involved in the scoring against tonight’s opponent, with the team shooting a season-low 38.2 percent in the first meeting this year. Creighton is 6-2 ATS in its last eight road games.
The Blue Jays ranked among the national leaders in most offensive categories, including first in field-goal percentage and three-point percentage. Creighton never trailed in a 90-71 win over Southern Illinois as 13.5-point home favorites on Sunday, while going ‘over’ the total in three of its last four games. It’s important to note that Creighton has lost the last six meetings in this series, but has led at the half in the past four meetings.
Missouri State is coming off back-to-back heartbreaking losses in Missouri Valley Conference play, dropping an 87-82 overtime contest to the Evansville Aces as 10-point home favorites last time out. The Bears are the defending conference champions and are led offensively by senior forward Kyle Weems scoring 16.1 points per game. He is the reigning Player of the Year in the conference and registered 31 points in the team’s 77-65 upset win over Creighton. Missouri State is 5-2 ATS in its last seven conference games.
The Bears are very good in taking care of the basketball, ranking 13th nationally in giving up just 11.1 turnovers per game, while also ranking 39th in field goal percentage defense. Missouri State is still just 6-18 all-time against ranked competition, including a 1-6 mark when hosting. If the game is close down the stretch, the squad actually hit 33-of-41 free-throw attempts over the weekend, moving up to 40th nationally in that category.
Bettors will likely back the Blue Jays due to their 12-4-1 ATS mark in the last 17 series meetings, while the Bears are 5-13-2 ATS at home.
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