Creighton looks to snap a two-game losing streak when it hosts third-ranked Villanova on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. ET. Villanova opened as a six-point favorite, with the line moving to -7 within the first half-hour of posting.
Before locking in your picks for this matchup between teams with big goals, you need to see what SportsLine's advanced computer model is picking.
Last season, the model was an impressive 755-636-20 on A-rated picks, returning $6,529 to any $100 player who followed it. That wasn't a fluke. The model enters the weekend having nailed 14 of its last 19 top-rated college basketball selections. Anybody following those picks is happy they did.
Those picks include taking Villanova (-1) in a 95-79 rout of Xavier last Friday and the Wildcats (-19) in a 93-62 blowout win over DePaul on Tuesday. Now, it's locked in against the spread, over-under, and money line picks for Creighton vs. Villanova.
We can tell you the computer is projecting Creighton star Marcus Foster to score a game-high 22 points. But will he lead the Bluejays to a huge win and boost their at-large hopes or does Villanova roll to another victory and cover in the process?
The model knows Villanova (25-3, 12-3) is a half-game back of Xavier for Big East honors in the 18-game regular season.
Villanova has won every Big East regular season since the league was reformatted four years ago. Winning its final three games secures a fifth.
The Wildcats rank No. 1 in the nation in scoring, averaging 87.6 points. Six players average double-figures, led by National Player of the Year candidate Jalen Brunson (19.2). Creighton isn't far behind at No. 8 (84.9), but have been held in the 70s or lower in six of its last games against Division I competition.
The Bluejays seemingly had an NCAA berth locked up, but have now lost three of four, making the end of the season more dramatic. They were routed by Nova, 98-78, on Feb. 1 and on Tuesday were blown out, 93-70, at Butler. Their only win the last two weeks was against Division II Bemidji State.
The model says one side of the spread hits well over 50 percent of the time. You can only see which side that is over at SportsLine.
So which side of Villanova-Creighton do you need to be all over? Visit SportsLine now to find out which side of the Villanova-Creighton spread you can count on over half of the time, all from the model that has crushed college hoops.
Villanova vs. Creighton odds: Picks from model on 14-5 college basketball roll
Our advanced model simulated Saturday's Creighton vs. Villanova game 10,000 times
By
CBS Sports Staff
•
2 min read