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How to Watch
Time: 2 p.m. ET
TV: FS1
Watch Online: Fox Sports Go
Odds
Spread: Creighton -8.5
Total: 139.5
Moneyline: Creighton -400 | Butler +315
Marcus Zegarowski and the Creighton Bluejays are teed up to face the Butler Bulldogs on Saturday.
The Bluejays, 10-2 and winners of each of their last six, fly into Indy to take on a reeling Bulldogs squad. Butler, 3-7, have lost four of their last five and seven of their last nine. BU is also 2-5 in conference, while Creighton is a lofty 6-1, which is good for second place at the moment.
Creighton has been winning how you’d expect them to — through offense. The Jays have the second-ranked Adjusted Offensive Efficiency in the Big East, sitting behind the Villanova Wildcats. Their mark of 116.5 is also seventh-best in the nation and they along with ‘Nova are the only two Big East teams in the Top 40.
Butler, meanwhile, has been struggling. They sit 115th in the country in AdjOE, with a mark of 104.2. That number has them tied for last place in the Big East at the moment with the Georgetown Hoyas. They’ve yet to score over 70 points on the season, having only hit that mark in a 70-64 win over Providence.
This appears to be a really bad matchup for Butler. The Bulldogs have struggled mightily to put points on the board this season. Creighton, meanwhile, has been lighting up the nets all season long and have a dossier of scoring threats. Statistically, it’s a nightmare too. Butler’s defense has been dreadful this year by both standard and advanced metrics. They rank 314th and 219th in 3-point and 2-point FG% allowed. They also sit 299th in the nation in eFG%, having allowed a grimace-inducing number of 54 percent.
The only real chance Butler has is if they, too, get hot from 3. Their numbers from the perimeter have been the best thing about them thus far on offense. The Bulldogs are shooting 34.7 percent, and while that’s four percentage points behind their adversary, it’s still a good number. CU’s defense on the perimeter has been just okay, as they’ve allowed 33.8 percent of shots to be converted.