Second place in the Big East is on the line Wednesday night when the Seton Hall Pirates (9-6, 6-3) host the No. 17 Creighton Blue Jays (11-4, 7-3). Both teams are three games behind No. 3 Villanova in the loss column in the Big East, and the loser will fall behind three-loss UConn. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., and will be televised on FS1.
The first meeting between these teams this season was all Creighton as the Bluejays won at home 89-53 on January 6, easily covering a 6-point spread. Creighton has won three straight in the series, but the last ten meetings are even at 5-5. Creighton is a 1.5-point favorite, and the total is 147.5 points.
Creighton’s Offense Coming Back Down
As they got off to a 10-2 start, the Creighton offense was routinely putting up 90 points a game, especially at home. But in their last three games, the Bluejays have scored 70, 74, and 74 while going 1-2 in conference play. Overall they rank 36th in the nation at 80.6 ppg, 28th with a 49.1 FG%, and 70th in three-point shooting at 36.4%. The defense ranks 39th in FG% at 39.7, but they aren’t ranked in the top 100 in any other major category.
Either guard Denzel Mahoney (15.4 ppg) or forward Damien Jefferson (13.0 ppg) have led Creighton in points in six of their last seven games. Mahoney has scored at least 20 points in three of the last four games, including a season-high 29 on January 16 at Butler. He struggled to 1-of-10 shooting from the field in Creighton’s surprise home loss to Providence last Wednesday.
Creighton blitzed Seton Hall earlier this month by making 13-of-24 (54.2%) from the three-point range and shooting 60% overall from the field in a 36-point win. Jefferson led the way with 19 points while Mahoney had 13 and guard Marcus Zegarowski had 11.
Pirates
When Seton Hall has struggled this season, it has been on defense. They rank 212th in the country, allowing 71.3 ppg, and they are in the bottom 50 in three-point shooting defense at 36.7%. That’s a bad combination for a Creighton team that can light it up from deep. On offense, the Pirates are scoring 74.9 ppg while shooting 46.4% from the field and 33.5 % from beyond the arc.
In the loss at Omaha, the Pirates made just 3-of-18 from behind the arc and overall shot 33.3% from the field. Forward Sandro Mamukelashvili led Seton Hall with 14 points while guard Jared Rhoden had 10. Despite losing by 36, the Pirates shot 17 more free throws than Creighton did for an eight-point advantage.
Seton Hall hasn’t played at home since January 2, thanks to COVID postponements. Overall they are 5-1 at home this season with an overtime loss to Providence. Mamukelashvili leads the team in scoring (18.4 ppg) and rebounding (7.0 rpg), while Rhoden (15.8 ppg) and guard Myles Cale (11.6 ppg) also average double figures.
Betting Line and Pick
The Bluejays are just 6-9 ATS this season, while the Pirates are 10-5. The under is 5-2 in Creighton’s last seven games and 4-1 in Seton Hall’s last five games as the Prudential has a difficult shooting background, especially without fans. If Creighton is hot from distance, this game will get out of hand as the Pirates don’t have the firepower to keep up, but the Bluejays are just 16-for-67 (23.9%) from distance in their last three games.
FREE PICK: Under 147.5 (-110)
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