Creighton vs Marquette Odds, Pick for Saturday

Below, we have Creighton vs. Marquette odds and a pick for Saturday.

The Big East enters the second half of the college basketball season as one of the premier conferences in the sport. Among its elite tier of teams, the Marquette Golden Eagles and Creighton Bluejays join the reigning national champion UConn Huskies as programs with aspirations of a Big East title and a Final Four future.

The Bluejays' trip to Milwaukee marks the first meeting between two teams in the Big East's top tier, though the beginning of conference play threw plenty of curveballs into the league standings.

Both of these teams lost their openers, with Marquette coming up well short on the road at Providence and Creighton falling flat in a home loss to Villanova.

If anything, this game takes on even more meaning than it would have if the league had held serve so far. UConn also lost at Seton Hall and lost star center Donovan Clingan to an injury for a few weeks. The winner of this game would boost its chances to win the conference, especially if Creighton could steal a road win.

Let's breakdown this meeting of Big East foes and make a pick.

Few teams in college basketball commit to their offensive and defensive philosophies on a game-to-game basis like Creighton. On both ends of the floor, that means giving the 3-point line a high level of importance.

When Creighton has the ball, the Bluejays toss up deep balls at one of the highest rates in the nation, ranking in the top-40 nationally in 3-point shooting percentage, 3-point rate and percentage of points via the 3-pointer.

Greg McDermott knows the value of the outside shot and has built a team capable of taking full advantage. His three most prolific shooters are taking more outside shots per game than entire other teams.

Defensively, the Bluejays are just as aware of the 3-point line, maybe more so. No team in the nation allows a lower percentage of its opponents' points to come from 2-point baskets and Creighton ranks second in lowest 3-point rate allowed.

Creighton wants to funnel perimeter players off the 3-point line and into elite rim protector Ryan Kalkbrenner. The Bluejays are forcing turnovers and nabbing steals at the lowest rates in the country. McDermott and his crew simply want to bet that their 3-point barrage can outdo your 2-point jumpers.

Most of the time, that's a fair bet. But already this season, it's come up empty three times. It's no coincidence that Creighton's three losses came in the Bluejays' three worst outside shooting games, the only three times they hit under 30% from deep.

It's a little bit of a bettor-beware situation — only back the Bluejays if you're comfortable knowing a cold night could curse them and leave the offense looking listless.

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Shaka Smart has one of the best teams in college basketball, operating around the passing prowess of point guard Tyler Kolek. The senior floor general shows shades of Steve Nash, leading a fast-paced offense that's built to attack the weaknesses of any defense.

Kolek is surrounded by a series of veterans who are quick-thinking, capable scorers. Smart's Golden Eagles look to attack through motion, with each guy on the floor ready to shoot or make the right play off the bounce.

Marquette is perhaps even better defensively, with Oso Ighodaro anchoring a top-15 defense in the nation. Like all of Shaka Smart's teams of the past, Marquette is forcing turnovers at a high rate, with Kolek and the other guards quick to turn any transition opportunity into a good look at the offensive end.

How did a team this sharp lose its Big East opener? It's simple to just point to Marquette having its worst 3-point shooting game and making its fewest 3s of the season, but the Golden Eagles looked a little more out of sorts than just cold in that tough road environment.

Thankfully, we saw them in a get-right spot in a home win over Georgetown.

Betting on or against Creighton this season feels more like a spin at the roulette wheel than breaking down a basketball game. The Bluejays' dedication to shooting 3s and preventing them makes every one of their games so dependent on how they shoot.

They come into this game nine days removed from their last outing, the disappointing home loss to Villanova in which the Bluejays hit their fewest 3s of the season (in a game that had five extra minutes of overtime play, no less).

That leaves me inclined to think Creighton hits shots here on the road in Milwaukee, though I'm less confident in the Bluejays' ability to also get stops.

With Creighton hitting shots and failing to get stops, my eye turns to the total. I'll take number lower than 150.

Pick: Over 147.5 (Play to 150)

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