Creighton vs Marquette Prediction & Picks - NCAA Men

Prediction published on 2/8/25, 10:09 AM  by Bill Christy | Modified on 1/19/26 at 12:01 PM in Basketball Picks

=14.0pt#11 Marquette (18-5) heads to Omaha to take on the Creighton Bluejays (17-6) on Saturday afternoon. They will be looking to avoid their 1st losing streak of the season. They are coming off back-to-back losses to #25 UConn 77-69 last Saturday and to #12 St. John’s 70-64 on Tuesday. Their 2nd leading scorer, David Joplin, struggled in both games. He finished with 18 total points and shot just 6-616 from the field and committed 3 turnovers in each game. Things will not get any easier here against Creighton, who are riding an 8-game win streak and have a top 30 defense according to KenPom. Coach McDermott has been able to get the most out of this group after a rocky 7-5 start to the season. It should be noted that all their losses have come on the road or at a neutral site. This Bluejay team loves playing in front of their home crowd and they will be fired up against this ranked Golden Eagles squad. In terms of offensive and defensive efficiency numbers, these teams are near identical in terms of conference play. The game may come down to how Creighton can handle the on-ball pressure of this Marquette defense. Marquette is 5th in causing turnovers in the country which is how they have had success in Big East play to this point.