Thursday’s Creighton at Texas betting matchup won’t be the toughest of the season so far for the Longhorns who have a 93-74 win over then #2 Gonzaga on their resume, but the #7 Bluejays are no cake walk either. Oddsmakers still have Texas a -6.5 favorite in this meeting but 60% of the public like Creighton and the points.
Creighton Looks Legitimate
The Bluejays (6-1) suffered their first loss of the season last Wednesday, but that was a hard fought 81-79 defeat to #14 Arizona in the Maui Invitational Championship. Aside from falling to the Wildcats, it was a successful trip to Hawaii for Greg McDermott’s squad, as they also had a 76-65 win over #21 Texas Tech and beat #9 Arkansas 90-87.
The Bluejays are battle-test coming into the Creighton at Texas betting matchup, posting the country’s 12th toughest strength of schedule so far. Creighton has the 9th best offensive efficiency in the country and are 38th in that category defensively – both fairly impressive when you consider the competition they’ve faced.
Creighton has the talent to get the upset win in Austin and they’re rested after being off for a week. 7’1 Ryan Kalkbrenner is averaging 16.1 ppg and has a huge size advantage over a Texas team that runs a small lineup. Five players in the Creighton lineup average double figures so far this season.
Texas Looks For Another Signature Win
The win over Gonzaga was impressive for the Longhorns and was fueled by a 26-point night from Tyrese Hunter. The Iowa State transfer is averaging 16.2 ppg this season to lead the Longhorns, with Marcus Carr adding 14.8.
The win over Gonzaga showed that Texas can hang with any team in the country, but it’s also the only non-glorified-scrimmage the Longhorns have played all season. Texas has been at least a 20 point favorite in each of their four other wins against UTEP (72-57), Houston Christian (82-31), Northern Arizona (73-48), and Texas-Rio Grande Valley (91-54).
Despite their tomato can scheduling, KenPom still has the Longhorns as his top ranked team ahead of actual #1 Houston even. That system makes adjustments for scheduling, and Texas is still ranked 12th in adjusted offensive and 3rd in adjusted defensive efficiency. Chris Beard led this team to be the #9 scoring defense in 2021 (59.5 ppg) and they’re currently 6th this year (52.8).
Free Creighton at Texas Betting Pick
Thursday’s game is an interesting one as Texas has put up great numbers – but really against no opponents aside from the Gonzaga game. Creighton has had a week off after returning from a successful showing in the Maui Invitational, but will they also be rusty / jet-lagged heading into their first true road contest of the season?
We know Texas can buckle down on defense – and we know the Moody Center is going to be rocking. One of the reasons Gonzaga was flustered in their trip to Austin was because it was the Bulldogs’ first ‘actual’ away game of the year. That being said Creighton ran a gauntlet at teh Maui Invitational, have a huge size advantage with Kalkbrenner, and have scoring depth that will be critical on the road.
Free Pick: Creighton +6.5
