The Xavier Musketeers (24-8, 16-5 Big East) face the Creighton Bluejays (21-11, 15-6 Big East) Friday at Madison Square Garden in the semifinals of the Big East Conference Tourney. Creighton beat the Villanova Wildcats 87-74 at Madison Square Garden yesterday in the quarterfinals, their third consecutive win.
Ryan Kalkbrenner had a standout performance with 21 points. Xavier won their fourth in a row in the quarterfinals yesterday at Madison Square Garden, beating the DePaul Blue Demons 89-84. Jack Nunge had 23 points and 10 rebounds to lead the team.
Creighton and Xavier split their two matchups this season. The Bluejays came out on top in the most recent meeting, beating the Musketeers 84-67 at CHI Health Center Omaha on January 28. Arthur Kaluma led the Bluejays with 20 points, while Kalkbrenner contributed 17 points and five blocks.
Zach Freemantle had 18 points in the losing effort. The Bluejays have been led this season by Kalkbrenner (13.8 ppg), Trey Alexander (13.7), and Baylor Scheierman (12.7). Scheierman also has grabbed 8.4 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Ryan Nembhard is dishing 4.9 assists per game.
Souley Boum (16.8 ppg), Colby Jones (15.1), and Nunge (14.3) have been the primary providers for the Musketeers on offense. Nunge also has collected 7.8 rebounds per game, while Boum has distributed 4.4 assists per game.
The Musketeers are averaging 82.3 points per game, ranking as one of the top scoring offenses in the nation (10th). In the last 10 games, Creighton is 7-3 with an average margin of +7.6 (76.8-69.2). Xavier has also a 7-3 record over the last 10, scoring 80.4 points per game on average while holding opponents to 72.3 (+8.1 margin).
BLUEJAYS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points per game:
Ryan Kalkbrenner: 17.4 | 13.8 | +3.6
Rebounds per game:
Ryan Kalkbrenner: 3.4 | 5.6 | -2.2
Assists per game:
Baylor Scheierman: 4.6 | 3.3 | +1.4
MUSKETEERS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Desmond Claude: 12.0 | 8.1 | +3.9
Zach Freemantle: 0.0 | 19.3 | -19.3
Points per game:
Zach Freemantle: 0.0 | 11.2 | -11.2
Rebounds per game:
Zach Freemantle: 0.0 | 6.0 | -6.0
Assists per game:
Souley Boum: 2.8 | 4.4 | -1.6
SportsTips’ College Basketball Pick:
Xavier (+140)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
