Who's Playing

Alabama Crimson Tide @ Creighton Bluejays

Current Records: Alabama 6-3, Creighton 8-2

How To Watch

What to Know

The Creighton Bluejays will be home for the holidays to greet the Alabama Crimson Tide at 8:00 p.m. ET on Saturday at CHI Health Center Omaha. Creighton will be looking to keep their six-game home win streak (dating back to last season) alive.

The point spread may have favored Creighton on Wednesday, but the final result did not. They took a 79-64 bruising from the Rebels.

The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Ryan Kalkbrenner, who scored 22 points along with eight rebounds and five blocks. Those five blocks set a new season-high mark for him. Baylor Scheierman was another key contributor, scoring 16 points along with seven assists and seven rebounds.

Meanwhile, the oddsmakers set the bar high, but Alabama and Purdue didn't disappoint and broke past the 163.5 point over/under on Saturday. The Crimson Tide took a 92-86 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Boilermakers. Alabama got off to an early lead (up 12 with 9:55 left in the first quarter), but sadly they weren't able to maintain that momentum.

Alabama's defeat came about despite a quality game from Mark Sears, who scored 35 points. That's the first time this season that Sears scored 30 or more points. The team also got some help courtesy of Mohamed Wague, who scored 11 points along with three steals.

The Bluejays' loss dropped their record down to 8-2. As for the Crimson Tide, their defeat dropped their record down to 6-3.

Saturday's contest is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Creighton just can't miss this season, having made 50.3% of their shots per game. However, it's not like Alabama struggles in that department as they've made 49.9% of their shots per game this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.

As for their next game, Creighton is the favorite in this one, as the experts expect to see them win by seven points. This contest will be their 11th straight as the favorites (so far over this stretch they are 7-3 against the spread).

Odds

Creighton is a solid 7-point favorite against Alabama, according to the latest college basketball odds.

The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Bluejays as a 6-point favorite.


The oddsmakers are expecting fireworks from the offense and set the over/under at a high 165.5 points.

See college basketball picks for every single game, including this one, from SportsLine's advanced computer model. Get picks now.

Series History

Creighton won the only game these two teams have played in the last 7 years.

  • Mar 15, 2016 - Creighton 72 vs. Alabama 54