Here's A Truth About College Hoops: Creighton Is The Best Team In The Big East And A STEAL At +6000 To Win The Title
I know that people kind of forget about the Big East in a way because it's on FS1. It's not talked about as much as other conferences because of that television deal. But here's the thing. Creighton is the best team in that conference and I'm not sure how many people actually know that.
They currently have won 8 of 9 - including wins at Villanova, at Seton Hall and at Marquette. The only loss was a weird loss to a mediocre Providence team.
So what's going on with this team? Well, to start they have 3 incredible guards in Marcus Zegarowski, Ty-Shon Alexander and Mitch Ballock. All three can shoot the shit out of the ball and you really can't just take one away. The team shoots 38% from three. That's just a ridiculous stat, considering they shoot a three on 42% of all field goal attempts. That's how they can just bury you. Along with that, Alexander has turned into a damn good guard.
That's one of the two things that really were missing from past Creighton teams. They were always great on offense, but lacked consistent defense. This year? They are ranked 71st on KenPom, but have taken major steps over this run. Hell, they just held Markus Howard to 13 points on 14 shots and there's not a better scorer in the country than Howard.
The other thing? The transfer of Denzel Mahoney. He does all the little things that no one really notices. Remember, he missed the first 10 games of the season which included losses at Michigan and neutral to San Diego State. That likely changes with Mahoney out there. He's a 6'5" undersized forward. He's made for today's game with the basic comparison to being used like how the Warriors use Draymond. With Creighton's small ball strategy, they stretch you out, he can guard bigs, they dig. It's damn impressive.
That's why these odds - thanks to our friends at Penn National - are STEALS
+6000 to win the title and +1400 to make a Final Four. Why? They are already the best team in the Big East. All respect to Seton Hall and Nova - I know Seton Hall has a .5 game lead, but Creighton is playing the best basketball in the conference. Hell, Seton Hall might even be made for a better run in the NCAA Tournament thanks to its defense and Myles Powell, but Creighton needs to be talked about more.