Creighton and Villanova meet for all the marbles!
The Big East Tournament Final has been set!
The Creighton Bluejays swooped into the final after a dominant semifinal victory. The Bluejays fried the top-seeded Providence Friars with an 85-58 beatdown. The thorough and emphatic victory helped clinch a berth in the Big East Tournament final. This will be the fourth Big East Tournament Championship Game appearance for the Bluejays and their second consecutive appearance. They also made it in 2014 and 2017, as well, but are still seeking their first-ever Big East Tournament Championship.
CU will face the Villanova Wildcats in the championship game. ‘Nova outdueled the UConn Huskies in their semifinal matchup. They won 63-60 in a game that did come down to the final shot, technically. ‘Nova has won two close ones in a row with fantastic finishes, and we shall see if another is in the cards. This is Villanova’s 10th Big East Tournament Championship Game appearance. The Wildcats are seeking their sixth tournament title and what would be the fifth in the ‘new’ Big East.
How to watch the 2022 Big East Tournament Championship Game
When: Saturday, March 12
Time: 6 p.m. ET
TV: Fox
How to stream the 2022 Big East Tournament Championship Game online
The Fox Sports App can be used to stream the 2022 Big East Tournament Championship Game.
How to bet on the 2022 Big East Tournament Championship Game
You can bet on this game at DraftKings SportsBook.
Spread: Villanova -7 | Creighton +7
Total: 129
Moneyline: Villanova -300 | Creighton +235
Good luck to all Creighton and Villanova futures ticket holders! Creighton was at +1200 at DraftKings pre-tournament, while Villanova was at +150.
Three Things to Watch For
1. What does Arthur Kaluma do for an encore? Freshman Arthur Kaluma has raised his game under the bright lights. Kaluma dropped 17 points in their win over top-seeded Providence and looked just electric at times. That came on the heels of a 14-point showing against Marquette, as he’s averaged 15.5 points in the first two games of the event. There’s no doubt Villanova has him keyed in on, and he’ll likely see a lot of traffic his way. But plenty of eyes will be on Kaluma to see if he can deliver in his biggest game yet.
2. It seems like Creighton got their shooting touch back. I forecasted in the preview for Providence-Creighton that the Jays may’ve got their touch back from deep. They shot 41.2 percent against Marquette and I wanted to see if they could carry that along with them against the Friars. Well, they shot 9-for-23, good for 39.1 percent. If it turns out that Creighton waited until the Big East Tournament to regain themselves from the perimeter, I think Bluejay fans would be plenty happy to see the results. Especially if it continues to help power them to victory.
3. Will Villanova continue to define this new Big East? For the sixth time since the 2013-14 season, Villanova is playing in the Big East Tournament Championship Game. You already know they’ve won four of the previous five, the lone loss to the Seton Hall Pirates. And, in fact, one of the wins was against Creighton back in 2017. Villanova has been the flag bearer for the Big East in this era of hoops, and with another tourney title on Saturday, it will be even harder to separate the two from being so synonymous.