No. 9 Creighton (24-10) takes the court Thursday against No. 8 Louisville (27-7) in the first of four games in the First Round in the South Region. It is a matchup of teams who lost in their respective conference title games.
Prior to Saturday night’s loss to the Johnnies in the Big East Final, the Bluejays had won three in a row. Ryan Kalkbrenner leads the team nightly in scoring (19.4) and rebounding (8.8). Steven Ashworth directs the offense from the point averaging 6.8 assists per game.
The Cardinals had won 11 straight prior to their loss to Duke in the ACC Title Game. Terrence Edwards Jr. leads Louisville in scoring averaging 16.6 points per game. Former Wisconsin Badger Chucky Hepburn runs the show for the Cardinals averaging 5.8 assists per game.
The winner earns the right to more than likely face the No. 1 seed in the region, the Auburn Tigers on Saturday.
Lets dive into the matchup and offer some information and possibly a sweat or two.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch the opening tip, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
Game details & how to watch Creighton vs. Louisville
- Date: Thursday, March 20, 2025
- Time: 12:15PM EST
- Site: Rupp Arena
- City: Lexington, KY
- Network/Streaming: CBS
Never miss a second of the action and stay up to date with all the latest scores and player news. Check out our day-by-day NCAA Basketball Schedule Page that includes live game updates.
Game odds for Creighton vs. Louisville
The latest odds as of Tuesday courtesy of BetMGM:
- Odds: Creighton Bluejays (+120), Louisville Cardinals (-145)
- Spread: Cardinals -2.5
- Total: 145.5 points
Expert picks & predictions for Creighton at Louisville
NBC Sports Bet Best Bet
Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports) likes the Cardinals in this one: Louisville Cardinals ML
“Louisville has the size to battle Ryan Kalkbrenner and if Steven Ashworth isn’t hitting, then I am not sure Creighton can compete with a Louisville team that was the second-best in the ACC this year behind Duke. The Cardinals have a significant home court advantage with this game taking place in Lexington. Louisville landing Chucky Hepburn has made all the difference and Reyne Smith returns from an ankle injury to compliment the 5th-most experienced roster in the country. I think Louisville advances.”
Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the NCAA calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, injuries, and the schedule.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Thursday’s Bluejays & Cardinals game:
- Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is staying away from a play on the Moneyline.
- Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on Creighton +2.5.
- Total: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play on the Game Total OVER 145.5.
Creighton vs. Louisville: Top betting trends and recent stats
- Creighton is 4-6 against the spread in their last 10 games
- The Game Totals in Creighton’s last 10 games are 6-4 to the OVER
- Louisville is 6-4 against the spread in their last 10 games
- These schools last met March 11, 1999 with Creighton defeating Louisville 62-58
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our NCAA Basketball Top Trends Tool on NBCSports.com!
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Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff:
· Jay Croucher (@croucherJD)
· Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper)
· Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports)
· Brad Thomas (@MrBradThomas)
