After yesterday's Ohio loss at Akron, I felt some trepidation against taking a road team today, however the level of unpreparedness just won't be the same with Xavier. Xavier is undefeated at 8-0. Creighton is 5-2. Xavier has a road win under their belt, at Cincinnati 77-69. Some say that's not really a road win because the campuses are close, but I disagree. After that game on 12/6, Xavier dealt with 3 ppd games due to Cv-19. But they defeated Oklahoma and Marquette, racking up 99 vs Oklahoma and 91 against Marquette. Although the win over Marquette was down to the wire, that's no stain against them because Marquette is beat Creighton at Creighton on 12/14, 89-84.
Not only that, but the reason for this 6.5/7.0 line at the moment is the expectation that Xavier's starting PG, Dwon Odom, is unlikely to play due to Cv-19 protocols. There is no definite word yet. I don't know how it can be uncertain.
But why I feel ok with this is that Odom is only a Freshman, and doesn't really figure in to Xavier's leaderboard. He was out vs. Marquette, and they still won against a team that beat Creighton on the same court being played on today.
Colby Jones started, and it's hard to see where any drop-off occurred when you put up 91 points. Odom is a distributor and not much of a scorer.
Xavier is taller and has better forward scoring. If Creighton is hot shooting today, this total is likely to go high because neither team is defensively focused. I understand the danger but I will take Xavier because 1) If Odom is out, Jones has shown he can elevate to starter without a glitch 2) Xavier is tremendously well-coached and should hadle travel well 2) Xavier weathered through its Cv-19 pause and came back with two wins against Oklahoma and Marquette 3) Creighton will be vulnerable inside to F Zach Freemantle, and 4) Xavier is undefeated at 8-0, always a motivation and source of resolve, and has shown ability to be unaffected by Cv-19 protocols. 5) the +7 points is high enough to always be a factor given Xavier's offensive output.
Not only that, but the reason for this 6.5/7.0 line at the moment is the expectation that Xavier's starting PG, Dwon Odom, is unlikely to play due to Cv-19 protocols. There is no definite word yet. I don't know how it can be uncertain.
But why I feel ok with this is that Odom is only a Freshman, and doesn't really figure in to Xavier's leaderboard. He was out vs. Marquette, and they still won against a team that beat Creighton on the same court being played on today.
Colby Jones started, and it's hard to see where any drop-off occurred when you put up 91 points. Odom is a distributor and not much of a scorer.
Xavier is taller and has better forward scoring. If Creighton is hot shooting today, this total is likely to go high because neither team is defensively focused. I understand the danger but I will take Xavier because 1) If Odom is out, Jones has shown he can elevate to starter without a glitch 2) Xavier is tremendously well-coached and should hadle travel well 2) Xavier weathered through its Cv-19 pause and came back with two wins against Oklahoma and Marquette 3) Creighton will be vulnerable inside to F Zach Freemantle, and 4) Xavier is undefeated at 8-0, always a motivation and source of resolve, and has shown ability to be unaffected by Cv-19 protocols. 5) the +7 points is high enough to always be a factor given Xavier's offensive output.
