Bluejays vs. Horned Frogs Prediction A National Invitational Tournament quarterfinal is on tap tonight as the Creighton Bluejays play at the Texas Christian Horned Frogs. Can top-seeded TCU protect its home court and cover the spread? Game Snapshot 619 Creighton Bluejays at 620 TCU Horned Frogs Tuesday, March 26, 2019 Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena at 9PM ET TV: ESPN Compare odds from multiple different online sportsbooks and shop for the best lines at our College Basketball Odds & Betting Page. Public Betting Information According to oddsmakers at BetNow.eu, the Horned Frogs are a 3.5-point favorite on the spread line. The total is set at 151 points. As of Tuesday afternoon, 52 percent of public bets are siding with visiting Creighton. Check out our College Basketball Public Betting Page for up-to-date information. Bluejays take down Tigers Creighton picked up a 79-67 home win over Memphis Friday night in the second round of the NIT Tournament. The Bluejays (20-14) opened up a 40-30 halftime advantage on their way to the win. Creighton shot 31-of-61 from the field, 6-of-22 from 3-point range and 11-of-19 at the free throw line. Mitch Ballock led a balanced scoring attack with 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting including 2-of-5 from 3-point range. He also contributed eight rebounds, three assists and two steals. Marcus Zegarowski had 14 points to go with eight assists and two boards. Martin Krampelj accounted for 12 points plus four caroms and two blocked shots. Davion Mintz tallied 12 points, two rebounds and two steals. Ty-Shon Alexander added 11 points, six boards, three assists and two steals. Horned Frogs roll past Cornhuskers Texas Christian cruised to an 88-72 home win Sunday night over Nebraska in the second round of the NIT Tournament to improve to 22-13 on the season. The Horned Frogs led 40-32 at halftime and continued to pull away after the break. Texas Christian shot 29-of-57 from the floor, 10-of-28 from 3-point range plus 20-of-25 at the free throw line. Desmond Bane led TCU with 30 points on 10-of-15 shooting including 6-of-9 from 3-point range plus 4-of-5 at the free throw line. He also recorded eight rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots. J.D. Miller had 15 points, seven boards and two assists. Kouat Noi contributed 12 points, five caroms and three dimes. Kendric Davis had 12 points and two assists off the bench. Kevin Samuel added 10 points, six rebounds and two blocks. College Basketball Betting Trends Creighton The Bluejays are 7-1 ATS in their last eight games overall. Creighton is 11-4 ATS in its last 15 Tuesday games. TCU The Horned Frogs are 8-2-1 ATS in their last 11 Tuesday games. TCU is 5-11 ATS in its last 16 games overall. Prediction: The Horned Frogs have seemingly rebounded after a rough stretch cost them an opportunity to play in the NCAA Tournament. Texas Christian appears to be using the NIT as a building block tournament for bigger and better things next season. The two squads are about even on the offensive end, but TCU is better defensively and along with being at home I see clear edges for the motivated Horned Frogs. Give the points and take the hosts. NCAA DAILY PREDICTION: TEXAS CHRISTIAN HORNED FROGS -3.5<doc-sep>It’s the last home game of the year for TCU men’s basketball, as they host Creighton in the third round of the NIT. Winner goes to New York for the NIT semifinal against the winner of Texas-Colorado. Playing in Madison Square Garden is the opportunity of a lifetime, so hopefully the Frogs take advantage of this moment, to give them the chance. The game is on ESPN, so tune in and hang out. Go Frogs.<doc-sep>FORT WORTH, TX - Kouat Noi broke out of his slump, and TCU used a second half surge to knock off Creighton 71-58 and advance to the NIT Final Four. The Frogs will travel to New York City and face the winner of Texas-Colorado in the semifinals. “We showed them the rings from last time, when we started the tournament, and we had those guys say something about what it felt like and what it meant, and I think our guys can continue to draw inspiration from that,” Dixon said after the game. Noi, who had been in a weeks long shooting slump, broke out in a big way on Tuesday night. The sophomore poured in 25 points on 8-15 shooting, including 6-12 from three point range. He also crashed the boards to the tune of seven rebounds. Alex Robinson and JD Miller, playing in their final game at Schollmaier Arena, added a combined 27 points and 16 rebounds in the victory. Robinson recorded a 12-point, 11-rebound double-double. Dixon emphasized rebounding to his guards in practice, wanting 10 rebounds from the trio of Robinson, Kendric Davis, and RJ Nembhard, and he was pleased with 15. TCU struggled to get the offense going in the first half, while Creighton maintained a lead for the majority of the half. The Frogs took an early 4-2 lead, but that was their last lead of the half, as the Blue Jays knocked down early threes, broke TCU’s defense for baskets around the rim, and rebounded hard. The only player who seemed to be able to score consistently was Noi, who recorded 13 first-half points to lead all scorers. Dixon talked about his performance after the game. “He played very well last game, he just didn’t make shots. He rebounded well, he went to the glass. We’ve been happy with how he’s playing. Obviously we’d like for him to make a few more shots, and tonight he did.” The Frogs were somewhat lucky to only trail 33-30 at the break. TCU shot 36.7% from the floor in the first half to Creighton’s 52.2%, while the Blue Jays outrebounded TCU 19-13. “I said we were lucky to be down three,” Dixon said, talking about what he told the team at halftime. “We played horribly, but we’re going to play better in the second half, I guarantee it.” He was right. TCU came out firing in the second half, opening up a 49-36 lead over the first five minutes. Noi continued his hot shooting from the floor, drilling a couple of threes and bringing the 3,314 fans in Schollmaier to their feet. The drive was also punctuated by a pair of thunderous dunks, one from Kevin Samuel and one from JD Miller, as TCU went streaking past the Blue Jays on an extended 19-5 run to open the half. The Frogs maintained a double-digit lead for the majority of the second half, thanks to a combination of stifling defense and persistent offense. Creighton, who seemingly couldn’t miss in the first half, couldn’t buy a basket in the second. The Blue Jays shot a paltry 25.7% from the floor in the second half, and just 19% (4-21) from deep. Creighton finished the game shooting just 29% from deep - their fourth worst performance from long range all season. With one minute left in the contest Jamie Dixon subbed in for seniors JD Miller and Alex Robinson. Miller and Robinson, playing in their final game on TCU’s home court, received a standing ovation from the crowd. Dixon spoke about their legacy after the game. “You know, that’s a lot of wins. It’s about 70 wins...that’s a lot of wins in three years,” Dixon said. “They’ve battled. You know, disappointment about not getting into the [NCAA Tournament], disappointment as seniors when you’re left with really seven scholarship guys to play with, and still battling through and playing really well.” Meanwhile Scott Cross, who accepted the head coaching job at Troy on Tuesday, will remain with TCU in his assistant coaching role for the duration of their run through the NIT according to Dixon. “He said he’s not leaving until he gets a ring.” TCU is two wins away from getting that for Cross, for themselves, and for TCU.<doc-sep>
TCU (22-13) will take on Creighton (20-14) on Tuesday night at 8 p.m. on ESPN at Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena with the winner advancing to New York City for the NIT Semifinals at Madison Square Garden. If the Frogs advance, it will be the second time in three years the Frogs have made it to New York City. The Frogs are coming off an 88-72 win over Nebraska on Sunday night where Desmond Bane led the way with 30 points. TCU shot 50.9 percent, including 59.3 percent in the second half, to advance to the quarterfinals of the NIT. The Blue Jays are coming off a good win over Memphis on Friday, defeating the Tigers; 79-67. Creighton has won seven of its last eight games and won NIT games over Loyola Chicago (70-61) and Memphis (79-67). The Blue Jays rank 10th in the nation in 3-pointers made per game (10.7), 12th in 3-point field goal percentage (39.0) and 21st in field goal percentage (48.3). Creighton is led by All-BIG EAST guard Ty-Shon Alexander, who averages 15.9 points per game. CU attempts 27.4 3-pointers per game, with the majority coming from Alexander (95-257) and Mitch Ballock (91-217). TCU coach Jamie Dixon says they're motivated to get back to New York for the second time. "I told the guys there's only 20 something teams left playing on national T.V. and we're one of them," Dixon said. "That's what you come to do in the Big 12 and be a part of that. We can say we should've been in the tournament but it's better to do something about it and that's what we plan to do. We've got a tough game on Tuesday and whatever motivation it takes; we're playing really good basketball right now which is a good thing and thing which is pretty evident to me. “I hope we have a great one on Tuesday. This is big and again a good step for us. Creighton is a place that’s used to playing in places that are packed. I’m looking forward to it."