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The NCAA Tournament is the single greatest betting event perennially. With the thrills, chills and heavy favorite spills, the Madness always delivers. Here are quick thoughts and the lean on Creighton vs. Auburn in the second round of the South Region.
No. 9 Creighton (25-10) vs. No. 1 Auburn (29-5)
Date: Saturday, March 22
Time: 7:10 p.m. ET
TV: TBS/truTV
The pick — Creighton +9.5 (-110, BetMGM)
A victor in games that lulled Marchers asleep in the NCAA Tournament’s opening act, Creighton sent Louisville and the partisan Rupp Arena crowd packing with an 89-75 win in Lexington on Thursday. Jamiya Neal scored a game-high 29 points to ignite the Bluejays, who hung 1.27 points per possession on a supposedly unyielding UL defense.
In a contest with Mothra vs. Godzilla vibes, Saturday’s battle between Ryan Kalkbrenner and Johni Broome will be legendary. Creighton’s 7-footer is arguably the best post defender in the college game. Broome, who’s logged 19 double-doubles this season, is a Wooden Award front-runner.
If the sharpshooting version of Steven Ashworth shows up again — he drained four 3-pointers and finished with 22 points against Louisville — the underdogs are destined to bark.
Over its last nine games, Greg McDermott’s club has hoisted 47% of its shots from deep. If the Bluejays’ arc attempts fall with regularity, Auburn’s defense will get taxed. Keep in mind: Creighton is shooting 62% on 2s over the last 30 days.
Both teams have noticeable issues on defense. However, Kalkbrenner’s around-the-rim swats present a stiff challenge for the Tigers.
Auburn is capable of torrential downpours from outside (35.1 3PT% in last 10 games). Still, its glaring weakness on the glass — Bruce Pearl’s bunch is No. 284 in defensive rebounding percentage since February 21 — is a porous matchup against a solid interior team.
The dogs are very live and hungry for treats.
Season record: 30-25, +4.22