Creighton vs Auburn Odds, Picks and Player Props
By Chris Amberley in College Basketball
Published:
- The Auburn Tigers are 8.5-point favorites over the Creighton Blue Jays in a South Region second-round matchup
- Auburn has failed to make it out of the Second Round in three straight NCAA Tournament appearances
- See my Creighton vs Auburn odds, picks and player props for March Madness, below
No. 1 seed Auburn (29-5) was sluggish in their opening-round win over South Alabama. If they play like that again today versus No. 9 Creighton (25-10), it will be another early March Madness for Bruce Pearl and Co. Online sportsbooks don’t think it will happen per the latest college basketball odds, but I think there’s room for debate.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7:10pm ET at Rupp Arena, in Lexington, KY, with TBS providing the broadcast coverage.
Creighton vs Auburn Odds
Auburn is currently favored by 8.5-points and -455 on the moneyline. The total sits at 150.5, with the Blue Jays coming back as +350 underdogs. Per the college basketball public betting trends, the Tigers opened as double-digit chalk, but early Blue Jays money has driven the spread down 1.5 points.
Odds as of March 22 at DraftKings. See the full list of DraftKings legal states.
Creighton vs Auburn Picks
- Creighton +8.5 (-105) at DraftKings
My favorite pick for this contest is Creighton against the spread. It would have been nice to catch 10 points, but I think 8.5 is still too high given each team’s recent form. Auburn has been trending down for a few weeks. They dropped two of their final three regular season games, and then were ousted from the SEC Tournament after only one victory.
In Thursday’s win over the Hornets, they looked nothing like one of the top teams in the March Madness bracket. They played with their food for the bulk of the game, and didn’t come close to covering the 31.5 point spread. You could argue that they didn’t feel any urgency against an inferior opponent, but given their NCAA Tournament history, they should have had their guard up. The Tigers have failed to make it out of the opening weekend in three straight appearances, two of which were as a top-four seed.
Auburn struggled from long range in their opener, shooting only 31%. They enter play ranked in the top-12 in both offensive and defensive efficiency for the season, but since the start of March they’re outside the top-50 in both those categories. That’s problematic against a Blue Jays team that has a ton of size and defends well. Creighton ranks seventh nationally in opponent shooting efficiency. They have the bodies to hold Tigers star Johni Broome in check down low, led by Ryan Kalkbrenner.
Creighton vs Auburn Stats
The 7-footer is one of the best bigs in the country. He was dominate versus Louisville in Round 1, racking up four blocks. The Blue Jays are top-16 at defending inside the arc, which is going to force the Tigers outside shooters to step up.
Offensively, Creighton’s 1st Round performance was a masterpiece. They led virtually wire-to-wire against a Louisville squad that ranked top-30 at both ends of the floor. The Blue Jays shot 57% from the field, and 46% from three.
Kalkbrenner draws a ton attention down low, and is an excellent passer out of double teams. That leads to plenty of open shots, which Creighton is proficient at knocking down. The Blue Jays are top-30 in three-point field goal percentage and makes. Senior guard Steven Ashworth splashed four threes in the opener, drilling a couple from closer to mid-court than the three-point line. The Cardinals had no answer for Jamiya Neal, who got to the rim at will en route to 29 points.
The inside-outside game of the Blue Jays is going to give Auburn fits. I love them against the spread and I wouldn’t be surprised if they pull off the upset.
Creighton vs Auburn Props
College basketball props from DraftKings and FanDuel on March 22.
- Johni Broome 1+ Threes (-110) at DraftKings
Switching over to the player props market, I think we can find some value on Broome. Attacking Kalkbrenner down low isn’t a smart idea, so we could see him drift out to the three-point line more often. Broome attempted three triples in the 1st Round and we should expect at least that many attempts today, if not more. He’s shooting 30% from long range this season, but does have eight games with 2+ made threes on this year’s resume.
As well as Creighton defends opposing shooters, their numbers do see a drop off behind the arc. They rank 173rd in opponent made threes, and coughed up eight triples to the Cardinals on Thursday. I like Broome to splash at least one three in this matchup.
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Sports Writer
As SBD's resident Swiss Army Knife, Chris covers virtually every sport including NFL, PGA, NBA, MLB, NCAAB, NCAAF and the Olympics. A true grinder, he'd rather pick off small edges in the player props market than swing for the fences with a 5-leg parlay.
