Creighton vs San Diego State Predictions & Odds (March 26)
- No. 6 Creighton is a two-point favorite over No. 5 San Diego State in the Elite Eight on Sunday in Louisville, Ky
- Creighton and San Diego State are both seeking their first-ever Final Four appearances
- A look at the Creighton vs San Diego State odds and predictions can be found below
After knocking off the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, #5-seeded San Diego State faces #6-seeded Creighton in the South Region final at 2:20 p.m. ET Sunday at KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky.
San Diego State (30-6, 18-16-1 ATS) ran its winning streak to seven games Friday night by stunning Alabama 71-64 in a regional semifinal. The Aztecs have won 13 of their last 14 games.
Creighton (23-12, 18-17 ATS) beat Princeton 86-75 in the other semifinal for its sixth win in the last seven games.
CBS will televise the game as both schools seek their first trip to the Final Four.
Creighton vs San Diego State Odds
| Team | Moneyline | Spread | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Creighton | -139 | -2 (-109) | Over 133 (-108) |
| San Diego State | +115 | +2 (-110) | Under 133 (-113) |
Creighton is favored by two points over San Diego State and a -139 pick on the moneyline in the college basketball odds, giving the Bluejays an implied win probability of 58.16%. Creighton is listed at +600 in the NCAA Tournament championship odds and the Aztecs are at +700.
The winner advances to the Final Four to play Kansas State (25-9) or Florida Atlantic (33-3) in the national semifinals on April 1 in Houston in the March Madness bracket.
Odds as of March 25th at Barstool Sportsbook. See the latest March Madness betting promos.
Dynamic Duo Leads Creighton
Creighton’s duo of junior center Ryan Kalkbrenner and senior guard Baylor Scheierman was too much for Princeton, the tournament’ Cinderella, to handle.
Kalkbrenner scored 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting as Creighton drained 58.2% (32 of 55) of its field goal attempts. It was the ninth time this season Kalkbrenner scored at least 20 points.
Scheireman had a fine all-round game as he finished with 21 points, nine rebounds and four assists and helped Creighton hold a 37-26 rebounding edge. It marked the South Dakota State transfer’s third 20-point game of 2022-23.
For the second straight season, Kalkbrenner was named the Big East Defensive Player of the Year and he is first in the conference in blocked shots (2.2) and first with his 70.6 field goal percentage. Kalkbrenner is also averaging 15.7 points and 6.2 rebounds a game.
Ryan Kalkbrenner WITH AUTHORITY 😤 @BluejayMBB pic.twitter.com/AEgL72xEXH
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 25, 2023
Scheierman has averages of 12.5 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists. He is third in the Big East in boards.
Sophomore guard Trey Alexander added 19 points on Friday and sophomore forward Arthur Kaluma chipped in with 10 points.
Alexander (13.6), sophomore guard Ryan Nembhard (12.4) and Kaluma (11.8) also have double-figure scoring averages. Nembhard is dishing 4.8 assists a game to rank third in the conference and Kaluma is averaging 6.0 rebounds.
The Bluejays are an outstanding free throw shooting team and are 11th in Division I at 78.0%.
Defense Keys San Diego State Upset
San Diego State used a strong defensive effort to knock off Alabama.
The Aztecs held the Crimson Tide to 37.7% (26 of 69) shooting, including an ice-cold 3 for 27 (11.1%) on three-pointers. All-America freshman Brandon Miller managed just nine points on 3-of-19 shooting and had six turnovers
San Diego State also blocked eight shots with senior forward Nathan Mensah having five rejections.
The Aztecs are sixth in the nation in three-point defense (28.8%), 25th in scoring defense (63.1) and 43rd in overall field goal defense (41.1%).
Senior guard Darrion Trammell scored a game-high 21 points for San Diego State and added five rebounds. Senior forward Jaedon LeDee added 12 points and six boards off the bench.
Darrion Trammell came up BIG in @Aztec_MBB's upset win over Alabama 💪#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/hbi4xfr56O
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 25, 2023
Senior guard Matt Bradley is the only San Diego State player with a double-digit scoring average with a 13.0 mark. However, he was limited to six points on Friday as he made just 2 of 9 field goal attempts.
Trammell’s 9.5 scoring average ranks second on the team.
Mensah is averaging just 6.1 points a game and had four against Alabama. However, he is pulling down 5.9 rebounds and blocking 1.5 shots a game. Mensah is second in the Mountain West Conference in blocks.
Creighton vs San Diego State Prediction
The teams met in the first round of last year’s NCAAs with Creighton notching a 72-69 victory. Alexander scored 18 points for the Bluejays and Bradley had 16 points for San Diego State.
Look for this game to be just as close. Take the points.
Pick: San Diego State +2 (-110)
Season record: 34-32 (-1.2 units) ATS, 4-10 (-5.5 units) ML
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John Perrotto has been covering and writing about sports for various outlets for over 40 years. His work has appeared in the likes of USA TODAY, ESPN.com, SI.com, Forbes.com, The Associated Press, Baseball Digest, and more. John is based out of Beaver Falls, PA.
