Auburn (29-5) vs Creighton (25-10)
Game Info: Saturday, March 22, 2025 at 7:10 pm (Rupp Arena)
The Line: Betting Odds: Auburn -9.5 — Over/Under: 151.5
The Creighton Bluejays and the Auburn Tigers meet Saturday in NCAA Tournament Secon college basketball action from Rupp Arena. Here’s a Creighton vs Auburn prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Creighton vs Auburn pick. We will examine:
The Creighton Bluejays recent form and player performance
The Auburn Tigers recent form and player performance
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Creighton Bluejays
Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Auburn Tigers
Recent betting trends in games played between Creighton and Auburn
A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Creighton vs Auburn game
Creighton Bluejays Betting Preview
The Bluejays have had a couple of spotty runs this year but overall they’re not doing too badly. Creighton opened on a 9-6 run over their first 15 games, then beat Butler, Providence, UConn, DePaul, Seton Hall, Xavier, Villanova, Providence and Marquette. The next five games were a 2-3 run with losses to UConn, St. John’s and Xavier, but Creighton finished off the regular season with wins over Seton Hall and Butler. After wins over DePaul and UConn in the conference tournament, Creighton fell to St. John’s last weekend. The Bluejays bounced back with a First Round win over Louisville, giving the Jays a 25-10 overall record across 35 games.
In the Louisville matchup on Thursday, the Bluejays went into the second half with a 49-34 advantage. Creighton scored another 40 points from there during a nice win 89-75. Leading the team in scoring during the victory with a double-double was Jamiya Neal with 29 points, 12 boards and six assists. Steven Ashworth added 22 points with five rebounds and five assists, while Ryan Kalkbrenner put up 14 points with six rebounds and four blocks.
Auburn Tigers Betting Preview
Over on the Auburn side, they were a powerhouse for most of the regular season but fell off a bit during the last few games. The Tigers lost to only Duke and Florida in their first 23 outings, then took out Vanderbilt, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Ole Miss and Kentucky. The regular season ended with losses to Texas A&M and Alabama, then came an SEC Tournament win over Ole Miss. After falling to Tennessee in the semifinal last weekend, Auburn took out Alabama State in Thursday’s First Round action. That gives the Tigers a 29-5 overall run through 34 games total this year.
In NCAA Tournament action Thursday versus Alabama State, the Tigers jumped out to a 41-31 halftime edge. Auburn hit a 42-32 run from there on the way to a 20-point win 83-63. Leading the team in scoring was Miles Kelly with 23 points, while Johni Broome added a double-double on 14 points with 11 rebounds.
Why the Auburn Tigers will win
- Auburn has won each of its last 15 night games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
- Creighton has lost four of its last five games against Top 10 AP-ranked opponents.
Why the Creighton Bluejays will win
- Creighton has won five of its last six games.
Total Points Facts
- Seven of Creighton’s last eight games against Top 5 AP-ranked opponents have produced a total of 151 or fewer points.
- Fourteen of Auburn’s last 17 night games at a neutral venue have produced a total of 149 or fewer points.
Matchup/League Facts
- Auburn ranks 2nd among Division 1 teams for defensive rating this season (101.9).
- Auburn ranks 2nd among Division 1 teams for points per possession this season (1.24).
- Creighton ranks 362nd among Division 1 teams for steals per game this season (3.6).
- Creighton ranks 362nd among Division 1 teams for opponent turnovers per game this season (7.8).
Creighton vs Auburn Prediction
I’m going to try Creighton in this one. The Bluejays looked pretty good in their Thursday victory over Louisville, shooting a stellar 57.1 percent from the field with 45.8 percent (11-of-24) from 3-point range and a 37-32 rebounding advantage. Creighton wasn’t spectacular from the line though (14-of-21 for 66.7 percent) and had 10 turnovers for 14 Louisville points. Still, it was a nice effort against a tricky team and Creighton has now posted 71 or more points in five of the last six games (all five were wins).
As for Auburn, they didn’t have too many issues with an overmatched Alabama State team on Thursday. The Tigers shot 45 percent from the field with a 46-36 rebounding advantage, but did cough up 12 turnovers for 14 Hornets points. Auburn held Alabama State to just 37.1 percent shooting from the field so there wasn’t much danger of an upset. In six of the previous seven games however, the Tigers had give up 70 or more points. If Creighton can get that trend going again, I can see the Bluejays powering one out here. Should be an interesting matchup.