The Tennessee Volunteers Have Advantages in The Sweet 16
Check Out Creighton vs Tennessee Betting Lines for The Sweet 16 In The Midwest
After a double-overtime win against the Oregon Ducks, the Creighton Bluejays are back in the Sweet 16. Creighton has knocked off Akron and Oregon, but both of those two NCAAB games were against seeds below 10.
This time around, in the Sweet 16, Creighton will be slight underdogs against one of the SEC’s best in Tennessee. The Tennessee Volunteers were the regular season champions of the SEC and have earned back-to-back wins over St. Peter’s and Texas.
While Tennessee looked outstanding against St. Peter’s, it took everything the Vols had against the Longhorns in the Round of 32 to survive and advance.
This Sweet 16 has some big games in the NCAA March Madness schedule. This matchup between Creighton and Tennessee should be one of the better ones in this tournament. This game is on the Midwest Region side of the March Madness bracket.
Tennessee is only a 2.5-point favorite, with the total currently at 143.5. Oddsmakers think this game could finish as a one-score game.
While oddsmakers have their models and opinions, we have them as well. Take a look at the Creighton vs Tennessee betting lines for this Sweet 16 matchup.
Creighton vs Tennessee Betting Lines & Trends
The Creighton Bluejays have been better than Tennessee against the spread this season. Creighton has gone 19-15 against the spread and has hit 17 Overs and 17 Unders this season.
Tennessee has gone 17-16-1 against the spread. The Vols have also hit one more Over than the Under this season.
Both teams added eight wins away from home. These college basketball teams also don’t have a recent history against one another.
Creighton Narrowly Survived The Weekend
The Creighton Bluejays were losing without the ball with under 30 seconds to go. But an Oregon miss at the foul line allowed Creighton to tie in regulation.
And they did.
Eventually, the game went to two overtimes, where Creighton finally took over, adding an 86-73 win.
Creighton won an epic game. It would’ve been difficult if the Bluejays had to play within 48 hours. But instead, Creighton isn’t playing until Friday, March 29. They’ll have time to recover after playing 50 minutes of basketball.
Give Rick Barnes His Flowers
Rick Barnes just racked up more bonus money after Tennessee defeated Texas on Saturday. Not only did Barnes receive $400,000 for the Vols’ regular-season championship, he added $200,000 for the NCAA Tournament bid and $400,000 for a Round of 32 appearance.
He also received a $200,000 bonus for finishing in the Top 10 final AP Poll and would add an additional $600,000 for winning in the Sweet 16.
With an Elite 8 win, he’ll get another $800 million. Barnes is expected to receive $1 million with a Final Four appearance. If he makes the National Championship, it’s another $1.2 million; with a National Championship win, he’ll rake in another $1.5 Million.
It’s well deserved. Senior guard Santiago Vescovi told the media that Tennessee always feels well-prepared and ready to go. That’s ultimately why Tennessee is super high in the NCAA basketball rankings.
Creighton’s Offense Versus Tennesse’s Defense
The NCAAB matchup everyone’s excited for is the Creighton offense against Tennessee’s defense.
The Creighton Bluejays rank 11th in the nation in offensive efficiency. The Bluejays have hit 36.6% from deep and 59.7% from inside the arc. In addition, Creighton has scored 78.4% from the foul line and has turned the ball over just 15.4% of the time this college basketball season.
Creighton won’t dominate the offensive glass and usually doesn’t get to the foul line much, however, Tennessee’s pressure will give up some foul calls. The pressure will also add 18.8% of turnovers per game, holding opponents to 30.9% from deep and 44.1% from inside the arc.
That’s ultimately what the people want to see. Creighton’s dominant inside the arc, but Tennessee is super good at defending inside the arc.
Creighton won’t pressure. Instead, they’ll keep everything in front of them. The Bluejays are the best defense for FTA/FGA.
Creighton has also held teams to 31.7% from deep and 45.7% from inside. That’s above average, but nothing that Tennessee does defensively. However, the Vols aren’t very elite offensively. Tennessee has shot just 33.9% from three and 51.6% from inside the arc.
The Vols should keep turnovers down and likely will add more offensive rebounds. However, Tennessee probably won’t get to the foul line as much as Creighton. That doesn’t help with Tennessee shooting 75% from the charity stripe.
Finally, both teams shoot a high rate of three-pointers. Creighton isn’t used to defending teams that shoot a lot of threes. Meanwhile, Tennessee, coming from the SEC, is way more used to allowing three-pointers. 33.4% of points scored against Tennessee are from threes, while only 25.1% of threes are scored against Creighton.
Therefore, that favors the Vols. Tennessee is more used to playing a team like Creighton. The defense should step up and make Creighton work harder than they’ve worked all year. Plus, you’d have to imagine Creighton will be a little tired after that marathon on Saturday.
Our March Madness bracket predictions have Tennessee escaping with a win over Creighton here. We also like Tennessee to cover the -2.5 spread at -105 per the Creighton vs Tennessee betting lines.
I guess my lack of math abilities has saved me from a life of gambling.
