NCAAB: #3 Creighton vs #2 Tennessee Odds, and Picks (Mar 29)

• Creighton survived in double overtime against Oregon, winning by a score of 86-73.
• Tennessee held off a late surge by Texas, winning 62-58, and advancing to the Sweet 16.
• These two teams last faced off on January 9, 1937, in a game that Tennessee won 34-28.

The NCAA Tournament has reached the Sweet 16! Let’s take a look at this matchup between the Creighton Bluejays and the Tennessee Volunteers. Both teams survived near-upsets in the second round, and will aim to get back on track in the Sweet 16.

How to Watch

• TBS

Preview

Creighton’s 13-point victory over Oregon was a lot closer than it seemed, with the Bluejays pulling away in double overtime after nearly losing several different times. That being said, their resilience can be considered as a positive, proving that Creighton has the talent to make a deep run in the tournament. On the other hand, if they’re not at their best in this game against Tennessee, they may fall behind too far to catch up. The Bluejays will continue to rely on the experience of Kalkbrenner and Scheierman.

Tennessee led Texas by a decent margin for much of their second-round game, before allowing the Longhorns to make a late push and pull within four. Fortunately, the Volunteers were able to hold them off, claiming their 2nd consecutive Sweet 16 appearance in the process. Tennessee is still seeking their program’s first trip to the Final Four. They first need to hold off 3-seed Creighton in what should be a competitive game. The bulk of the offensive work will fall on leading-scorer Dalton Knecht.

Prediction

This game figures to be a close and defensive battle. It’ll be interesting to see if Creighton’s experience and size will be enough to overcome the Volunteers tough defense. I wouldn’t be too surprised to see this game go either way, but I’d ultimately favor Tennessee. Creighton showed some signs of fatigue in their long battle with Oregon, and I’m not sure a few days off will be enough to get them back to 100%. I’ll take the Volunteers to pull away late and win by a similar margin to their win over Texas.

NCAAB Picks:

• Tennessee 74, Creighton 70 (TENN -2.5)