In the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament, the Creighton Bluejays will take on the Auburn Tigers. Both teams won convincingly in their opening-round games, setting up an interesting Creighton vs Auburn matchup where the number one overall seed could be tested. This game will take place on Saturday, March 22, 2025 at Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY, with Auburn playing in familiar territory in SEC country.
Going into this matchup, FanDuel Sportsbook has listed Auburn as a 7.5-point favorite. The total has been set at 150.5 points in this game which will determine one of the participants in this year’s Sweet 16. Here, we break down this Big East vs SEC matchup and make our prediction.
Creighton Hopes to Pound the Paint
The Creighton Bluejays dominated the Louisville Cardinals in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, despite the fact that Louisville was playing close to home in Lexington. Creighton got 29 points from Jamiya Neal and 22 points from Steven Ashworth, both of whom will need to step up again if Creighton is to advance here. But the biggest key for Creighton in this game will be their biggest player.
That key player is Ryan Kalkbrenner, who provides Creighton with a size advantage when he is on the floor. Against a team like Auburn who does so many things so well, Kalkbrenner’s ability to score near the basket and win on the glass on both ends will be vital to give the underdog a chance to win here.
Auburn Looks to Avoid Upset, Reach Sweet 16
The Auburn Tigers didn’t face much resistance in the first round of the tournament, beating up on 16-seed Alabama State. The Tigers took the lead early on thanks to a red-hot first half from Miles Kelly and never looked back. Here, the Tigers will likely face a tougher challenge from an experienced Creighton team, but Auburn will still be expected to come away with a win to move to the tournament’s second weekend.
For Auburn, the key to this game will be defending the three-point line in this matchup without allowing Kalkbrenner to feast in the paint. Creighton has shooters who can change a game, especially Ashworth, who had a big first half against Louisville. If Auburn gets spread too thin defensively, this game could get interesting in a hurry.
Creighton vs Auburn Prediction
Auburn -7.5 (-110) over Creighton
220K Gold Coins & 10 FREE Sweeps Coins
- Auburn may not have the height Creighton has with Kalkbrenner, but they do have the physicality to handle him.
- We expect some shooting regression from Creighton in this game, which will work in Auburn’s favor.
