Two teams that finished as runners-up in their conference tournaments will face off in the opening round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament. Creighton and Louisville will do battle on Thursday, March 20, 2025 in Lexington, KY to determine who qualifies for the Round of 32 in this year’s tourney. This game is in Louisville’s home state, but it is also in the home of their most hated rival, which will make the crowd situation interesting to monitor when this matchup tips off.
According to the latest college basketball odds, Louisville is a 2.5-point favorite going into this game. The total for this contest has been set at 145.5 points. Here, we look at this Creighton vs Louisville matchup and determine whether the Bluejays or Cardinals will have the better of this all-bird battle.
Creighton Looks to Regroup After Big East Final
Creighton finished second in the Big East standings in the regular season and that is where they finished in the Big East tournament as well. The Bluejays lost to St. John’s in the Big East tournament title game, but still comfortably earned an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament. Here, the Bluejays will like their chances to get through the first round, thanks in large part to their superior size.
Ryan Kalkbrenner is one of the toughest players to guard in the country at the center position for Creighton. The 7’1” senior is averaging 19.4 points and 8.8 rebounds per game for the Big East runners-up. Kalbrenner is likely to be too much for his competition to handle in the opening round of the tournament, with the question being whether the rest of the Bluejays can deliver for them to advance here.
Can Louisville Recover After Missed Opportunity In ACC?
Louisville made it to the championship game of the ACC tournament, falling short against the top-seeded Duke Blue Devils. That game was a golden opportunity for Louisville to boost its seeding in the NCAA Tournament, with Cooper Flagg out for Duke. But the Cardinals still have a respectable seed in this year’s tourney and will aim to start their tournament off strong with a victory in this matchup.
For Louisville, this season has marked a massive turnaround, as the Cardinals were one of the worst power conference programs in college basketball over the last few seasons. Louisville has five players averaging in double-figures from a scoring standpoint this year. That balance will be a huge factor in this first-round game, as the Cardinals look to shake off their loss to Duke and move on.
Creighton vs Louisville Prediction
Creighton +2.5 (-110) over Louisville
220K Gold Coins & 10 FREE Sweeps Coins
Claim Bonus - Creighton has a size advantage going into this game with Ryan Kalkbrenner that will be hard for Louisville to overcome.
- The Bluejays have an experience edge over this Cardinals group that is not used to playing in this tournament together just yet.
