Creighton vs. Tennessee Betting Pick: Can Ryan Kalkbrenner, Bluejays Pull the Upset in Sweet 16?
Creighton vs. Tennessee Betting Pick: Can Ryan Kalkbrenner, Bluejays Pull the Upset in Sweet 16?
Creighton is one of my favorite teams left in the tournament both to watch and to bet on. This Creighton team is extremely well coached and runs some of the best offensive sets of any team in the country this year.
CREIGHTON VS. TENNESSEE DATE, TIME, AND WHERE TO WATCH
- Date: March 29, 2024
- Start Time: 10:09 p.m. ET
- Where to Watch: TBS, truTV
CREIGHTON VS. TENNESSEE PREDICTION
Creighton basically runs offense like an NBA team. They have an elite point guard in Steven Ashworth, who can break anyone down off the dribble and has an extremely above average handle while also being an elite three-point shooter. Ashworth is a very solid player who creates a lot of their offensive opportunities, but their best player is Baylor Scheierman. Scheierman is an elite offensive and defensive player who is the definition of a matchup nightmare.
Scheierman has a great handle for his size at 6’7 and is one of the best three-point shooters in the country. He can score all three levels and is elite in the mid range as we saw in the game against Oregon as he scored the final four points to send it to overtime including the game tying mid range jumpshot in the final ten seconds.
On the inside, the Blue Jays also have an excellent post presence in Ryan Kalkbrenner. Kalkrenner stands at over 7 feet tall, but is extremely mobile for his size and is very nimble around the rim. Another thing that is interesting about Kalkbrenner is that he is an excellent free-throw shooter. Kalkbrenner is shooting 65% from the field this season and has made 75% of his free throws over the past two seasons.
For a lot of these big men, you see that they struggle to hit free throws when fouled much like Oumar Ballo for Arizona, but that is not the case for Kalkbrenner, who takes advantage of many of his opportunities at the charity stripe. Overall, I feel like this Creighton team is being extremely undervalued in the spot against Tennessee who has been very offensive challenged at times this season.
Tennessee barely escaped Texas in their last game in the Round of 32 which was surprising to me because I really felt like this Tennessee team would overmatch them at every position but that was not the case. This Tennessee team gets the job done with defense. They are an elite defensive team, but as we saw last night with the Illinois versus Iowa State game, it seems as though elite offense tends to shine through in these types of games with contrasting styles.
Both teams played very tough schedules this season, including in conference as the SEC and Big East were two of the best conferences in the country. I give a lot of credit to the SEC this year as that conference was much better than many people expected, but overall the big east was the better and more consistent top-heavy conference.
This Creighton team has a 20 point win on their resume over Uconn, who is likely to win another national championship as they appear to be a freight train, rolling towards back-to-back national titles. The Bluejays simply have more fire power and a better star-studded cast with Ashworth, Alexander, Scheierman, and Kalkbrenner compared to Tennessee, who pretty much relies on Dalton Knecht to score 25+ points per game.
If Knecht has an off night for any reason, it is likely that Tennessee will go down. With that being said, I am rolling with Creighton +4 at -115 for 2U as my most confident college basketball play of the day for today’s action as I think the Bluejays make their way to the Elite Eight.
CREIGHTON VS. TENNESSEE BETTING PICK
2U Creighton +4 -115 Click here to see which sportsbook has the best odds
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Article Author
Joey has spent the last 6+ years betting on sports with a focus on basketball and baseball. Basketball is his main focus, and not many people know more about mid-major basketball than him. Whether you need advice on a Saturday night primetime game or a Tuesday night back-alley SWAC/MEAC game, Joey is your man.