Creighton vs. Tennessee 2024 NCAA Tournament Odds & Picks: Sweet 16 (Friday)
Four teams come to Detroit with dreams of making the Final Four. Purdue, Tennessee, Creighton, and Gonzaga have all shown they’re among college basketball’s best this season. However, only one will prevail in the Midwest Region. Their journey continues Friday night. Let’s take a look at the matchups as we get one step closer to Phoenix and the Final Four.
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2024 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Best Bets
(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
#3 Creighton Bluejays vs. #2 Tennessee Volunteers
Both of these teams survived scares in their Second Round matchups. Creighton needed two overtimes to outlast a shorthanded Oregon team to make their third Sweet Sixteen in four years. Meanwhile, Tennessee fought off a furious finish from Texas to reach their second straight Sweet Sixteen. At this point of the tournament, all the teams are battle-tested and all of the teams are talented. The outcomes really do come down to matchups.
The Tennessee Volunteers are a very efficient, well-coached team. They’re one of the most experienced teams in the country and it shows in how well they take of the ball. Their 14.8% turnover rate is one of the 50 lowest in the country. This becomes more impressive given they play one of the fastest offensive paces in the country, led by Dalton Knecht. They’re a good shooting team and they rely on threes and getting to the free throw line, scoring over 20% of their points from the stripe. This will be an interesting stylistic matchup with a Creighton team that runs teams off the three-point line and does not foul.
Creighton is the most experienced team left in the tournament. They play the same style they’ve been playing for years under Greg McDermott. This team shoots a ton of threes, 48.7% 3PA rate, and makes a ton of threes, 36.6% 3P%. The Volunteers are a defense that gives up a lot of three-point attempts although they aren’t always good looks. But if you look throughout the Creighton lineup, everyone shoots well, including 7-foot-1 Ryan Kalkbrenner who hits over 30% from deep. Very few teams move along the perimeter and pass the ball as well as Creighton. They could be the perfect kryptonite against this stout Tennessee defense.
At this point of the tournament, all of these teams have had moments where they’ve looked championship-worthy. Tennessee is a very good team but this might just be a bad matchup against the Bluejays. Creighton won’t let them do what they want on offense and will be a tall task to stop when on offense. This group was one win away from the Final Four last year and I like them to get back to the Elite Eight.
Pick: Creighton +2.5 (-105)
Make sure to check out our other best bets for Wednesday: