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USA Today
22-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
ESPN predicts Auburn vs. Creighton winner in March Madness second round
The tone from the Auburn players and coaches after Thursday's first round win was the victory was the only positive. Both segments of the program let it known that the attitude that was played with will not get it done. The Tigers will need to turn their attention to the ninth-seeded Creighton Bluejays on Saturday. Creighton defeated eighth-seeded Louisville 89-75 in front of a Cardinals heavy crowd on Thursday. They were led by Jamiya Neal with 29 points. Some good news for Auburn is that the ESPN Matchup Predictor gives the Tigers a 76.5% chance of advancing to the Sweet 16. BetMGM has Auburn as 9.5-point favorite to win the game. This is not the first time that Auburn and Creighton have met in the NCAA Tournament. Their last meeting occurred in 2000, when the Tigers defeated the Bluejays 72-69 in the first round. On that day, Auburn was led by Daymeon Fishback with 16 points with four three-pointers made. A notable name on that Creighton team was Kyle Korver who spent 17 years in the NBA. Korver had 10 points in that matchup. For the 2025 matchup, the Tigers will have to prepare for one of the better centers in college basketball. Ryan Kalkbrenner averages 19 points per game, and nine rebounds. He is also a great rim protecter with three blocks per game. The good news is outside of Kalkbrenner, the Bluejays are mostly guard heavy. Dylan Cardwell will need to stay out of foul trouble so the assignment of Kalkbrenner will not be transferred to Johni Broome. Another key factor will be defending the three-point shot of the Blue Jays. They were 11 of 24 on Thursday, but a strength of this Auburn team has been running teams off the three-point line. Broome will need a better performance than he did against Alabama State. He scored just 14 points in the first-round win and will need to score north of 20. A better performance from Chad Baker-Mazara will be needed as well. The Tigers' second-best player only scored five points against the Hornets. If those two have great performances, their teammates will follow. The game can be seen on TBS and tip-off is set for an approximate time of 6:10 p.m. CT.
CNN
20-03-2025
- Sport
- CNN
Here are the teams moving on into the round of 32 so far at the NCAA men's basketball tournament
March Madness is well and truly under way. The round of 64 of the NCAA men's basketball tournament kicked off Thursday afternoon with a slate of eight games. Here are the results: Creighton exploded in the first half to take a big lead and never really looked back against Louisville, 89-75. Jamiya Neal led the way with 29 points for the Bluejays, who – as a team – simply could not miss for stretches of the game. Creighton shot over 55% from the field, including 45% from beyond the arc. The double-double for Neal – 29 points, 11 rebounds – made the Arizona State transfer the standout player of the game. Chucky Hepburn of Louisville led the Cardinals with 22 points. It looked for a while that High Point could cause an upset but they couldn't quite hang with No. 4 seed Purdue in the end. The Boilermakers pulled away late and were paced by Trey Kaufman-Renn's 21 points and Braden Smith's 20 points. No. 14 Montana battled hard to keep the game close, but No. 3 Wisconsin showed its quality in the closing stages to secure a dominant 85-66 win in the first round of March Madness. John Blackwell impressed with a game-high 19 points for the Badgers to go with five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Steven Crowl added 18 points for Wisconsin and John Tonje had 15. Houston stormed to an impressive 78-40 blowout win being rewarded for getting its work done early and never allowed SIUE to get any form of momentum going throughout the game. Kelvin Sampson's team was impressive on both sides of the ball. Houston dominated the boards and recorded an impressive 11 steals as the Cougars hustled to the very end. Auburn is rolling on as the tournament's top seed trounced Alabama State by a final score of 83-63. The Tigers got a scare put into them during the first half when the Hornets pulled within one point of the SEC regular season champion, but Auburn collected itself and didn't allow State to take the lead. The Tigers led by 10 at the half. After the break, it was all Tigers with Auburn cruising to a relatively easy win. After a nervy final five minutes, No. 12 McNeese State was able to hold onto a famous victory over No. 5 Clemson. The Tigers made it an exciting finish in Rhode Island as their offense finally woke up – with Chase Hunter scoring all of his 21 points in the second half – but the deficit was too large as the Cowboys were able to hold on and advance to the second round for the first time. Brandon Murray led the way off the bench for McNeese State with 21 points, but it was the team's defense that really stole the show, coming up with 13 turnovers and having six blocks. BYU made it a little nervy in the final minute of the game as VCU cut the deficit to single digits but the Cougars were able to close it out to play Wisconsin on Saturday. Richie Saunders (16 points) and Igor Demin (15 points) starred for BYU. VCU made a valiant effort in the second half – outscoring BYU by two – but it wasn't enough to overcome the feisty Cougars. Zeb Jackson, especially, can be proud of his performance, ending the game with five three-pointers and 23 points. Gonzaga has stormed through to the March Madness round of 32 after an impressive win over Georgia. The victory only seemed to be heading one way when the Zags raced to a huge early lead – Gonzaga started the game with an electric 27-3 run. While Georgia continued to toil away, Gonzaga's offense proved to be too much for the Dawgs. This is a breaking story and will be updated.
USA Today
20-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Who does Auburn play next in the 2025 NCAA Tournament? Second round bracket update
Who does Auburn play next in the 2025 NCAA Tournament? Second round bracket update What's next for the Auburn Tigers following its win over Alabama State on Thursday? The No. 1 Auburn Tigers earned its first win of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday by defeating No. 16 Alabama State, 83-63. The Tigers shot 45% from the field and connected on just 56% of its free throw attempts. They struggled with handling the basketball as well by committing 12 turnovers which were converted into 14 points by Alabama State. However, the Tigers' defense limited the Hornets' offense to 37% shooting from the field and outmanned their bench by outscoring Alabama State 30-14. A win is a win, no matter how pretty or how ugly. Who will Auburn play in the second round of the NCAA Tournament? Auburn will face No. 9 seed Creighton on Saturday at Rupp Arena. The Blue Jays stunned the de-facto home team, No. 8 seed Louisville, 89-75 on Thursday to advance to the round of 32. Jamiya Neal connected on 11-of-16 shots from the field en route to a 29-point, 12-round performance in the first-round win. Behind him was Steven Ashworth, who scored 21 points in the victory. Creighton is 25-10 and entered the tournament with a loss to Big East Champion St. John's in the conference tournament. Auburn will square off with Creighton on Saturday with a Sweet 16 berth on the line. Network and tip-off time will be announced at a later time.
NBC Sports
15-03-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Big East Championship - Creighton vs St. John's Prediction: Odds, Expert Picks, Betting Trends and Stats
Its Championship Saturday and the Creighton Bluejays (24-9, 15-5) and the Red Storm of St. John's (29-4, 18- 2) meet tonight at Madison Square Garden in New York for the Big East Title. Creighton rallied late and eventually prevailed over DePaul in their first game of the tournament two nights ago. Jamiya Neal and co. did not wait to put the pedal down last night against UConn. They jumped out to a 46-35 lead at halftime and held on for a 71-62 win to advance to today's championship game. As they did in their first game Thursday against Butler, St. John's simply wore down and eventually overpowered Marquette last night, winning 79-63. Zuby Ejiofor scored a career-high 33 in the win. These teams last met on February 16 with the Johnnies prevailing 79-73. Big East Player of the Year RJ Luis Jr. had 24 points and 13 rebounds in that game to lead the Red Storm to the road win. Lets dive into the matchup and offer some information and possibly a sweat or two. We've got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch the opening tip, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts. Game details & how to watch Creighton vs. St. John's Date: Saturday, March 15, 2025 Time: 6:30PM EST Site: Madison Square Garden City: New York, NY Network/Streaming: FOX Never miss a second of the action and stay up to date with all the latest scores and player news. Check out our day-by-day NCAA Basketball Schedule Page that includes live game updates. Game odds for Creighton vs. St. John's The latest odds as of Saturday courtesy of BetMGM: Odds: Creighton Bluejays (+230), St. John's Red Storm (-285) Spread: Red Storm -6.5 Total: 141.5 points Expert picks & predictions for Creighton vs. St. John's Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the NCAA calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, injuries, and the schedule. Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager. Here are the best bets our model is projecting for today's Bluejays & Red Storm game: Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on St. John's on the Moneyline. Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on St. John's -6.5. Total: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Game Total UNDER 141.5. Creighton vs. St. John's: Top betting trends and recent stats Creighton has won 4 games in a row and covered and cashed the Game Total OVER in 3 of them Both of St. John's tournament games have seen the Johnnies cover the spread and cash the Game Total UNDER St. John's games have gone UNDER the Game Total in 4 of their last 5 games If you're looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our NCAA Basketball Top Trends Tool on Please bet responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700. Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff: · Jay Croucher (@croucherJD) · Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper) · Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports) · Brad Thomas (@MrBradThomas)
Fox Sports
15-03-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Creighton-UConn ends with scuffle, but there's plenty layered beneath players' actions
NEW YORK — The black-and-white details of a late-game fracas in the second Big East Tournament semifinal on Friday night were as follows: Creighton's Jamiya Neal, who had ripped Connecticut for 19 points, eschewed the sportsmanlike act of draining the clock so he could windmill home a meaningless dunk that pushed the final score to 71-62 in favor of the second-seeded Bluejays. At which point, UConn's Hassan Diarra, a proud member of the last two national championship teams, shoved Neal in the chest with both hands before momentarily squaring up and clenching his fists — ultimately deciding against any trading of blows. A seemingly heated exchange between Creighton head coach Doug McDermott and UConn assistant Luke Murray unfolded near midcourt, though tempers eventually fizzled. Jaden Ross was ejected for leaving the Huskies' bench. "I got caught up in the emotions of the game," Neal said. "Just a lot of emotions going on. So I would like to apologize for that. I respect Coach [Dan] Hurley and those guys over there. They have a great, great program. Obviously they're two-time national champs. I apologize. Just got caught up in the moment, and I shouldn't have done it." But layered beneath the actions of both players and both teams was an undercurrent of seasonal disparateness that had permeated the game itself. For Creighton, which advances to play St. John's on Saturday night, a triumph over the Huskies was proof of how successful this season has already been, regardless of what happens in the next few weeks. The Bluejays lost their second-best player, Texas Tech transfer Pop Isaacs, after only eight games and still found a formula to win 15 conference games and score victories over the Red Storm, the Huskies (twice) and the Golden Eagles of Marquette. This trip to the Big East title game will be their fifth in the last 11 tournaments since joining the league, though McDermott is still looking for his first victory on that stage. For UConn, which now appears destined for an 8-seed or 9-seed in the NCAA Tournament, a lackluster defensive effort in the first half demonstrated yet again how flawed and inconsistent this team really is and how unlikely any hope of a three-peat has become. The same issues that have plagued the Huskies since their season-opening losing streak at the Maui Invitational — shoddy decision-making, limited physicality, an inability to guard without fouling — were still on display four months later, at Madison Square Garden, during the most critical time of the year when elite teams are often rounding into form. That Diarra reacted the way he did to Neal's slight felt emblematic of a campaign ready to run aground. "I think the two teams that are deserving to play for the championship are going to play," Hurley said. "We were the third-best team, I guess, in the regular season. The third-best team doesn't deserve to play for a championship. Obviously, that first half defensive performance was, you know, not worthy of having a chance to play on Saturday night at MSG against a team like St. John's this year. We got exactly what we deserved." A last-ditch perimeter jumper from backup guard Aidan Mahaney had barely passed through the net when Hurley, incensed by the sieve-like defense in the opening 20 minutes, literally chased his players off the court. "Run! Run!" he shouted as the Huskies filed through a mass of bodies to reach the underbelly of Madison Square Garden. Everything else Hurley yelled amid the exodus — and one can imagine almost all of it contained expletives — was obscured by a smartly placed hand over his mouth, shielding both cameramen and amateur lip readers alike from whatever vitriol he spewed. Reporters near UConn's locker room described hearing one of the coaches screaming at decibel levels that turned the heads of any and all passersby. The source of Hurley's apoplexy was obvious: One night after the Huskies had stuffed Villanova into a straightjacket by only surrendering five field goals in the second half, the defensive performance against Creighton resembled a water balloon being gored by a pitchfork, hemorrhaging its contents across the floor. Even with stars Ryan Kalkbrenner and Steven Ashworth combining for just nine points in the opening stanza, the Bluejays still piled up 46 points while shooting a staggering 75% from the floor. Neal, who averages 11.2 points per game, scored nine before the first media timeout. Small forward Jasen Green, who contributes just 4.3 points per game, made his first seven field goal attempts to notch a season-high 15 points before halftime. A string of eight consecutive makes extended Creighton's advantage to 46-32. "It's hard to fix your defense at this point of the year," Hurley said. "And there were so many one-on-one battles lost. I mean, just an inability to guard the ball. Just the way that Neal started the game, just scoring one-on-one in a variety of fashions, and we were just so weak guarding the ball. They were shooting shots in the restricted area without much [resistance]. We've had an inability to guard the ball the whole year. Part of it is strength. Obviously this team doesn't have the physicality in the Big East to be able to win a lot of those one-on-one matchups." All of which seemed even worse when juxtaposed with the unflinching discipline from Creighton's defense, a top-40 unit nationally that commits fewer fouls per game (11) than any team in the country and was only dinged for nine against UConn. A staunch commitment to employing the principle of verticality, which begins with the 7-foot-1, 270-pound Kalkbrenner exhibiting supreme body control around the rim, tormented whichever player dared attack the basket. Small forward Liam McNeeley, who torched the Bluejays for 38 points earlier this season, missed 14 of the 20 shots he attempted on Friday night, many of which originated near the hoop. For the Huskies to only attempt four free-throws despite scoring 34 points in the paint speaks to the discipline with which McDermott's team defended. The optical imbalance between a UConn team that has never been able to defend without fouling and a Creighton team that always defends without fouling left Hurley to spar with the officials on what felt like a possession-by-possession basis. He removed his glasses and ran onto the court following a questionable blocking call against Ross in the first half, spending most of the timeout bickering before an interview with sideline reporter Kristina Pink. He made a show of turning his back on the referees after consecutive borderline decisions went against the Huskies during their most promising attempt at a comeback. He called timeout shortly thereafter and got face-to-face with referee Lamar Simpson to ask "Are you serious?" four times before staffers finally dragged him away. Only Hurley knows how much of that was pent-up frustration from a season gone awry. But for McDermott and the Bluejays, who are aiming to capture their first Big East Tournament title on Saturday night, the disciplined defense was exactly what they preach. "I got news for you," McDemott said, "I got some tough dudes in my locker room. It takes toughness to execute the defense the way we execute it. But we're trying to win the analytic game at the free-throw line, and that takes mental toughness as well to understand and be disciplined. You don't beat UConn a couple of times in a season if you don't have tough dudes. "No, we don't force a bunch of turnovers. No, we don't get up under you. But there's a method to our madness and what we're doing, and this group of guys has executed it extremely well all season long." Michael Cohen covers college football and college basketball for FOX Sports. Follow him on Twitter @Michael_Cohen13. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily . FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience College Basketball UConn Huskies Creighton Bluejays recommended Get more from College Basketball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
