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Princeton vs. Creighton Predictions, Odds & Picks: Is The Tigers’ Cinderella Run Over?

Mike Spector

Last Updated: March 24, 2023 3:58 PM EDT • 2 min 55 sec read.

Trey Alexander of the Creighton Bluejays reacts after a victory over the Baylor Bears and we offer our top odds and predictions for Princeton vs. Creighton.
Trey Alexander of the Creighton Bluejays reacts after a victory over the Baylor Bears. Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images via AFP.

A No. 15 seed and No. 6 will square off for the first time in the history of the NCAA Tournament when the Princeton Tigers do battle against the Creighton Bluejays. Check out our Princeton vs. Creighton college basketball picks based on the top NCAAB odds.

Princeton (23-8, 10-4 Ivy) is the only remaining South region team that has been to a Final Four (the Tigers last made it in 1965). The Tigers were the third Ivy League school since 1975 to make the Sweet 16, joining Penn (1978, 1979) and Cornell (2010).  

Meanwhile, Creighton (23-12, 14-6 Big East) is one of three Big East programs (Xavier and UConn are the others) to make the Sweet 16. The Bluejays are 14-4 after starting the season 9-8 and are one of five teams remaining (Michigan State, UConn, Alabama, and Houston) that won their first two NCAA Tournament games by at least nine points each.

Here is our best Princeton vs. Creighton prediction (odds via Caesars; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).

Princeton vs. Creighton odds

Princeton vs. Creighton prediction

Creighton -9.5 (-110 via Caesars) ⭐⭐⭐

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Princeton is the fourth No. 15 seed to make the Sweet 16, joining Florida Gulf Coast (2013), Oral Roberts (2021), and Saint Peter’s (2022). The interesting commonality between all four teams is that none was the top seed in its own conference tournament.

However, the Tigers are still playing in the NCAA Tournament as a result of two masterful game plans, daring the right players on Arizona to beat them offensively and making a Missouri team that wanted to get up-and-down play completely at their half-court pace. The problem with facing Creighton is that it does not have the same exploitable flaws as Arizona and is comfortable playing any style of game, unlike Missouri.

Creighton was the Big East’s best team in terms of adjusted defensive efficiency, in large part because it controlled the defensive glass (23.2% offensive-rebounding rate allowed was tops in league play), held its opponents to the league’s lowest free-throw rate, and allowed just 44.5% from 2-point range thanks to center Ryan Kalkbrenner’s elite rim protection. The Bluejays also do an excellent job of running teams off the 3-point line (tops in the Big East in 3-point rate allowed), and we would not expect the Tigers to have much of a chance in this game if they shoot 4-for-25 from 3-point range as they did against Arizona.

This is a three-star play, as all five Creighton starters average in double figures, which makes it a difficult team to game plan for. In addition, the Bluejays were 8-5 ATS in non-conference games this year and have covered each of their previous four NCAA Tournament games.

Check out our best March Madness odds and Wooden Award odds.

Princeton vs. Creighton best odds

Caesars (-110)

DraftKings FanDuel BetMGM Caesars PointsBet
-10 -9.5 N/A -9.5 -10
-110 -120 N/A -110 -110

We would not feel as comfortable laying double-digits with Creighton, so the only logical choice of sportsbooks for us was between Caesars and FanDuel. Unfortunately, it seems the only way FanDuel will offer more affordable juice (in the -110 range) is if it raises its spread to -10 or higher, but we would prefer to cash our bet with a 10-point Creighton win and not need at least an 11-point victory to do so.

Other sportsbooks like BetRivers had been as low as -9.5 earlier in the week, but it was charging -114 in juice, so waiting for Caesars to lower from -10 was bettors’ best bang for their buck.

Princeton vs. Creighton odds analysis

Creighton opened as consensus a -10 favorite, but any line movement has gone toward the underdogs since then. The betting splits justify that line movement, as 72% of ATS bets are on Princeton to cover.

The consensus opening total of 140.5 did not last long. FanDuel is the only remaining sportsbook offering that number, while all other competing sportsbooks have lowered it to 140. Fifty-four percent of all wagers have backed the Over.

Princeton vs. Creighton game info

Date: Friday, March 24, 9:00 p.m. ET
TV: TBS
Location: KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, KY

Princeton-Creighton pick made 3/23/2023 at 6:12 a.m. ET.

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Written By:
Mike Spector
I have been in the sports writing industry for over three years, working for sites like BettingPros/FantasyPros, Oddschecker, and Sportsbook Review. In my first year writing for BettingPros, I finished with the #2 overall record in their annual NFL betting competition, which made picks against the spread, and from an over/under and moneyline perspective. I am an avid fan of the NFL, MLB, and all college sports. In my opinion, March Madness is the best sporting event there is, and I am especially euphoric starting with conference tournament time in college basketball. I am a big advocate of "fading the public" and making plays that are contrarian, constantly citing that "there are reasons why they have those big shiny buildings in Las Vegas." Follow me on Twitter for my best bets and commentary to go along with the wagers.