2025 NCAA Tournament Picks & Predictions: Round 2 (Saturday)
Four teams will head into Saturday from the South region with the hopes of advancing to the Sweet 16. Creighton and Auburn handily survived their opponents while Texas A&M and Michigan had impressive performances too. Let's take a closer look at these two matchups that will decide the first two competitors to advance to Atlanta and the South Region Semifinal.
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2025 Men's NCAA Tournament Best Bets
(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
No. 1 Auburn Tigers vs No. 9 Creighton Bluejays
Although they came in as over 30-point favorites, no one can fault Auburn for playing with their food a bit in an 83-63 win over Alabama State. One area of concern was the Tiger's uncharacteristic lack of ball security. Auburn turned the ball over 12 times but that shouldn't be a big concern against a Creighton team that was one of the worst teams in the country at generating turnovers.
Creighton used an offensive onslaught to defeat Louisville but Auburn's stout 12th-ranked defensive efficiency per KenPom could give them real trouble. Against the Cardinals, 42.9% of Creighton's attempts came from beyond the arc and they hit 45.8% of those. Louisville was a team that gave up a bunch of threes and Auburn is one of the better teams in the country at preventing those attempts, including allowing only 29% when they go up. The biggest weakness of this Auburn defense is their propensity to foul but Creighton was 310th in the country at FTA rate.
Creighton is going to have a tough time finding ways to score against this incredibly athletic Auburn defense. I expect the Tigers to clean up a lot of issues they had in the opening game now that they've gotten the First Round monkey off their back. I'll back the favorite to continue dancing onto Atlanta.
Pick: Auburn -9 (-110)
No. 4 Texas A&M Aggies vs No. 5 Michigan Wolverines
Both of these teams were trendy upset picks for the Thursday slate. Texas A&M took care of a Yale team that couldn't match their size or athleticism in a comfortable win. Meanwhile, Michigan looked to be on the way to a comfortable win when UCSD woke up and brought the game down to the last possession. In the end, the size of Michigan was really the difference as they made things difficult for the Triton shooters. What do these teams have in store for us Saturday?
The difference in this game will be on the boards. Although Michigan boasts two seven-footers in their starting lineup, they're actually only an average rebounding team defensively. Texas A&M can take advantage of this, despite being a poor shooting team overall, as they boast the top offensive-rebounding rate in the country. The Aggies should also give the Wolverines fits on their offensive end. UCSD forced Michigan into 14 turnovers which was key to their comeback efforts. Texas A&M should have similar success against the Wolverine offense.
It's been no secret that the Texas A&M offense has struggled mightily at times this year. They don't shoot the ball well and they don't take care of it, but their offensive rebounding ability should keep Michigan from getting out and running. This will lead to wonky halfcourt sets that end in Michigan turnovers. We should expect a slog in this one and look to play the Under.
Pick: Under 140.5 Total Points (-110)