Iowa vs. Auburn: 2023 NCAA Tournament Odds, Preview & Predictions
March Madness is officially here! The 2023 NCAA Tournament Bracket has been announced, and the teams are lining up for the Big Dance. Let’s take a look at the early odds, preview, and predictions for the 2023 NCAA Tournament Round 1 game: Iowa vs. Auburn.
Check out all of our coverage for the 2023 NCAA Tournament >>
2023 March Madness Odds, Preview & Predictions: Iowa vs. Auburn
Iowa vs. Auburn Odds, Spread & Match Up Overview
- Iowa Spread: +1
- Auburn Spread: -1
- Iowa Moneyline: +100
- Auburn Moneyline: -120
- Game Over/Under: 153.5
Go Premium to access our most exclusive March Madness tools and advice >>
Iowa 2023 NCAA Tournament Betting Preview
Forever an offensively based team, Iowa is making yet another tournament appearance under Fran McCaffery. Kris Murray has done a solid job of filling his brother’s shoes, with Filip Rebraca and Tony Perkins being solid role players this year in Iowa’s top-five offense. But McCaffery has led similar teams into the tournament before, and he has yet to reach the Sweet 16 with any of them. Defense wins championships, and to rank outside the top 150 in efficiency on that end of the court is not a recipe for success.
Last year, Iowa was on fire heading into the tournament, and Richmond handed the 5-seeded Hawkeyes a first-round loss. The floor is quite low for Iowa, and neutral-court games against TCU and Duke earlier this season resulted in double-digit losses. The Hawkeyes take care of the ball and have the firepower to reach the second weekend in the tournament, but with what they allow on the defensive end, I simply do not see this team being able to reach the Final Four.
Auburn 2023 NCAA Tournament Betting Preview
After starting the season 16-3, Auburn lost eight of its final 12 regular-season games, getting eaten alive in SEC Conference play. The Tigers don’t exactly enter the tournament with a lot of momentum, and their offensive woes have come to light as the season has progressed.
Wendell Green and K.D. Johnson are a dynamic backcourt duo with a good amount of experience to go along with frontcourt piece Jaylin Williams. Auburn’s perimeter shooting is awful, ranking outside the top 300 in the nation, but the Tigers do rebound well and capitalize on second-chance looks at a top-25 clip. If Bruce Pearl is to lead his team to another deep tournament run, it will be on the back of Auburn’s top-25 defense. The Tigers boast one of the best three-point defenses in the nation, limiting opponents to sub-30 percent from beyond the arc. Their interior defense isn’t bad either, but the Tigers do send teams to the charity stripe at a high clip.
Simply put, there’s not much reason to trust these Tigers. They rank outside the top 350 in the Haslametrics consistency metric — which might be the lowest among any tournament team. We simply don’t know which Auburn team will show up on any given day, and that does not bode well for this team’s ability to string together multiple wins.
Round 1 & First Four Betting Picks & Predictions
South
- #16 Texas A&M-CC vs. #16 Southeast Missouri St. (First Four)
- #8 Maryland vs. #9 West Virginia
- #5 San Diego St. vs. #12 Charleston
- #4 Virginia vs. #13 Furman
- #6 Creighton vs. #11 NC State
- #3 Baylor vs. #14 UC Santa Barbara
- #7 Missouri vs. #10 Utah State
- #2 Arizona vs. #15 Princeton
East
- #8 Memphis vs. #9 Florida Atlantic
- #5 Duke vs. #12 Oral Roberts
- #4 Tennessee vs. #13 Louisiana
- #6 Kentucky vs. #11 Providence
- #3 Kansas State vs. #14 Montana State
- #7 Michigan State vs. #10 USC
- #2 Marquette vs. #15 Vermont
West
- #1 Kansas vs. #16 Howard
- #8 Arkansas vs. #9 Illinois
- #5 Saint Mary’s vs. #12 VCU
- #4 UConn vs. #13 Iona
- #11 Arizona State vs. #11 Nevada (First Four)
- #3 Gonzaga vs. #14 Grand Canyon
- #7 Northwestern vs. #10 Boise State
- #2 UCLA vs. #15 UNC Asheville
Midwest
- #1 Houston vs. #16 Northern Kentucky
- #8 Iowa vs. #9 Auburn
- #5 Miami vs. #12 Drake
- #4 Indiana vs. #13 Kent State
- #11 Mississippi State vs. #11 Pitt (First Four)
- #3 Xavier vs. #14 Kennesaw State
- #7 Texas A&M vs. #10 Penn State
- #2 Texas vs. #15 Colgate
Win Prizes in our FREE Bracket Contest >>
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | RadioPublic | Breaker | Castbox | Pocket Casts