Auburn vs. Iowa NCAA Tournament Round 1: How to watch, odds and predictions for March Madness

While everyone’s scouring their March Madness brackets for 4-13 upsets in order to feel superior, it’s easy to gloss over the coin-flip majesty of the 8-9 matchups. While anyone can predict the tooth-and-nail outcome of Auburn vs. Iowa, the fact of the matter is that the thinnest margin could potentially decide this battle in Birmingham.

Will Auburn and Bruce Pearl be emboldened by their historically difficult schedule, or worn down because of it, as they were in the SEC Tournament against Arkansas? Will Iowa’s Kris Murray be able to finish what his brother Keegan started (while his relative thrives with the Sacramento Kings)? We’re oh-so-close to knowing the answer (and whose job it’ll be to dethrone Alabama in the second round).

How to watch Auburn vs. Iowa in the NCAA Tournament Round 1

Date: Thursday, March 16
Time: 6:50 pm ET
Channel: TNT
Streaming: NCAA March Madness Live, fuboTV
Announcers: Jim Nantz, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill, Tracy Wolfson

Auburn vs. Iowa NCAA Tournament Round 1 odds

According to FanDuel, this is as tight as humanly possible. Iowa is an 0.5-point favorite, and if you back them to cover (and win by, uh, one point or more), your odds are -110. Same if you believe in Auburn. Considering that’s … basically the moneyline, nothing is different in that department; Auburn is -111, Iowa is -110. The O/U is 151.5, and both directions are also available at -110 odds.

You might as well bet on your buddy flipping a heads or tails.

Auburn vs. Iowa NCAA Tournament Round 1 prediction

Hilariously, BetMGM’s algorithm predicts Auburn to win this one with 51% confidence, an almost laughably emblematic representation of how even this could be.

If we have to … we’ll say Murray and Iowa are overwhelmed by the SEC, as their shooting goes cold for yet another tournament appearance. The SEC and Big 12 deserve to dance longer than the Big 10 anyway.

Prediction: Auburn 79, Iowa 68