With No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson falling to No. 9 seed FAU, the Princeton Tigers are the biggest underdog remaining in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. The No. 15 seed will take on the No. 6 Creighton Bluejays, who are fresh off an upset win over the Baylor Bears.
While Creighton has another solid win over NC State, no team has the tournament resume Princeton does at this juncture. The Tigers dispatched No. 2 seed Arizona and No. 7 seed Missouri, the latter of whom they defeated by 15. Princeton wasn’t even the top seed in the Ivy League!
Guard Ryan Langborg dropped 22 against Missouri on 8-of-17 shooting, which was a complete 180 from his (and the team’s) overall performance against Arizona. In that 59-55 victory, the Tigers shot just 40.6% from the field and 16% from 3-point range, but put on a defensive masterclass against the Wildcats guards, all of whom combined to shoot 6-of-21 from the field and 1-of-12 from three.
Creighton, led by head coach Doug McDermott, boasted one of the most balanced offenses in the country this year with their ability to score from deep and within the pain. Ryan Nembhard dropped 30 points in the win over Baylor (he averages 12.4 PPG on the season) while Ryan Kalkbrenner scored 31 against NC State. It’s not easy to neutralize this group because they can hurt you in many ways with five players averaging 11.8 or more points per game.
How to watch Creighton vs Princeton in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16
Date: Friday, March 24
Time: 9:00 p.m. ET
Channel: TBS
Streaming: NCAA March Madness Live
Announcers: Ian Eagle, Jim Spanarkel, Evan Washburn
Creighton vs Princeton NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 odds
According to FanDuel Sportsbook, Creighton is a -9.5 favorite (-120, bet $120 to win $100) and -580 on the moneyline while Princeton comes in as the underdog (+9.5, -102, bet $102 to win $100) and +420 on the moneyline (bet $100 to win $420). The over/under is currently 140.5 with both bets at -110.
Creighton vs Princeton NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 prediction
The Bluejays have been tested all year in a very tough Big East conference … but so was Missouri coming out of the SEC. That didn’t matter to Princeton, who also took down the best team in the Pac-12. The major conferences certainly help some teams’ preparation, but it’s by no means a defining indicator of their fortitude come tournament time.
The Tigers are the only squad above a No. 9 seed remaining, but they by far have the best chance to move on since No. 9 FAU is taking on No. 4 Tennessee and No. 8 Arkansas is running into No. 4 UCONN. In the spirit of upsets, we’re going with the Princeton offense (and stout defense) against a Creighton team that hasn’t defeated an opponent still ranked in the top-25 since Feb. 11 (and only two ranked opponents since Jan. 17).
Princeton 82, Creighton 81