March Madness continues on Friday, with four marquee Sweet 16 matchups set to tip off. In the South region, #1 seed Auburn will look to reach the Elite 8 with a win over Michigan. The Tigers survived the first weekend of March Madness with an impressive 82-70 victory over Creighton. On the other side, Michigan gutted out a second-half comeback over Texas A&M on Saturday.
Auburn enters this contest as 9.5-point favorites, with the over/under set at 153.5 points. Below is my college basketball pick on DraftKings Sportsbook for Friday’s March Madness showdown.
To follow all of my college basketball picks, along with our other DK Network analysts, join the DKN Betting Group on DraftKings Sportsbook (it’s free!).
Want to approach your March Madness Bracket with the same precision as the top 1% of bracket pool winners? Check out what the PoolGenius optimizer has to offer!
#1 Auburn vs. #5 Michigan (9:45 PM EST)
It’s been a dominant campaign for the Tigers, who were the consensus number one team in America for most of the season. They’ve been led by superstar big man Johni Broome, one of two favorites to win the Wooden Award. However, a lackluster month of March created some doubt over Auburn’s potential to win a national title. So far, so good for the SEC powerhouse after two straight NCAA Tournament victories. However, tougher challenges than #16 Alabama State and #9 Creighton await.
Michigan has enjoyed its best season in years under new head coach Dusty May. This squad is built on size; centers Vlad Goldin (16.8 PPG) and Danny Wolf (13.0 PPG) lead the team in scoring. Per KenPom, UM has the fifth-tallest roster in the nation. However, a common knock against the Wolverines is that they aren’t dominant. The Big Ten champs have won by an average margin of just 3.5 points per game away from home. Still, there is some upside in backing a group that knows how to handle adversity.
On paper, Auburn deserves to be significant favorites; the team ranks fourth in adjusted efficiency margin (34.95) on KenPom. In comparison, Michigan is at 20th (23.41). Still, the Wolverines dominate the paint and don’t turn the ball over, making them a difficult out for anyone. The Tigers have lost this month to other big, physical squads like Texas A&M and Tennessee. In both contests, the opposing team dominated the rebounding battle. Keeping that in mind, UM fits the profile of a team that can keep things close on Friday night.
College Basketball Pick: Michigan +9.5 (2 Units)
Want to approach your March Madness Bracket with the same precision as the top 1% of bracket pool winners? Check out what the PoolGenius optimizer has to offer!
