Michigan (5) vs. Auburn (1) Bracket Prediction: March Madness Sweet 16 Odds
The Michigan Wolverines are back in the Sweet 16 after a 91-79 dismantling of Texas A&M. The Auburn Tigers, the top overall seed in the tournament, reached the third round with an 82-70 win over Creighton.
Auburn is a 9.5-point favourite to win on the NCAAB odds, the largest spread of any Sweet 16 game, while the total is pegged at 153.5.
Michigan vs. Auburn NCAA Tournament Point Spread and Betting
The winner of this game face either No. 2 Michigan State or No. 6 Ole Miss in the Elite Eight. Making their sixth Sweet 16 appearance in the last nine years, Michigan last reached the Elite Eight in 2021. This is Auburn’s sixth-ever appearance in the Sweet 16 and first since they went to the Final Four in 2019, the best result in school history.
Despite being the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament, Auburn has the longest odds on the NCAAB futures board to win the national championship of all four 1-seeds at +475, trailing Houston (+450), Florida (+325) and Duke (+210). Michigan is +6600 to win the tournament. The Wolverines’ lone national championship was in 1989, but they did reach the title game in 2018.
Michigan Wolverines (5)
It looked like Michigan would fall victim to the 12 vs. 5 opening round curse, but they hung on to slip past UC San Diego 68-65 in their tournament opener. That scare appeared to wake up the Wolverines as they cruised to a 91-79 win over Texas A&M in the second round.
Roddy Gayle Jr. propelled Michigan with a game-high 26 points against the Aggies, including 21 points in the second half. Vladislav Goldin added 21 points and 12 boards. Goldin was a key player in FAU’s run to the Final Four two years ago and former FAU head coach Dusty May made it a priority to bring Goldin with him when he was hired at Michigan for this season.
Auburn Tigers (1)
Auburn looked every bit of how a 1-seed should look in their 20-point win over Alabama State to open the tournament. The Tigers were held in check a little more by Creighton, but they still managed to comfortably win by double-digit points. The impressive part of the wins is that they came with National Player of the Year candidate Johni Broome producing just 22 points across the two games, although he had double-digit rebounds in each.
Tahaad Pettiford came in clutch against Creighton, scoring 16 of his game-high 23 points in the second half. The Tigers’ bench was the main difference as they outscored Creighton 31-10. Auburn likely won’t be able to rely on Pettiford and bench scoring to get the job done against Michigan, but you have to think Broome is due for a big performance, which could make the difference.