Bruce Pearl might be coaching his last season with the Auburn Tigers, but he has not let that get in the way of the program’s best season in a long time. It had been 15 years since Auburn last made it to the NCAA Tournament, and now the Tigers are ready to make some noise.
They will face a team that has also had an extended NCAA Tournament drought. The College of Charleston Cougars were a power in the 1990s, but had faded away since then. This will be their first appearance here in 19 years.
This war on the floor will go down Friday, March 16, 2018, at 7:30 p.m. ET at Viejas Arena in San Diego, California. The game will be televised live on TNT. We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game throughout March Madness.
Opening NCAAB Basketball Betting Odds at BookMaker.eu
Auburn -10College of Charleston +10Over/Under 148.5
Surprisingly, Auburn won the SEC in the regular season despite sophomores Austin Wiley and Danjel Purifoy sitting out the season as part of the FBI’s investigation into the underside of college basketball recruiting. The school has got some great play out of other key contributors in their absence. However, the Tigers were one and done in the SEC Tournament, losing to arch rival Alabama as a 6.5-point favorite per the CBB betting line in their first game.
College of Charleston had some March Madness happen a little bit before the tournament in order to make it here. The Cougars were down 17 points in the second half to Northeastern, but rallied to force overtime and earn the CAA’s automatic bid. It was a long time coming for Charleston who has been close these past few seasons, but hasn’t managed to break through until now.
Players to Watch
The Cougars are led by three players who have carried the team all season long. Grant Riller, Joe Chealey, and Jarrell Brantley are each averaging between 17 and 19 PPG, and all three will need to have solid games for the Cougars to pull off the upset.
All three are good in different areas. Chealey is the team’s distributor, leading the team in assists and getting to the line often. The ball is always in his hands in crunch time.
Riller is the team’s best scoring option and is extremely efficient from hitting 55 percent from the field.
Finally, Brantley has been the man who has come up big recently with Nick Harris banged up. He leads the team in rebounding and has made some clutch shots down the stretch too.
Key Stat
On paper, Auburn doesn’t look too overwhelming. The Tigers don’t burst off of the page in any of the traditional stats, but their advanced metrics are very impressive.
The SEC was one of the top defensive conferences in the country this season, and Auburn was still able to have a ton of success. The Tigers averaged 83.4 PPG and were able to play at a fast tempo and outscore their opponents.
One area where Auburn really shines is at the free throw line. The Tigers are sixth in the country in free throw percentage, sinking 78.6 percent of their freebies this season. Their top four scorers are all hitting at least 79 percent from the floor, meaning this team won’t blow leads late.
Free March Madness ATS Picks
There are going to be a lot of people that hop on the Cougars later in the week. Even Bruce Pearl said as much, telling a local newspaper that he expects many to pick his Tigers to be upset.
Keep that in mind, and hop on Auburn later in the week. You can probably save a few points on the CBB betting line and get the Tigers laying seven or eight.
NCAAB Basketball Betting Odds: Auburn 78, College of Charleston 69
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