The Creighton Bluejays and Akron Zips face off in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Basketball Tournament. The two schools saw completely different results in their respective conference tournaments. Akron made the field by winning the MAC tournament while Creighton lost in their first game in the Big East tournament against Providence. With Akron coming in with nothing to lose and Creighton off of a tough loss, this Creighton vs Akron prediction is different than your typical first-round matchup.
Below, we will preview this NCAA Tournament college basketball game, giving a Creighton vs Akron prediction and other March Madness expert picks. Which school will win and keep their hopes of winning the championship trophy alive?
Creighton vs Akron Prediction and March Madness Expert Picks
2024 NCAA Tournament
No. 3 Creighton Bluejays (23-9) vs. No. 14 Akron Zips (24-10)
Date: Thursday, March 21, 2024
Time: 1:30 PM EST
Venue: PPG Paints Arena — Pittsburgh, PA
Coverage: TNT
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Creighton vs Akron March Madness Odds
All college basketball betting odds for Creighton vs Akron can be found at BetUS Sportsbook.
Moneyline: CREI: (-1000) | AKR: (+640)
Point Spread: CREI: -12.5 (-112) | AKR: +12.5 (-108)
Total: 141.5 — Over: (-110) | Under: (-110)
KenPom Rankings | Bracketology
KenPom Rankings are from KenPom.com
| Team | Rk | AdjO | AdjD | AdjT |
| Creighton | 11 | 120.1 (12) | 96.7 (24) | 67.0 (207) |
| Akron | 116 | 107.0 (162) | 102.1 (97) | 65.9 (268) |
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Creighton vs Akron College Basketball Trends
- Creighton is 9-3 in non-conference college basketball games this season.
- Akron is 11-5 in non-conference college basketball games this season.
- The OVER is 16-16 in Creighton basketball games this season.
- The OVER is 12-20 in Akron basketball games this season.
- Creighton is 6-3 in NCAA Tournament games since 2018.
- Akron is 0-5 in NCAA Tournament games since 1986.
Creighton vs Akron Prediction | March Madness Expert Picks
While the Akron Zips certainly deserve their spot in the NCAA Tournament as champions of the MAC conference, it was hardly in a convincing fashion. In the semifinals, they beat Ohio by three, and in the championship, the Zips were down one with five seconds remaining when Kent State’s Julius Rollins made a massive mistake and intentionally fouled Greg Tribble. He went to the line, sank both free throws and Akron held on for the win.
One of the main strengths of Creighton is their starting lineup. Although their bench leaves plenty to be desired and can’t always be counted on, Baylor Schemerman, Trey Alexander, Ryan Kalkbrenner and Steven Ashworth combine to score over 63 points per game. Akron will have a heck of a time matching up against Creighton’s starting five.
Akron may not be as deep as Creighton, but they do have difference-makers of their own. Enrique Freeman and Ali Ali combine to score over 34 points per game. While they are only two of three players that average double figures, they have been more than enough for Akron so far this season.
The size of the Bluejays will likely be too much for the Zips. Out of the 16 players on Creighton’s roster, six are 6’8″ or taller while Akron only has three. Akron has struggled to pull away from their MAC opponents while Creighton has one of the most dangerous starting lineups in college basketball. For our Creighton vs Akron prediction, we are picking the Creighton Bluejays to win and move on in the NCAA Tournament.
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