This may have been my favorite of the Sweet 16 matchups. Both teams are Final Four caliber, and there will be plenty of star power in this one. Tennessee has the best player in Dalton Knecht, but Creighton has arguably the best trio in the country in Baylor Scheierman, Trey Alexander, and Ryan Kalkbrenner. I expect a hard-fought, close game throughout and I'm going to take the points here.

Tennessee has one of the top defenses in the country. However, their offense has shot below 40% in five of their last six games. The Blue Jays offense has been more consistent and they’re shooting 85% from the free throw line over their last three games. Creighton is good defensive rebounding team to keep the Volunteers off the glass, holding them to one shot while also having experienced guards to matchup. Greg McDermott is also 16-4 ATS in March over the last three seasons.

There's no question that Creighton is a solid team that can beat anyone if they are shooting well from beyond the arc, but we've seen plenty of variance when it comes to their outside shooting. I think we'll be on the correct side of that variance against a very athletic Tennessee team. Oregon did a great job containing Creighton in the 2nd half last weekend I think we'll see more of the same tonight against the Volunteers. Creighton is a fundamentally sound team and they matchup very well from an analytics standpoint, but they fail the eye test against the Vols.

Though it hasn't been too much of the "good Tennessee" the past few weeks, the pieces are in place for Rick Barnes to finally clear the Sweet 16, especially 6-6 Northern Colorado transfer wing Dalton Knecht (21.1 ppg), a season-long revelation and a hellacious matchup who has apparently moved into NBA Draft lottery position. Knecht is only a couple of weeks removed from a 40-point showcase vs. Kentucky, while savvy vet PG Zakai Zeigler (6.0 apg led SEC) pulls the strings. Meanwhile, Creighton was fortunate to get out of sub-regional weekend when late missed FTs by the Ducks and an injury to G Jackson Shelstad enabled the Bluejays to rally late on Sunday. Play Tennessee (NCAA at Detroit)

Great matchup between the sharp shooting of Creighton and the defensive pressure by Tennessee who is number three in the nation with 38.8% shooting allowed. Creighton makes 10.7 threes a game that's 6th in the nation. They are relentless. Creighton allows 41.8 shooting only as well. Tennessee only shot 33% against Texas but they won 62-58. They haven't covered in three of their last four games and never made the final four. Creighton shoots better than Tennessee on Friday. Creighton to cover.

It's not easy backing a coach like Rick Barnes who is 4-16 ATS in the NCAA Tournament the past 15 years. But this matchup works in favor of Tennessee. Vols leading scorer Dalton Knecht shot 5 of 18 last game, and his team still got by Texas. Look for Knecht, and the Volunteers as a whole, to shoot much better than their 3-of-25 performance from deep. Creighton's elite offense will find less room to operate against Tennessee's No. 3-ranked defense (per KenPom).

Now that it’s a full 3 I’ll take Creighton. The Jays have three guys who score 17+ per game, a point guard who is so mature he’s already married and the Big East D PoY. As for the Vols, unless DK scores 30 I’m not sure they have the firepower. Nobody else scores more than 12 and that player shoots 63% from the FT (if it’s close last and we need a back door cover).