March Madness Odds: Betting trends for Tennessee-Creighton in the Sweet 16

Tennessee basketball opened as a two-point favorite over Creighton earlier this week and the line has mostly stayed there, moving up to 2.5. But bettors on the moneyline are leaning toward the Bluejays over the Vols in the Sweet 16, according to VegasInsider.

“As one of two matchups that were set on Saturday,” VegasInsider’s Patrick Everson wrote on Tuesday, “this game has had a little more time to be bet into at BetMGM. Still, Tennessee hasn’t moved off the number, opening (-2.0) flat and making a couple trips to -2.5 (-115), where the line sits now.

“The Vols are attracting 60% of early spread bets/62% of early spread money,” Everson added. “On the moneyline, however, +125 underdog Creighton is netting 75% of bets/79% of cash.”

Tennessee (26-8), the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament’s Midwest Region, faces No. 3 Creighton (25-9) at Little Caesar’s Arena in Detroit on Friday (10:09 p.m. Eastern Time, TBS/truTV). Purdue faces Gonzaga at 7:39 p.m. ET and the winners will square off on Sunday with a spot in the Final Four on the line.

The Vols, according to VegasInsider, are 17-16-1 against the spread through 35 games and failed to cover a 6.5-point spread in the 62-58 win over Texas in the second round.

Creighton in 19-15 against the spread, covering a 3.5-point line in the 86-73 double-overtime win over No. 11-seed Oregon in the second round Saturday night in Pittsburgh.

Tennessee Basketball’s Sweet 16 History

Tennessee is 1-8 in the Sweet 16 in program history, with the lone win coming in 2010 over Ohio State. The Vols, as a No. 6 seed in the Midwest Region, beat the Buckeyes 76-73 to advance to the Elite Eight, where they lost 70-69 to No. 5 Michigan State. 

Tennessee had advanced with wins over No. 11 San Diego State and No. 14 Ohio to get to the regional semifinal.

Last season it was a 62-55 loss to Florida Atlantic at Madison Square Garden in New York City after Tennessee led by as many as nine points. The Vols were the No. 4 seed in the East Region, beating No. 13 Louisiana and No. 5 Duke to get to the second weekend.

Tennessee, as the No. 2 seed in the South Region, lost to No. 3 Purdue 99-94 in overtime in 2019. The Vols lost to Michigan in Indianapolis in 2014, making the run to the Sweet 16 after being sent to the First Four in Dayton as a No. 11 seed. 

Louisville beat Tennessee in the Sweet 16 in Charlotte in 2008 and Ohio State beat the Vols in San Antonio in 2007.

North Carolina, a No. 8 seed in the South Region in 2000, beat No. 4 Tennessee 74-69 at the Erwin Center in Austin, Texas. The Vols lost to No. 1 Virginia in the round of 16 in 1981 and to Dayton in the regional semifinal in 1967, the first game of the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance. 

Tennessee’s NCAA Tournament history under Rick Barnes

Tennessee under Rick Barnes has been a No. 2 seed twice, a No. 3 seed twice, a No. 4 seed and a No. 5 seed.

A year ago the Vols went to the Sweet 16 as a No. 4 seed, beating No. 13-seed Louisiana in the first round and No. 5 Duke in the second round. They lost 62-55 to No. 9 Florida Atlantic in the third round. 

They were a No. 3 in 2022, beating Longwood in the first round before being upset by No. 11-seed Michigan in the second round, and lost in the first round as a No. 5 seed, falling against No. 12 Oregon State.

Tennessee was a No. 3 in 2018, beating Wright State before losing to No. 11-seed Loyola-Chicago.