Best College Basketball Prop Bets for Creighton vs. Tennessee
By Reed Wallach
Tennessee and Creighton close out Sweet 16 action with a high-level matchup between two elite offenses with stifling defenses.
While it appears that these two are destined to play a one-possession game, how can we attack this game from a player prop perspective? I’m targeting Dalton Knecht, Zakai Zeigler, and Ryan Kalkbrenner in the player prop market on Friday night.
Keep reading to find out why!
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Best College Basketball Player Props for Tennessee vs. Creighton
- Dalton Knecht OVER 20.5 Points
- Zakai Zeigler OVER 5.5 Assists
- Ryan Kalkbrenner UNDER 16.5 Points
Dalton Knecht OVER 20.5 Points
Knecht hasn’t played his best in the ‘Big Dance’ yet as you’d expect from a sure-first first team All-American, yet has still scored a combined 41 points through two games.
The Northern Colorado import is off a 27% shooting performance against Texas in which he made only one of his eight three-point attempts and still got to 18 points on the night. With slightly better shooting marks, this should be a low bar for the 21-point-per-game scorer to get to.
Creighton does a good job of funneling teams off the three-point line and into the length of Kalkbrenner around the rim, but Knehct has been an efficient mid-range shooter all year. Further, if Zakai Zeigler can attract attention as a pick-and-roll ball handler, Knecht can be freed up on spot ups, where he is in the 90th percentile in terms of points per possession, per Synergy Sports.
Zakai Zeigler OVER 5.5 Assists
Speaking of Zeigler, this should be a big game for him after a bit of a struggle offensively (and the entire Vols team) against Texas.
Tennessee shot 12% from beyond the arc against Texas, but that didn’t stop the ball from moving nicely as the Vols had a 50% assist rate on a dismal shooting performance. Namely, Zeigler dished out seven dimes in the win.
With an uptick in efficiency, this should be an easy bar for the veteran guard to clear, who has a 34% assist rate for Tennessee this season as the team’s lead ball handler. He has gone over this mark in 14 of 22 games that he has played more than 30 minutes, which is the expectation come Friday night.
Ryan Kalkbrenner UNDER 16.5 Points
Kalkbrenner is going to have his hands full with the Tennessee interior that has a ton of size to throw his way, namely Jonas Aidoo who is top 10 in two-point field goal percentage defense, and top 20 at near-rim field goal percentage allowed nationally.
If the Bluejays try to run Kalkbrenner through ball screen action, the Vols can shut that down as well, grading out as “excellent” in pick-and-roll roll man defense, grading out in the 99th percentile, per Synergy.
I believe Creighton will need to find other ways to get Kalkbrenner involved in this one and attack more with its fine-wing play.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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