ESPN's Best Bets in Sweet 16? The Auburn Tigers

The No. 1 seed Auburn Tigers take on the No. 5 Michigan Wolverines in the Sweet 16 on Friday night, and ESPN likes the favorite.

Johni Broome celebrates during the NCAA Tournament Second Round game between the Auburn Tigers and the Creighton Bluejays / Zach Bland/Auburn Tigers

The Auburn Tigers have clawed their way to the Sweet 16 after losing three of their last four in the regular season. With wins over Alabama State and Creighton, Auburn faces a red-hot Michigan Wolverines team at 8:40 p.m. CT on Friday night.

There are questions about how good the Tigers are playing right now. Sports Illustrated's Bryan Fischer made Auburn the No. 5 overall seed of the 16 teams remaining in a hypothetical re-seeding of the NCAA Tournament.

However, Auburn enters the game an 8.5-point favorite over Michigan according to ESPNBet, and ESPN's odds expert Greg Peterson likes what he sees from the Tigers.

In his best bets advice on ESPN+, Peterson picks the Tigers to cover the 8.5. One reason he's high on Auburn is the Tigers' ability to take care of the ball and the Wolverines' careless nature.

"Details loom large in this matchup and the turnover discrepancy is glaring," wrote Peterson on ESPN+. "Auburn's 9.3 turnovers per game are the seventh fewest in the country while Michigan's 13.9 turnovers per game ranks 337th and become amplified further by Johni Broome having the ability to overwhelm Michigan's big men.

"Throw in the quartet of Auburn guards Chad Baker-Mazara, Miles Kelly, Tahaad Pettiford and Denver Jones all shooting at least 37.9% from 3-point range with all four averaging between 10.8 and 12.5 points per game, the balance of Auburn will shift the balance of power in this game."

Auburn fans won't care how the team advances. The time for style points is long gone. Now the only thing that matters is winning, and Peterson thinks the Tigers have a big edge in Atlanta on Friday night.

The Wolverines won the Big Ten Tournament beating ranked teams Purdue, Maryland, and Wisconsin along the what. They stymied Texas A&M on Saturday to earn a date with Auburn in the Sweet 16.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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