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One team will advance to the Elite Eight of the 2023 NCAA Tournament, and one team's season will come to an end when the Creighton Bluejays and Princeton Tigers square off in a Sweet 16 showdown on Friday at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky. The No. 6 seed, Creighton (23-12) can advance to the Elite Eight for just the second time in program history. The last time the Bluejays reached the Elite Eight came in 1941 when the field comprised just eight teams. Meanwhile Princeton (23-8) is coming off the biggest margin of victory ever by a No. 15 seed in the NCAA Tournament, a 78-63 rout of Missouri. 

Tipoff is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET. The Bluejays are favored by 10 points in the latest Creighton vs. Princeton odds from Caesars Sportsbook, while the over/under for total points scored is 141. Before making any Princeton vs. Creighton picks, be sure to see the college basketball predictions and betting advice from SportsLine's Larry Hartstein.

A former lead writer for Covers and The Linemakers, Hartstein combines a vast network of Vegas sources with an analytical approach he honed while working for Pro Football Focus. He also has been SportsLine's most profitable college basketball expert. In his last 182 college basketball picks, he has gone 103-78-1, which translates to a $1,725 return for $100 bettors.

Now, he has set his sights on Princeton vs. Creighton in the NCAA Tournament 2023. You can head to SportsLine to see his picks. Here are several college basketball odds and trends for Creighton vs. Princeton:

  • Creighton vs. Princeton spread: Bluejays -10
  • Creighton vs. Princeton over/under: 141 points
  • Creighton vs. Princeton money line: Bluejays -540, Tigers +400
  • CREI: Ryan Kalkbrenner leads the country in field goal percentage (70.6).
  • PRIN: The Tigers rank 11th in the country in rebound margin (6.6).
  • Creighton vs. Princeton picks: See picks at SportsLine

Why Creighton can cover 

Creighton is a formidable team with 7-foot-1 center Ryan Kalkbrenner in the lineup. A two-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year, Kalkbrenner leads the country in field goal percentage (70.6) while averaging 15.7 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game. The Bluejays are 23-9 with him in the lineup this season and 0-3 without him.

In addition, guard Ryan Nembhard is coming off a career game. The 6-foot sophomore guard made 8-of-13 shots and went 10-for-10 from the line while scoring a career-high 30 points in the second round victory over Baylor. When combined with Kalkbrenner's 31 points against NC State in the first round, Creighton became the first team to have a different player score 30-plus points in each of the first two games of the NCAA Tournament since Providence in 1997.

Why Princeton can cover

Princeton has an all-around playmaker in Tosan Evbuomwan. A 6-foot-8 senior from England, Evbuomwan leads the team in scoring (14.8 points per game) and assists (4.8 per game). He ranks in the top 10 in the Ivy League in scoring (fifth), assists (first), field goal percentage (third, 51.9) and rebounding (sixth, 6.3). For his efforts this season he was named to the all-Ivy League first team and earned Ivy League Tournament MVP honors.

In addition, the Tigers face a Creighton team that is not very deep. The Bluejays routinely play a six-man rotation. In the second round against Baylor, only one reserve played more than five minutes.

How to make Creighton vs. Princeton picks

Hartstein has analyzed this matchup and while we can tell you he's leaning Over the total, he has discovered a crucial x-factor that makes one side of the spread a must-back. He's sharing it only at SportsLine.

Who wins Creighton vs. Princeton? And what critical factor makes one side of the spread a must-back? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Princeton vs. Creighton spread you should jump on -- all from SportsLine's No. 1 college basketball expert, who is 103-78-1 in his last 182 college basketball picks.