The Clemson Tigers blew out the Auburn Tigers 84-53 in their NCAA Tournament Second Round match-up on Sunday. This one was never in doubt after Clemson went on a 17-0 run midway through the first half. Clemson was actually a 1.5-point underdog coming into this one, and it made the oddsmakers look silly after a 31-point victory. The game failed to go over the total of 147.
The victory puts Clemson in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1997, and the Tigers will be looking for just their second Elite Eight appearance next weekend when they take on the Kansas Jayhawks. The betting odds for that showdown will be released soon by BetDSI Sportsbook. Although we saw a bevy of upsets on Sunday, that won’t affect the betting line the oddsmakers put out, so expect to see Kansas as a six- or seven-point favorite.
For the second straight NCAA Tournament game, Auburn shot terribly from the floor. Auburn shot under 26 percent from the field and converted on less than 22 percent of its three-point attempts. This time, Auburn couldn’t overcome the poor performance with its defense as Clemson had a ton of success from the field and dominated the glass.
Clemson ended up outrebounding Auburn 50-32 and was efficient from the floor too in the win. Gabe DeVoe led all scorers with 22 points and couldn’t miss from downtown, hitting six of his nine three-point attempts. Elijah Thomas hit 70 percent from the floor and picked up a double-double, and two others finished with at least 10 points. The Tigers distributed the wealth well with 19 assists on the day.
At the start of the NCAA Tournament, Clemson was a relative longshot to win it all at +15000 according to the oddsmakers at BetDSI. On the other hand, Kansas was given a much better chance to win March Madness with odds of +1700.
