Yahoo Sports Auburn is a slight underdog against Arkansas to start the SEC Tournament
The Auburn Tigers will start their postseason Thursday night when they take on the Arkansas Razorbacks.
While the Tigers handily won their regular-season matchup 72-59, this matchup will be much tougher. Not only was that game in Neville Arena, but the Razorbacks were without five-star freshman guard Nick Smith Jr. In his last five games, he is averaging 19.4 points and looks like a potential lottery pick.
While the Razorbacks have improved since their first matchup, Auburn is also coming into the game with some momentum. They picked up their biggest win of the season Saturday when they beat the Tennessee Volunteers 79-70, to all but clinch their spot in the NCAA Tournament.
Despite this, the Tigers are the underdogs against Razorbacks, with BetMGM favoring them by 1.5 points. Here is everything you need to know about the matchup before you place a bet.
Betting Lines
The lines, courtesy of BetMGM
Point spread: Auburn +1.5
Over-under: 144.5
Click here to place your bets at BetMGM.
Injury Report
AUBURN | ||
Dylan Cardwell | Ankle | Doubtful for Thursday’s game |
Chance Westry | Knee | Doubtful for Thursday’s game |
ARKANSAS | ||
Trevon Brazile | Knee | Out for season |
Advice and Prediction
This series is split evenly over the last 10 matchups and this should be another close contest.
The Tigers will once again face the tough task of stopping a talented guard in Nick Smith Jr. and the Razorbacks have gone on some impressive postseason runs under Eric Musselman in the past couple of seasons.
With Auburn’s road struggles (4-8 record), it feels like the Razorbacks are the right pick to win the game and cover the 1.5-point spread but look for Auburn to keep it close.
