Final Creighton vs Louisville March Madness Odds: Cardinals' Line Strengthens Ahead of Tipoff
The #9 Creighton Bluejays (24-10) face the #8 Louisville Cardinals (27-7) in the South Region's opening round of March Madness at Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY.
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Latest Betting Odds (as of 9:45 am ET, March 20):
- Spread: Louisville -3.5 (-105)
- Moneyline: Louisville opened at -142, has since increased
- Total: 145.5
- ATS Records: Creighton (19-13-2), Louisville (20-14)
Key Analysis:
- Louisville plays just one hour from home, expecting strong crowd support
- Cardinals are 10-0 at home since December 14th loss to Kentucky
- Both teams have covered spreads consistently (around 59%)
- Analytics projections favor Louisville by 1.5-3 points
- Louisville improved from 185th to 21st in KenPom rankings this season
- Creighton currently ranks 36th in KenPom
The line movement toward Louisville likely reflects their quasi-home court advantage in Lexington. The Cardinals' only recent in-state loss was to Duke in the ACC final, where they led by five at halftime.
Both teams exceeded preseason expectations, with Louisville making particularly impressive strides under first-year coach Pat Kelsey. While technically a neutral-site game, the Kentucky location gives Louisville a significant advantage that's reflected in the betting movement.
Current analytics projections from major platforms:
- KenPom: Louisville by 3
- Torvik: Louisville by 3
- Haslametrics: Louisville by 1.5