Iowa and Auburn square off in opening round of NCAA Tournament

Published Mar. 15, 2023 3:42 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Auburn Tigers (20-12, 10-8 SEC) vs. Iowa Hawkeyes (19-13, 11-9 Big Ten)

Birmingham, Alabama; Thursday, 6:50 p.m. EDT

FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Iowa -1; over/under is 152

BOTTOM LINE: The Iowa Hawkeyes play in the first round of the NCAA Tournament against the Auburn Tigers.

The Hawkeyes are 11-9 against Big Ten opponents and 8-4 in non-conference play. Iowa is the best team in the Big Ten with 11.6 fast break points.

The Tigers' record in SEC action is 10-8. Auburn ranks fifth in the SEC with 14.2 assists per game led by Wendell Green Jr. averaging 4.2.

TOP PERFORMERS: Kris Murray is shooting 48.4% and averaging 20.4 points for the Hawkeyes. Payton Sandfort is averaging 2.2 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Iowa.

Johni Broome is scoring 14.0 points per game with 8.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists for the Tigers. Green is averaging 13.9 points and 3.5 rebounds while shooting 33.1% over the past 10 games for Auburn.

LAST 10 GAMES: Hawkeyes: 5-5, averaging 77.4 points, 30.7 rebounds, 16.8 assists, 7.1 steals and 2.5 blocks per game while shooting 44.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 76.9 points per game.

Tigers: 3-7, averaging 71.3 points, 30.4 rebounds, 12.9 assists, 7.7 steals and 3.6 blocks per game while shooting 42.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 72.5 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.