South Alabama Jaguars vs Auburn Tigers Prediction, 3/17/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: South Alabama Jaguars vs Auburn Tigers

Date: Tuesday, March 17, 2026

Location: Neville Arena in Auburn, AL

TV: ESPN2

Odds/Point Spread: South Alabama (+17)

The Auburn Tigers (17-16) will take on the South Alabama Jaguars (21-11) at Neville Arena on Tuesday in the 1st round of the NIT. Auburn opens as 17-point favorites from Vegas oddsmakers. The total is set at 152.

The South Alabama Jaguars stepped onto the hardwood against Georgia Southern and took a loss by a final of 94-85 in their last contest. South Alabama finished the contest having earned a 47.5% FG percentage (29 of 61) and made 10 of their 19 three-point attempts. At the free throw line, the Jaguars made 17 of their 28 tries for a rate of 60.7%. When talking about getting rebounds, they compiled 29 with 12 of them being offensive. They also doled out 15 assists for the matchup as well as forcing 12 turnovers and earning 9 steals. Pertaining to defending, South Alabama allowed their opponent to shoot 55.8% from the field on 29 of 52 shooting. Georgia Southern totaled 22 assists and had 6 steals in the matchup. In addition, Georgia Southern snagged 28 rebounds (6 offensive, 22 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. Georgia Southern finished the game shooting 76.5% at the charity stripe by converting 13 of 17 tries. They also made 23 of 44 attempts from beyond the arc. When it comes to personal fouls, the Jaguars walked away with 15 and Georgia Southern had 18 personal fouls.

Chaze Harris is one player who came through for the contest. He scored 17 points on 5 of 17 shooting. He was on the court for 36 minutes played and grabbed 6 rebounds. He finished the game at 29.4% from the field and also earned 10 dimes.

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South Alabama enters this contest with a record of 21-11 this year. They average 74.6 points per contest (214th in Division 1) while shooting 46.6% from the field. The Jaguars are shooting 34.8% on shots from distance (231 of 663) and 66.0% from the free throw line. As a team, South Alabama is pulling down 35.5 boards per game and has earned 379 assists for the year, which is 318th in the nation in terms of passing the ball. They turn it over 8.7 times per contest and as a group they are committing 12.7 fouls on a nightly basis.

On the defensive end of the court, the Jaguars are forcing 12.5 turnovers per contest while drawing 16.9 fouls. They concede 32.6% on shots from distance while they are 69th in college in PPG allowed (69.8). The Jaguars defense is giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 38.7% (745 of 1,923) and they concede 36.8 rebounds per game as a group. They are currently ranked 339th in Division 1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 525 surrendered so far this year.

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Auburn Tigers walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 72-62 against Tennessee. The Tigers pulled down 19 defensive rebounds and 13 offensive rebounds for a total of 32 for the matchup. They turned it over 10 times, while earning 2 steals for this game. Tennessee committed 17 personal fouls in this matchup which got the Tigers to the charity stripe for a total of 20 tries. They were able to convert 13 of them for a clip of 65.0%. In the matter of 3-point shots, Auburn buried 7 out of 26 tries (26.9%). At the conclusion of this game, the Tigers shot 21 out of 60 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 35.0%. The Tigers allowed Tennessee to bury 22 of their 51 attempts from the floor which had them sitting at 43.1% in this game. They finished 30.8% from beyond the arc by connecting on 4 out of 13 and finished the game at 24 of 32 from the free throw line (75.0%). When discussing how they cleaned up the glass, Auburn permitted Tennessee to collect 37 in total (10 offensive).

Tahaad Pettiford was important for the Tigers in this contest. He totaled 28 points in his 37 mins of playing time and had 1 assist in this contest. He made 9 of 18 in this game for a field goal percentage of 50.0%, and accounted for 4 rebounds.

Auburn has a win-loss record of 17-16 on the season. As an offense, the Tigers are shooting 45.7% from the field, which ranks them 150th in the nation. Auburn has totaled 2,730 points on the season (82.7 per contest) and they pull in 36.4 rebounds per contest. They are assisting teammates 12.7 times per game (274th in the nation) and they turn it over 10.2 times per contest. The Tigers commit 17.5 personal fouls per game and they hit 74.4% from the free throw line.

The Tigers on defense are ranked 317th in college in points given up per game with 79.4. They are able to force 11.4 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 46.3% from the floor (301st in college). The Auburn defense surrenders 36.5% on 3-point shots (285 of 781) and their opposition makes 74.7% of their free throw attempts. They have conceded 14.1 dimes and 33.1 boards every game, which is ranked 244th and 99th in college hoops.

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take South Alabama (+17)

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