Tulsa Golden Hurricane vs Auburn Tigers Prediction, 4/5/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Tulsa Golden Hurricane vs Auburn Tigers

Date: Sunday, April 5, 2026

Location: Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN

TV: ESPN2

Odds/Point Spread: Tulsa (+5)

The Tulsa Golden Hurricane (30-7) are headed to Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Sunday where they will take on the Auburn Tigers (21-16) in the NIT Championship. Tulsa opens as 5-point underdogs. The over/under is 160.

The Tulsa Golden Hurricane stepped onto the hardwood against New Mexico and took home the win by a score of 74-69 in their last contest. Tulsa ended with a 41.4% field goal percentage (24 out of 58) and made 12 of their 32 shots from 3-point land. At the charity stripe, the Golden Hurricane knocked down 14 of 18 shots for a percentage of 77.8%. In regard to pulling down rebounds, they earned 36 with 10 of them being offensive. They also recorded 17 assists for this game while forcing 10 turnovers and having 7 steals. In the matter of defense, Tulsa allowed 35.3% from the field on 24 of 68 shooting. New Mexico totaled 13 assists and had 8 steals in the matchup. Additionally, New Mexico totaled 33 rebounds (11 offensive, 22 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. New Mexico walked away from this one shooting 77.8% from the charity stripe by knocking down 14 of their 18 attempts. They made 7 out of their 33 tries from 3-point range. Concerning fouls, the Golden Hurricane walked away with 16 while New Mexico accumulated 17 fouls.

David Green is one guy who came through in this game. He notched 13 points on 3 of 10 shooting. He saw the court for 29 minutes played and also snagged 5 boards. He finished the game at 30.0% from the floor and earned 2 dimes.

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Tulsa steps onto the court with a mark of 30-7 for the year. They are losing possession via turnover 10.7 times per contest and as a team they are committing 16.1 fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Tulsa is collecting 38.7 rebounds per game and has earned 572 dimes so far this year, which has them ranked 38th in the nation in terms of passing the ball. The Golden Hurricane are shooting 38.3% on shots from distance (393 of 1025) and 77.9% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 85.1 pts per game (16th in Division 1) while connecting on 46.8% from the field.

Defensively, the Golden Hurricane are forcing 10.6 turnovers per contest while drawing 18.7 personal fouls. They are 233rd in college hoops in allowing assists to the opposition with 463 surrendered on the year. The Golden Hurricane defensively are giving up a field goal percentage of 42.4% (957 of 2,259) and they relinquish 32.9 rebounds per game as a unit. They give up 31.6% on 3-pointers and they are ranked 157th in college in PPG allowed (73.2).

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Auburn Tigers got the victory with a final of 88-66 when they faced Illinois State. The Tigers snagged 18 defensive rebounds and 6 offensive boards for a total of 24 in the matchup. They also coughed it up 8 times, while recording 13 steals in this contest. Illinois State was called for 13 fouls in this contest which got the Tigers to the charity stripe for 11 shots. They were able to bury 8 of them for a percentage of 72.7%. When discussing shots from beyond the perimeter, Auburn made 12 of their 21 tries (57.1%). When all was said and done, the Tigers ended up shooting 34 out of 56 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 60.7%. The Tigers permitted Illinois State to bury 25 of their 54 attempts from the field which had them sitting at 46.3% in this contest. They finished shooting 40.0% from distance by connecting on 10 out of 25 and ended up going 6 of 7 at the charity stripe (85.7%). In relation to team rebounding, Auburn permitted Illinois State to pull down 24 in all (9 on the offensive side).

Keyshawn Hall ended up being a major contributor for the Tigers for the matchup. He tallied 24 points in his 38 mins on the hardwood and accounted for 3 assists in this contest. He made 10 of 16 for the game giving him a field goal percentage of 62.5%, and accumulated 6 rebounds.

Auburn has a record of 21-16 so far this season. The Tigers commit 16.9 fouls per contest and they go 74.3% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 13.0 times per game (246th in the nation) and they turn the ball over 10.1 times per contest. Auburn has accounted for 3,062 pts so far this season (82.8 per game) and they grab 36.3 boards per game. As an offensive team, the Tigers are hitting on 46.1% from the field, which is ranked 115th in college.

The Auburn defense concedes 37.1% on 3-point shots (325 of 877) and opponents are knocking down 74.2% of their free throw shots. They have relinquished 14.3 dimes and 32.5 total boards per game, which has them ranked 256th and 68th in college. The Tigers on defense are ranked 309th in college in points given up per game with 78.6. They are forcing 11.3 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 46.4% from the field (303rd in college hoops).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Tulsa (+5)

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