Auburn basketball took down one of college basketball’s prestigious programs on Tuesday night, defeating No. 13 North Carolina, 85-72, for the right to play for the Maui Invitational championship.
Their title game draw will be the Memphis Tigers, who defeated Michigan State on Tuesday after pulling off the upset of No. 2 UConn on Monday. How will this game shake out? ESPN has shared its prediction ahead of Wednesday’s championship game.
According to ESPN’s matchup predictor, Auburn has a 77.6% chance to beat Memphis on Wednesday, and to give the SEC its first Maui Invitational championship since 1993.
Memphis has made great strides in the ESPN basketball power index, but remains outside of the top 25 at No. 29 heading into Wednesday’s action. Auburn holds an advantage in both offensive and defensive strength, which leads ESPN to give the edge to Auburn in this game.
Auburn returned to the top spot of the KenPom rankings after defeating North Carolina on Tuesday, and ranks No. 2 and No. 5 respectively in adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency. Memphis enters Wednesday at No. 27, and ranks No. 23 and No. 40 in offensive and defensive efficiency.
Auburn faces Memphis on Wednesday at 4 p.m. CT. Click here for a full broadcast and betting guide for Wednesday’s game?
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This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: ESPN predicts the winner of Auburn vs. Memphis in the Maui Invitational championship game
