LEXINGTON |Following an 83-63 win over 16th-seeded Alabama State, No. 1 overall seed Auburn turns its attention to No. 9 seed Creighton, who it will face in the Round of 32.

Creighton picked up a convincing 89-75 win over No. 8 seed Louisville on Thursday in front of a crowd packed with Cardinals fans.

“The fact that Creighton has been to the Sweet 16 four of the last five years speaks volumes about what kind of program they have, what kind of coach they have, and their culture,” AU coach Bruce Pearl said. “I would love to have a week to get ready for them, because they do so much good stuff that I think I would enjoy learning.

“We will be excited about trying to guard it and seeing if we can put our defensive system in place against a very unique offense with a 7'2" center and a dynamic point guard and the different pieces around them.”

The Bluejays’ difference-maker this season has been Ryan Kalkbrenner, a 7-foot-1 senior who is averaging 19.2 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. Kalkbrenner will provide Auburn big men Dylan Cardwell and Johni Broome with one of the toughest challenges the pair has faced this season.

“He reminds me of Walker Kessler,” Dylan Cardwell said of Kalkbrenner. “I think we were all in high school at the same time, so I'm familiar with him. But he reminds me a lot of Walker Kessler, being 7'2", and being able to catch lobs and finish and catching high and finishing. He's just a great player.”

Caldwell mentioned how mobile Kalkbrenner is despite his size as well as his ability to handle the ball.

“The thing that intrigues me most about him is his ability to drive,” Cardwell said. “At 7'2", it's not something that you really see. I love it for him that he's able to drive right down the slot. It's interesting. He's an interesting player, interesting dynamic. He's someone that at 7'2", you're not used to seeing a move like this.”

Kalkbrenner is not the only weapon the Bluejays have. They have a talented group of guards who can hit 3-point shots at a high rate. Louisville fell victim to Creighton’s air attack as the Bluejays shot 46% from beyond the arc on Thursday. Auburn hopes to avoid the same fate.

“Honestly, I feel like their movement,” Jones said of what stands out to him about Creighton’s guards. “Just watching film on them last night and a little bit today, this morning, watching their movement, seeing how much they move without the ball. And obviously it's going to be a little bit more of a challenge because we're known for playing basically 40 minutes, 10 in 10 out or 5 in 5 out.

“So that's going to be the main challenge, just being to run with those guys and play Auburn defense.”

Auburn is looking to send a reminder of why it was selected as the No. 1 overall seed, and punching its ticket to the Sweet 16 would help accomplish that.

The Tigers and Bluejays tip off at 7:10 p.m. ET/6:10 p.m. CT on Saturday. TBS will carry the broadcast.