Marquette at Villanova: College Basketball Odds & Picks
Written February 9, 2009 by Jay Horne
Tuesday night college hoops action showcases two of the surprise teams out of the Big East this season when the 10th ranked Marquette Golden Eagles travel to take on the No. 13 Villanova Wildcats. Marquette was in sole lead of the conference until their upset loss from South Florida last Saturday and now finds themselves in a 3 way tie for first place. Villanova was not expected to be playing as well as they have either, but the Wildcats have won 5 straight ball games and ahead of some of the big names in the conference. This will be an interesting match-up considering Marquette is in the rebound situation and Villanova has been striving lately. The Golden Eagles will desperately be trying to hang onto the Conference’s top spot, but it will be difficult on the road at Villanova. The Villanova Wildcats are 4.5 point favorites at home against Marquette.
Marquette is one of the higher scoring teams in the nation and they lead the Big East in offensive scoring with nearly 81 points per contest. The Golden Eagles however were held to a season low 56 points in their loss to South Florida in a dismal performance. Marquette will need to get back into their high power offense against a Villanova team that plays defense pretty well. The Golden Eagles rarely have any low scoring performances considering they are shooting 47% as a team on the season, and they will look to bounce back against Villanova.
The Wildcats have been on impressive run with a wins over Pittsburgh and a 102-85 blowout over Syracuse in their 5 game winning stretch. Villanova is averaging 76 points per game this season, but they really put up some big numbers against Syracuse. The Wildcats will try to accomplish a similar feat against a Marquette team that tends have high scoring performances. The Wildcats rank 2nd in the Big East at holding opponents to only 37% shooting and they will look to tame the high scoring Golden Eagles. Villanova has surprised a lot people over the last few weeks and that will have an excellent chance to chalk up another impressive victory on Tuesday. You can take Villanova -4.5 at Bookmaker.
The Golden Eagles are loaded with talent lead by guard Jerel McNeal who ranks 3rd in the Big East in scoring with 20 points per game. Wesley Matthews is equally dangerous guard that is posting similar numbers at 18 points per game and together the two standouts make up one of the best backcourts in America. Lazar Hayward is the big man controlling the paint for Marquette and really gives them an effective structure on the inside. Hayward 16 point and 9 rebound average has made huge impact in making the Golden Eagles an effective team from the inside as well as the perimeter.
Villanova is led by the play of senior forward Dante Cunningham who is averaging 17 points per game. Cunningham posted a team-high 31 points in their big win over Syracuse on Saturday and the Wildcats would love another similar performance. Shooter Scottie Reynolds has proven to be an important factor and the veteran guard can knock shots down from anywhere on the court. The Wildcats will look for these two guys to lead them in a big effort on Tuesday in attempt to take down the Golden Eagles.
Pick - Marquette+4.5
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Editor’s Note: If you want more coverage of this game, I’ve pinned down some additional previews I think are worth a read:
- Let’s Go Nova
- Villanova News
- VU Hoops
- I Need Blue and White
- Villanova Viewpoint
- Cracked Sidewalks (Marquette Side)
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2 Responses to “Marquette at Villanova: College Basketball Odds & Picks”
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Great piece Jay, keep up the great work.
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I’ll take your pick today. Let’s go Marquette.
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