The two teams, who know each other well, will meet Thursday night at Madison Square Garden in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals between Marquette and Villanova.
Without much context, fading a team ranked No. 10 in the country and the No. 3 seed in the tournament might seem like a surprising choice, but there are a lot of variables at play in this game.
We highlight some of the highlights and find the betting edge in this Villanova vs. Marquette betting preview.
Villanova vs Market Odds
| spread | total | money line |
|---|---|---|
| Villanova +4 (-110) | 140 or more (-110) | Villanova +155 |
| Marquette -4 (-100) | Less than 140 (-110) | Market -185 |
Villanova vs. Market Prediction
(9:30 p.m. ET)
The Golden Eagles will once again be without star point guard Tyler Kolek, who is day-to-day with an oblique injury.
Kolek played well against Villanova in both games during the regular season, scoring 32 points in late January. He was also a key cog in Marquette’s defense and his presence will be greatly missed on both ends of the court.
He ranks fourth in the country in assist percentage, according to KenPom. Cam Jones is a great option for the Eagles as a go-to scorer, but Kolek is an important piece of what Marquette does on every possession, so he’s worth getting a few points against the spread.
He was a big part of Marquette’s success against Villanova this season, averaging 26.5 points, 10.0 assists and 5.5 rebounds in two games. But both of the Eagles’ wins were undoubtedly accompanied by unusual offensive performances.
In the first matchup, Marquette shot an incredible season-best 75% from 2-point range. In their second matchup, the Eagles made 21 of 29 free throws, their highest free throw percentage of the season.
Villanova is one of the top teams in defensive free throw percentage and doesn’t commit any fouls, reaching the line 29 times in one game, a rare feat Marquette was able to accomplish against the Wildcats. was.
Nova narrowly avoided a heartbreaking loss to DePaul on Wednesday and is on a winning streak, but the Wildcats rank 14th in defensive efficiency according to KenPom and could challenge an Eagles team without Kolek. On a neutral court.
Offensively, Villanova loves to shoot 3-pointers, ranking 13th in the country in 3PAs by FGA, and Marquette isn’t going to challenge them on the perimeter.
The Wildcats should feel comfortable offensively, as the Golden Eagles rank in the bottom 20 in the country in 3PAs allowed per FGA.
Of course, for “Cats” to work, you need to hit it several times.
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Villanova vs. Marquette Picks
I’m rooting for Villanova and they have 4 points.
The Wildcats have a strong defense and won’t have to deviate from their game plan Thursday night.
Marquette, on the other hand, should see a negative regression in foul shooting and two-point offense, which helped it win the last two matchups where Kolek was a big part of the outcome.
choose: Villanova +4 (-110, Caesars)
