Looking to win big? The Wildcats and Golden Eagles face off at 9:30 ET on FS1. The Golden Eagles are hosting the game at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY. The odds for this Big East conference game currently have Marquette as the -4.5 point favorite with the over/under line sitting at 143 points.

VILLANOVA WILDCATS VS MARQUETTE GOLDEN EAGLES BETTING PICK

The Pick: Marquette Golden Eagles -4.5

This game will be played at Madison Square Garden at 9:30 ET on Thursday, March 14th.

WHY BET THE MARQUETTE GOLDEN EAGLES:

  • We have this one finishing with a projected score of 76-69 in favor of the Golden Eagles.
  • Not only will Marquette pick up the win, but look for them to cover at -4.5.
  • The over/under is currently sitting at 143 points, and we like the over with a projected 145 points.

Will the Wildcats Find a Way to Win in New York?

After a narrow 58-57 win over DePaul, Villanova’s record stands at 17-14. The Wildcats have gone 11-10 in conference play compared to 6-4 in non-conference games. On the road, Villanova is 5-8 this season and has gone 4-6 in their last 10 road games.

As the underdog, the Wildcats have gone 3-7 this season. Overall, they have been the underdog in 10 of their 31 games. Villanova’s average scoring margin on the road is -1.2 compared to +9.8 at home.

As the underdog this season, Villanova has gone 4-5-1 vs. the spread. On the road, their ATS record is 5-7-1 and over their last 10 road games, they are 4-5-1 vs. the spread.

This season, the over/under record in Villanova games is 10-21-1, and today’s line of 143 is higher than the average over/under line in their games (138.8). Over their last three games, the average scoring total is 124 points, and their OU record in their last 10 games is 1-9.

Compared to their season average of 70.7 points per game, Villanova struggled in their previous game. Against DePaul, the Wildcats scored 58 points while finishing with a field goal percentage of 42.3%. The team’s scoring leader is Eric Dixon, who holds an average of 16.4 as they head into today’s matchup. Additionally, TJ Bamba is averaging 10 points per game this season.

So far this season, the Villanova defense has been performing well, ranking 24th in the country at 65.6 points allowed per contest. In their previous game vs. DePaul, the Blue Demons finished with a field goal percentage of 42% and a total of 57 points vs. Villanova.

Will the Golden Eagles Pull Through as the Favored Home Team?

Marquette has been a much better team at home this season, going 16-3 compared to 7-5 on the road. Their average scoring margin at home is +15.3, and they have been favored in 23 of their 31 games, going 19-4 in those contests.

Coming off an 86-80 win against Xavier, the Golden Eagles have gone 8-2 in their last 10 home games. For the season, they are 23-8, including a 14-6 record in Big East play.

Marquette has a solid ATS record of 18-12-1 on the season, going 12-6-1 vs. the spread at home. Over their last three home games, the Golden Eagles are 2-1 ATS and they have gone 8-2 ATS over their last 10 home games. As the favorite this year, Marquette has gone 14-9 vs. the spread and they have a perfect 9-1 ATS mark over their last 10 games as the favorite.

On the season, the over/under record for Marquette games is 13-18. So far, the average scoring total in their games is 149 points, which is just below the average over/under line of 149.8. Today’s over/under line of 143 is lower than the average scoring total in their games this year. In their last three games, the over/under record is 2-1 with an average scoring total of 157 points.

Coming off their recent game, the Marquette offense tallied 86 points in a matchup against Xavier. Their field goal percentage for the game was 56.9%, and they made 8 threes. Kam Jones is currently the leading scorer for the team, entering today’s matchup with an average of 16.7. Meanwhile, Oso Ighodaro also brings a PPG average of 14.4 into the game.

Currently, the Golden Eagles’ defense holds the 109th rank in the nation, allowing 69.8 points per game. In terms of field goal percentage allowed, Marquette’s defense has allowed opponents to shoot 42.9% from the field, including a three-point shooting percentage allowed of 34.0% this season.