Villanova vs. Marquette Prediction: Can Eric Dixon, Wildcats Surprise Short-handed Golden Eagles?
The Villanova Wildcats will take on the Marquette Golden Eagles on Thursday night at the Big East Tournament. Can Eric Dixon and the Wildcats pick up a crucial win to cement their spot in March Madness? Ben Rajavuori evaluates their chances and provides a pick against the spread in Villanova vs. Marquette.
Ben Rajavuori - March 14, 2024, 5:03 PM EDT
5 minVillanova vs. Marquette Prediction: Can Eric Dixon, Wildcats Surprise Short-handed Golden Eagles?
The Big East Tournament continues tonight with a matchup between Villanova and Marquette. Villanova narrowly escaped a crushing defeat against Depaul by hitting a late three to win 58–57 yesterday. If the Wildcats would have lost that game, they likely would’ve been left out of an at-large bid for the tournament, as Villanova is currently in the first four out on ESPN‘s bracketology. Villanova is still on the bubble, so making a deep run in the Big East Tournament is imperative for their March Madness hopes. They have a tough matchup against a Marquette team that was ranked no. 5 overall coming into the season and finished the regular season no. 10. Can they survive another day and secure an at-large bid tonight?
Villanova vs. Marquette DATE, TIME, AND WHERE TO WATCH
- Date: March 14, 2024
- Game Time: 9:30 pm ET
- Where to Watch: Fox Sports 1
Villanova vs. Marquette Prediction
The biggest story in this game is the loss of Golden Eagles guard Tyler Kolek, who suffered an oblique injury in late February and has been sidelined for the last three games. Marquette lost two of them, unsurprisingly, and is at a big disadvantage without their senior point guard. Kolek is a leader of this team and has one of the highest assist rates in the nation, while also being one of the better three-point shooters on the team. Marquette has felt his loss, but the good news is that he is expected to make a return for the big dance. While this is a big loss from Marquette, Villanova would like to take advantage of the shorthanded Golden Eagles. Villanova had a 4–6 start to conference play in the Big East under second-year Villanova coach, Kyle Neptune. However, they were able to turn it around a bit, as they finished conference play 6–4 over their last 10 games to keep an at-large bid hope alive. Villanova has always been built as an excellent tournament team as they play great defense and dictate the pace of games. Villanova plays at the 348th-slowest tempo in the nation and is rated 14th in defense efficiency per Kenpom. Kyle Neptune has done a great job in his second season and has enjoyed a veteran present from some transfers, like senior TJ Bamba from Washington State and senior Tyler Burton from Richmond. Adding that cast to the seniors Eric Dixon and Justin Moore, this is an extremely experienced Villanova team that has the defense and experience to make a deep run in a tournament setting. I think this line is playing too much against Villanova based on their performance yesterday. While they were on the ropes against a bad DePaul team, the slate is swept clean tonight against Marquette. Villanova is too experienced to let that game yesterday affect their play tonight, but betting steam has ballooned Marquette from a slight money-line favorite to now laying 4.5 points. This is too many points to give an experienced Villanova team that also has impressive non-conference wins over North Carolina and Texas Tech that happened so much earlier in the season that it is easy to forget about. This is still a talented roster that plays excellent defense and can exploit Marquette without their offensive playmaker.
Villanova vs. Marquette Prediction
Pick: Villanova +4.5 (-115) Click here to see which sportsbook has the best odds
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