Marquette Golden Eagles Vs. BYU Cougars 3/15/12
Mitch’s Free College Basketball Pick Against the Spread
The Marquette Golden Eagles and the BYU Cougars face off on Thursday in an opening round NCAA Tournament game in Louisville.
The Marquette Golden Eagles had a strong season and although Buzz Williams’ team made an early exit for the Big East Tournament they are still considered a team to watch when it comes to March Madness. Marquette is 11-4 in non-conference games, 4-1 in neutral site games, and they played the 19th ranked schedule in the nation. Darius Johnson-Odom is averaging 18.5 points, Jae Crowder is averaging 17.4 points and 8.1 rebounds, and Vander Blue is averaging 8.7 points. As a team the Golden Eagles are averaging 75.9 points, 16.8 assists, and they are shooting 45.9 percent while defensively they are allowing 66.2 points and their opponents are shooting 40.6 percent. Marquette came in second place in the Big East this year but are 2-3 against teams ranked in the top 25.
The BYU Cougars stunned the Iona Gaels and the rest of the College basketball world as Dave Rose’s team overcame a NCAA Tournament record 25 point deficit to advance to this game. BYU trailed by 15 points at the half but the Cougars came out in the second half playing stiff defense and hitting bombs. Noah Hartsock led the way with 23 points, Brandon Davies had 18 points and 15 rebounds, and Demarcus Harrison had 12 points. The Cougars shot 48.4 percent while hitting 35 percent from beyond the three point arc but hit just 55 percent of their free throws. The eventual difference maker for BYU was on the boards and the inside game where they outrebounded Iona 43-36.
Marquette is 4-1 against the spread following a game which they didn’t cover, 0-5-1 against the spread in their last six non-conference games, and 4-0 against the spread following a loss. BYU is 1-4 against the spread in their last five games overall, 7-23 against the spread following a cover, and 4-0 against the spread in their last four non-conference games.
The line for this one hasn’t been released as of yet but check back as I will update this article with my free pick shortly after the line is posted.
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Mitch’s Pick: Check Back When The Lines Are Posted
