
Butler vs Marquette Prediction 1/28/25 College Basketball Picks Today
Marquette (17-3) vs. Butler (9-11)
January 28, 2025 8:30 pm EDT
The Line: Butler +8; Over/Under: 146.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Marquette Golden Eagles and the Butler Bulldogs meet Tuesday in college basketball action from Hinkle Fieldhouse. Here’s a Butler vs Marquette prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Butler vs Marquette pick.
Marquette Golden Eagles Betting Preview
Marquette has maintained form for most of the season, and they’ve got a great record in the bag so far. The Golden Eagles have just one spotty run over three games (back in December); otherwise, they’ve got only one loss in the books. Wins over Stony Brook, George Mason, Central Michigan, Maryland, Purdue, Georgia, Stonehill, and Western Carolina came in Marquette’s first eight games. The next three were losses to Iowa State and Dayton sandwiched around a win over Wisconsin. Marquette is 8-1 in their last nine games, though. The lone defeat came on January 18 versus Xavier (by two points). Otherwise, it’s been wins over Butler, Xavier, Providence, Creighton, DePaul, Georgetown, Seton Hall, and Villanova in that time, giving the Golden Eagles a 17-3 overall record through 20 games so far.
In the Villanova matchup back on Friday, the Golden Eagles hit a 36-26 advantage in the first half, Marquette kept the heat on from there, notching a 51-48 run in the second for an 87-74 victory in the end. Leading the team in scoring was Stevie Mitchell with 21 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals. Chase Ross added 18 points with four rebounds and two assists, while Kam Jones had 16 points, five rebounds, and five assists. Tops off the bench was Royce Parham with his 10 points and two boards in 11 minutes of work.
Butler Bulldogs Betting Preview
Over on the Butler side, they got off to a great start this year. Once December hit, however, the Bulldogs hit the skids in a major losing streak. Things have gotten better over the last three games, but Butler is still stuck below .500 overall. The lone loss during their 7-1 start came versus Austin Peay. Otherwise, it was wins over Missouri State, Western Michigan, SMU, Merrimack, Northwestern, Mississippi State, and Eastern Illinois in that eight-game opening span. The losing streak hit after that however, as the Bulldogs fell to Houston, North Dakota State, Wisconsin, Marquette, UConn, Villanova, St. John’s, Providence, and Creighton during a string of tough matchups. Since then it’s been a 2-1 run for Butler. They’ve got an OT loss to UConn sandwiched between losses to Seton Hall and DePaul in that time, giving the team a 9-11 overall record through the first 20 outings of this 2024-25 campaign.
On Saturday matched up against DePaul, the Bulldogs held a 40-33 advantage in the first half. Butler outscored the Blue Demons 46-36 the rest of the way, resulting in an 86-69 win in the end. Leading team scorer Pierre Brooks posted 29 points with 13 rebounds and two assists with one steal. Jahmyl Telfort added 18 points with four boards and two assists, while Finley Bizjack put up 17 points with two rebounds and two assists. Andre Screen was solid off the bench with 15 points and eight rebounds with two blocks in 26 minutes as well.
Why the Butler Bulldogs will win
- The home team has won five of Butler’s last six games.
- Butler has won the first half in six of its last seven night games at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
Why the Marquette Golden Eagles will win
- Butler has lost each of its last eight games against Top 10 AP-ranked opponents.
- Marquette has won each of its last seven night games.
- Marquette has won the first half in each of its last five night games at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
Butler vs Marquette Prediction
I’ll stay with Marquette. The Golden Eagles handled a decent Villanova team quite well in their last outing, hitting 46.7 percent from the field with 34 rebounds and 13 team assists. Marquette got 16 points off 13 Wildcats turnovers and did well from the line on a 22-of-27 rate (81.5 percent). During this current 8-1 run, the Golden Eagles have scored 72 or more points in every win. If they can reach that threshold on Tuesday Marquette will be in great shape.
The last time these teams met up, Marquette secured an 80-70 win at home on December 18. The Eagles gave up a healthy bit of shooting (51.1 percent) but also posted 14 points off 14 Bulldogs turnovers. Marquette can’t rely on ball-handling mistakes this time, but I think the Eagles will be okay if they play to their capabilities.