The Colorado Buffaloes and the Marquette Golden Eagles meet Sunday in NCAA Tournament Second Round college basketball action from Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Here’s a Colorado vs Marquette prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for the game. We will examine:
- The Colorado recent form and player performance
- The Marquette recent form and player performance
- Recent betting trends and streaks involving Colorado
- Recent betting trends and streaks involving Marquette
- Recent betting trends in games played between Colorado and Marquette
- A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Colorado vs Marquette game
Colorado Buffaloes Betting Preview
The Buffaloes got hot at just the right time this year. Colorado hit a six-game win streak to finish off the regular season, then beat Utah and Washington State in the conference tourney (before a loss to Oregon). So far the Buffaloes have beaten Boise State and Florida in the national tournament.
In the First Round matchup versus Florida on Friday, the Buffaloes were all tied up 45-45 by halftime. Colorado posted a 57-55 run the rest of the way to power out a tight win 102-100. KJ Simpson was the leading team scorer on his 23 points with five boards and five assists.
Marquette Golden Eagles Betting Preview
Over on the Marquette side, they took a couple of late-season losses to Creighton and UConn before beating Xavier on the last day of the year. The Eagles took out Villanova and Providence in their conference tournament matchup, then fell by 16 points to UConn last Saturday.
Marquette was able to get back into the win column in their First Round matchup versus Western Kentucky. The Golden Eagles faced a 43-36 deficit by the break, then came back on a 51-26 run for an 87-69 finish. Kam Jones’ 28 points and two rebounds topped the team.
Marquette Golden Eagles Team Facts
- Marquette has won each of its last 15 games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
- Ten of Marquette’s last 11 games against non-AP-ranked opponents have produced a total of 147+ points.
- Marquette has lost the first half in eight of its last nine NCAA Tournament games against a lower seed.
Colorado Buffaloes Team Facts
- Colorado has lost each of its last seven games against Top 10 AP-ranked opponents.
- Each of Colorado’s last eight day games against non-Conference opponents have produced a total of 148+ points.
- Colorado has won the first half in nine of its last 10 day games against non-Conference opponents.
Matchup/League Facts
- Marquette ranks T16th among Division 1 teams for field goals made per game this season (29.6).
- Marquette ranks T17th among Division 1 teams for opponent turnovers per game this season (15.1).
- Colorado ranks 4th among Division 1 teams for three-point percentage this season (40.0%).
- Colorado ranks 5th among Division 1 teams for field goal percentage this season (49.9%).
Colorado vs Marquette Prediction
I’m going with Colorado. The Buffaloes are coming off a gutsy win over Florida, shooting a scorching 63 percent from the field. The 6-of-10 (60 percent) from 3-point range and 28-of-33 (84.8 percent) from the line helped as well. Colorado did have 12 turnovers and gave up quite a bit of shooting (51.5 percent) but otherwise it was a nice outing.
As for Marquette, they had a little trouble with a pesky Western Kentucky squad in their last game but everything worked out well. The Eagles did get outgunned on the boards 44-37 and hit just 8-of-15 (53.3 percent) from the line, though. This one’s looking like a potential high-scoring finish, and I like Colorado to power it out.