Providence vs Marquette Prediction 12-31-24 College Basketball Picks

The Marquette Golden Eagles and the Providence Friars meet Tuesday in college basketball action from Dunkin’ Donuts Center. Here’s a Providence vs Marquette prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Providence vs Marquette pick.

Marquette Golden Eagles Betting Preview

The Eagles rolled to a nice 8-0 start this year, taking out Stony Brook, George Mason, Central Michigan, Maryland, Purdue, Georgia, Stonehill, and Western Carolina in succession during that time. Marquette would then hit a 1-2 slump with losses to Iowa State and Dayton (and a win over Wisconsin). Since then it’s been wins over Butler and Xavier in the last pair.

In the Xavier game on December 21, the Eagles were up by five points going into the second half. Marquette was outscored 48-45 the rest of the way but held on to win 72-70. Kam Jones topped the team with 20 points and eight assists, while David Joplin added 19 points, five rebounds, and three blocks. Ben Gold (11 points; five rebounds; two assists) and Stevie Mitchell (10 points; four steals; three rebounds) were each in double-figures as well.

Jones is the elating Marquette scorer this year, notching 20.3 points per game with 4.8 rebounds and 6.4 assists per game. Joplin is in second with 14.6 points per game and 5.4 rebounds per game. Mitchell is in third, accounting for 11.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.4 steals per game across 13 outings.

Providence Friars Betting Preview

Over on the Friars’ side, they won their first five games in a nice start this year. Those victories came courtesy of Central Connecticut, Stonehill, Hampton, Green Bay, and Delaware State. Providence is just 2-6 since then however, losing to Oklahoma, Davidson, Indiana, Rhode Island, St. Bonaventure, and St. John’s in that time for a 7-6 overall record.

In the St. John’s game, the Friars were looking good on a 42-29 halftime edge. Providence broke down in the second with a 43-28 deficit and lost 72-70, though. Bensley Joseph was the top team scorer with 17 points and eight rebounds. Jayden Pierre added 16 points, five rebounds, and one assist, while Wesley Cardet was also in double-digits with 10 points and five boards. Off the bench, Ryan Mela and Corey Floyd each had seven points.

Pierre is averaging 12.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game this season. Also in double-figures is Joseph with 11.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game. Cardet isn’t too far off the pace. He’s got 9.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game so far.

Why the Providence Friars will win

• Providence has won 20 of its last 22 games at Amica Mutual Pavilion when playing with a rest advantage.
• Marquette has lost each of its last four games at Amica Mutual Pavilion.
• Providence has won the first half in four of its last five night games at Amica Mutual Pavilion.

Why the Marquette Golden Eagles will win

• Marquette has won 25 of its last 27 games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• Providence has lost four of its last five games against Top 10 AP-ranked opponents.
• Providence has lost the first half in 13 of its last 15 games against AP-ranked opponents.

Providence vs Marquette Prediction

I’ll take a stab at Providence here. The Friars had a rough second half in their loss to St. John’s, eventually coughing up 17 turnovers for 19 Storm points. The good news is that Providence shot well (48.1 percent) and rebounded well (43) otherwise. Each of the Friars’ last three losses has come by four or fewer points, but they’ve got to clean up the mistakes and sharpen up on second-half defense if they’re going to recover from this current skid. A handful of fewer turnovers and ill-advised shots can make quite a difference for Providence’s chances at bagging wins in the coming games.

As for Marquette, they shot well themselves (49.2 percent) in their win over Xavier and benefitted from 14 Musketeers turnovers. The win was still a bit too close for comfort though, as Marquette missed four of their 11 free throws (63.6 percent) and got out-rebounded 31-30. The Eagles have scored 70 or more points in all but one game this season (63 versus Dayton), so Providence is really going to have to get moving on the scoreboard in order to keep the pace here. I think the Friars pull it off, but we could have a closer game than most people expect if Marquette can’t clean up some mistakes of their own.