The Marquette Golden Eagles and the Xavier Musketeers meet Thursday in Big East Tournament college basketball action from Madison Square Garden. Here’s a Xavier vs Marquette prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Xavier vs Marquette pick.
Marquette Golden Eagles Betting Preview
The Golden Eagles have had a pretty good season overall. That said, it’s been a pretty sketchy run since late January. Marquette opened with an eight-game win streak to start the year, then lost two of the next three versus Iowa State and Dayton (with a win over Wisconsin in between). The next 10 games were a 9-1 run with a loss to Xavier amid wins over Butler, Xavier, Providence, Creighton, Georgetown, DePaul, Seton Hall, Villanova and Butler. Since then, the Golden Eagles have gone 4-6 over their last 10 games. Marquette has wins over DePaul, Seton Hall, Providence and Georgetown in that time. Otherwise it’s been losses to UConn, St. John’s, Creighton, Villanova, UConn and St. John’s. That gives the Golden Eagles a 22-9 overall run across the first 31 games of the 2024-25 campaign.
In their Saturday matchup with St. John’s, Marquette erased a 36-35 halftime deficit and forced overtime. The Eagles ultimately lost a tough one after the extra period, falling at home 86-84 in the end. Kam Jones topped the scorers in that matchup with 32 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. David Joplin added 21 points with six rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Ben Gold chipped in 13 points with seven rebounds, two assists and two blocks, while Chase Ross had 10 points with five rebounds, two assists and one steal in 42 minutes of work.
Xavier Musketeers Betting Preview
Over on the Xavier side, they had a rough run going from late November into early February. Outside of that however, the Musketeers have been doing great. Xavier won their first six games, then hit a 3-7 run over the next 10 outings. Those victories were over South Carolina State, Morgan State and Seton Hall. The losses otherwise were to Michigan, TCU, Cincinnati, UConn, Marquette, Georgetown and St. John’s. Xavier would go 5-3 in their next eight games, beating DePaul, Villanova, Marquette, UConn and Georgetown. The losses were versus St. John’s, Creighton and Villanova. Since then it’s been a string of victories over Providence, DePaul, Butler, Seton Hall, Creighton, Butler and Providence. That gives the Musketeers a 21-10 record across 31 games so far this season.
On Saturday versus Providence, the Musketeers were up by four points at halftime. Xavier closed on a 40-36 stretch in the second half and took the win in the end 76-68. Leading the scoring was Zach Freemantle with 25 points, eight rebounds and two assists in 31 minutes of work. Ryan Conwell added 21 points with five assists and one rebound, while Jerome Hunter led the bench scoring with 12 points and three rebounds in 20 minutes on the floor. Daily Swain chipped in with eight points, three rebounds and three assists as well.
Why the Xavier Musketeers will win
- Xavier has won each of its last seven games.
- Marquette has lost each of its last three day games.
- Xavier has won the first half in each of its last seven games against the Big East Conference.
Why the Marquette Golden Eagles will win
- Xavier has lost eight of its last nine games against AP-ranked opponents at a neutral venue.
- Marquette has won each of its last five day games against non-AP-ranked opponents at a neutral venue.
- Xavier has lost the first half in 11 of its last 13 day games against AP-ranked opponents.
Total Points Facts
- Nine of Marquette’s last 10 games against Conference opponents at Madison Square Garden have produced a total of 145 or fewer points.
- Four of Xavier’s last five games against Conference opponents have produced a total of 144 or fewer points.
Matchup/League Facts
- Xavier ranks 9th among Division 1 teams for free throw percentage this season (79.3%).
- Xavier ranks 15th among Division 1 teams for three-point percentage this season (38.5%).
- Marquette ranks T6th among Division 1 teams for turnovers per game this season (9.2).
- Marquette ranks 7th among Division 1 teams for turnover percentage this season (11.6%).
Xavier vs Marquette Prediction
I’ll take a stab on Xavier here. You could call this one either way, though; it should be a pretty fun matchup if both teams play to their capabilities. The Musketeers played a pretty steady overall game versus Providence in their last outing, shooting 44.8 percent from the field with 17-of-21 (81 percent) from the line, 35 rebounds and 22 team assists. Xavier did cough up 11 turnovers, but also scored 20 points themselves off 17 Friars miscues. That gives the Musketeers seven straight victories with 73 or more points scored in each one.
These teams split the season series, with the road team getting a win each time. Marquette took it 72-70 on December 21 and Xavier returned the favor 59-57 in the January 18 matchup. The neutral court will be a real wild card in game three, but I think Xavier can pull it off.