Marquette Golden Eagles vs Xavier Musketeers Prediction, 3/9/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Marquette Golden Eagles vs Xavier Musketeers

Date: Saturday, March 9, 2024

Location: Cintas Center in Cincinnati, OH

TV: ESPN+

The Marquette Golden Eagles (22-8) are headed to Cintas Center on Saturday where they will take on the Xavier Musketeers (15-15).

The Marquette Golden Eagles took the court against Connecticut and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 74-67 in their last contest. Marquette walked away from the contest with a 43.3% field goal percentage (26 out of 60) and buried 6 of their 16 3-point attempts. From the free throw line, the Golden Eagles made 9 of their 16 attempts for a rate of 56.3%. With regard to pulling down rebounds, they earned 29 with 10 of them being of the offensive variety. They also recorded 8 dimes for the contest while forcing 11 turnovers and earning 9 steals. In relation to the defense, Marquette allowed their opponent to shoot 43.5% from the floor on 27 of 62 shooting. Connecticut totaled 18 assists and had 8 steals for the game. On top of that, Connecticut snagged 43 rebounds (15 offensive, 28 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Connecticut shot 58.3% when shooting free throws by converting 7 of 12 shots. They converted 13 out of their 26 shots from downtown. Regarding personal fouls, the Golden Eagles ended up with 12 while Connecticut totaled 16 personal fouls.

Kameron Jones is one player who was a factor in this matchup. He totaled 18 points on 7 of 15 shooting. He played 38 minutes played and also totaled 3 rebounds. He ended up going 46.7% from the field and also recorded 2 assists.

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Marquette will play this game with a record of 22-8 so far this year. They are turning it over 10.2 times per contest and as a group they are committing 15.0 fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Marquette is snagging 32.9 rebounds per contest and is sitting with 485 dimes so far this year, which ranks 31st in D-1 in terms of passing the rock. The Golden Eagles are connecting on 35.4% on three-point attempts (269 of 760) and 71.1% from the free throw line. They have an average of 79.0 points per contest (55th in the nation) while hitting 48.2% from the field.

On defense, the Golden Eagles are able to force 15.2 turnovers per contest while drawing 14.3 personal fouls. They rank 293rd in college basketball in allowing assists to the opposition with 432 relinquished for the season. The Golden Eagles defensively are giving up a field goal percentage of 42.6% (742 of 1,741) and they concede 35.4 boards per game as a group. They surrender 34.4% on shots from beyond the arc and they are ranked 105th in the country in opponents points per game (69.5).

The last time they took the hardwood, the Xavier Musketeers walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 72-66 when they played Butler. When talking about rebounding, Xavier permitted Butler to grab 31 overall (5 on the offensive glass). They shot 25.0% from 3-point land by connecting on 6 out of 24 and ended up shooting 12 out of 13 from the free throw line (92.3%). The Musketeers permitted Butler to make 27 of 66 attempts from the floor which gave them a rate of 40.9% in the game. In all, the Musketeers went 25 out of 67 from the floor which had them sitting at 37.3%. In the matter of shots from distance, Xavier buried 4 out of 13 tries (30.8%). They were able to knock down 12 of those for a percentage of 100.0%. Butler committed 15 fouls for this game which took the Musketeers to the charity stripe for 12 attempts. They turned it over 14 times, while getting 8 steals in this matchup. The Musketeers earned 30 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive boards totaling 39 for the matchup.

Desmond Claude ended up being a factor for the Musketeers for this game. He racked up 17 points in his 34 mins of playing time, but wrapped up this contest with no dimes. He made 5 out of 14 for the game for a field goal rate of 35.7%, and earned 3 rebounds.

Xavier has a record of 15-15 so far this year. The Musketeers are committing 17.0 personal fouls per contest and they connect on 73.9% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 16.2 times per contest (29th in Division 1) and they lose possession via turnover 11.6 times per contest. Xavier has accumulated 2,287 pts on the year (76.2 per game) and they snag 38.7 boards per contest. On the offensive side of the court, the Musketeers are shooting 43.6% from the field, which is 250th in college basketball.

The Musketeers defensively are ranked 244th in the nation in PPG allowed with 73.8. They are forcing 11.5 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 42.7% from the field (119th in Division 1). The Xavier defense gives up 33.2% on shots from behind the 3-point line (221 of 665) and opponents are knocking down 72.2% of their free throw shots. They have given up 15.8 assists and 36.1 boards per contest, which ranks them 350th and 260th in those categories on the defensive end.

Who will win tonight's NCAA basketball game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Marquette

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