Villanova vs Marquette NCAAB Game Prediction

Because Monday is the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday in the United States, there’s plenty of matinee college basketball around the country. The lone ranked team in action is No. 11 Marquette and the Golden Eagles – who will fall from No. 11 in the new polls Monday — are solid home favorites on the NCAAB odds in Big East action against Villanova. 2024 NCAA Basketball Betting & Expert Analysis Villanova vs. #11 Marquette | MyBookie Sportsbook Week 11 NCAAB

How to Bet Villanova at Marquette NCAA Basketball Odds & TV Info

When: Monday, 2:30 PM ET
Where: Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee
TV: FOX
Stream: FOX Sports Live
Radio: Tunein.com
Opening NCAAB Lines: Marquette -5 (total 142.5)

Last Meeting

Villanova holds a 27-16 advantage over Marquette in an all-time series that dates back to 1960. The Wildcats have been ranked in the Top-15 in 19 of the last 22 meetings against Marquette, including four matchups as the top-ranked team in the land. The Golden Eagles have claimed each of the last four meetings, most recently earning a 73-64 win on Feb. 1, 2023 at Fiserv Forum. Star guard Tyler Kolek led three players in double figures with 20 points and six assists and Kam Jones chipped in 18 points.

Why Bet on Villanova Wildcats?

The Wildcats (11-5) improved to 4-1 in Big East play by trashing DePaul 94-69 on Friday. Villanova opened the second half on an 8-3 run, solidifying a big lead that DePaul wouldn’t be able to overcome. Down by as much as 17, DePaul hit 5-of-7 field goals pulling the game back to 14, 67-53. The Blue Demons couldn’t contain Villanova’s offense as the Wildcats shot 18-of-25 in the second half.

Villanova Last 5

vs DePaul – W94-69

vs St John’s – L81-71

vs Xavier – W66-65

@ De Paul – L84-48

@ Creighton – W68-66

After a five-game absence due to a right knee sprain suffered on Dec. 5 at Kansas State, preseason first team All-Big East selection Justin Moore returned to the lineup for the Wildcats. He contributed two points, three assists with zero turnovers in 23:22 of game action.

“It’s just getting my wind back and getting into game shape,” Moore said. “I was just happy to be back there out on the court with my guys. I felt all right. There were times I had to get a sub.”

Redshirt senior forward Eric Dixon converted 9-of-12 from the field for 24 points to lead Nova and paces the ‘Cats in scoring (15.3 points per game) and rebounding (6.5 caroms per contest). For the second time in as many outings, sophomore guard Mark Armstrong recorded a career high in points, contributing 15 in the win over the Blue Demons. In his last two games, he is 12-of-19 from the field (.632), averaging 14.5 points and 3.0 assists per game.

Brendan Hausen was a first half catalyst for the ‘Cats dropping in 5-of-6 from beyond the arc over the first 20 minutes. The sophomore’s fifth triple of the period gave VU a 42-27 lead before the Blue Demons notched the final five points of the half to make it a 42-32 Nova edge at the break. By night’s end, he finished with 17 points, including a second half dunk, on 6-of-7 shooting from the floor. He is 15-of-30 (.500) from deep since a Dec. 9 win over UCLA. On the season, Hausen is 31-of-78 from distance (.397).

“We know what kind of shooter he is. If he gets an open look – really, if he gets a look – it has a really good chance of going in,” Coach Kyle Neptune said. I think defensively Brendan has taken a huge jump. He’s in there, he’s guarding guys, chesting them to keep them out of the paint, knows the scout. That’s where he’s made a huge jump. He’s out there more now because he’s taken a huge jump defensively.”

The 94 points were the most VU has scored in a contest this season and the most points scored in a home Big East game since a 96-64 win over Marquette on Feb. 10, 2021. Villanova connected on 8-of-20 of its attempts from beyond the arc (.400). It is 10-1 this season when converting 30 percent or more of its shots from long range. The 70-point threshold has been a key indicator for Villanova as well as it is 10-1 when holding foes below 70.

“For us, it’s very simple,” said Neptune of facing Marquette. “We don’t try to reinvent the wheel. The takeaway is to try to get better going into our next game, defend and rebound at a high level, and try to play harder than Marquette.”

Bet Villanova to Win
MyBookie Betting Lines for NCAAB

Why Bet on Marquette Golden Eagles?

Marquette (11-5) likely will drop from No. 11 in the new polls as it enters on a two-game skid. Not only were the Golden Eagles upset at home 69-62 by Butler on Wednesday in their last game but they also lost guard Sean Jones to a season-ending torn ACL. Jones had come off the bench in each of Marquette’s 16 games and was averaging 5.8 points and two assists in 16.3 minutes. Despite his low scoring numbers, Jones showed a penchant for hitting clutch baskets. He hit a 3-pointer late in MU’s victory at Illinois, and knocked down the winning 3-pointer against UCLA in the first round of the Maui Invitational. Jones also had been one of the Golden Eagles’ best defenders, making 15 steals.

Marquette Last 5

vs Butler – L69-62

@ Seton Hall – L78-75

vs Creighton – W72-67

vs Georgetown – W81-51

@ Providence – L72-57

Fellow reserve guard Chase Ross (shoulder) was out vs. Butler and be re-evaluated later this month. The loss to the Bulldogs ended a 20-game conference home winning streak for Marquette that tied a Big East record.

Guard Kam Jones scored 11 points in the opening seven minutes of Wednesday’s game against Butler, reaching 1,000 career points in the process. Jones currently owns 1,009 career points (50th at MU), the 51st player in Marquette history with 1,000 points, and first since the school’s all-time leading scorer Markus Howard (2016-20 – 2,761), who ranks 23rd in NCAA history. Jones has reached double figures in 15-of-16 outings this season and through games of Jan. 11 is ranked 13th in the Big East in scoring (14.9 ppg.).

MU forced 18 turnovers against Butler, continuing a season-long trend as the Golden Eagles rank first in the Big East and fourth in the nation in turnover margin (+6.1). MU has forced 10-or-more turnovers in each of the 16 outings this season and converted those miscues into an average of 20.8 points per outing. The Marquette players (Tyler Kolek, Stevie Mitchell and Ross) are ranked among the Big East leaders in steals.

The All-American Kolek is one of the country’s top point guards and on pace to become the fifth player (Tony Miller, Travis Diener, Dominic James and Aaron Hutchins) in school history with 1,000 career points (901) and 500 assists (560).

Forward Oso Ighodaro entered the Dec. 9 game vs. Notre Dame shooting just 50.0 percent from the charity stripe in 2023-24 and 58.0 percent for his career. Over the past seven games, however, Ighodaro has knocked down 36-of-47 (76.6 percent) from the line. That has helped Ighodaro score 20-or-more points in three of the last seven contests and in those games he chipped in 15.1 points and 7.7 rebounds per outing.

Head coach Shaka Smart and his staff place an emphasis on the number of deflections the team collects on a per game basis, with the target goal each outing a total of 32. MU has averaged 32.1 deflections per game (514 total) and met or surpassed its goal of 32 in 6-of-11 victories.

Bet Marquette to Win
MyBookie Betting Lines for NCAAB