Murray State vs Marquette March Madness Lines / Live Stream / TV Channel, Date / Time & Prediction

Murray State vs Marquette March Madness Lines / Live Stream / TV Channel, Date / Time & Prediction

Just two of the nation’s Top 10 leading scorers are in the 2019 NCAA Tournament. And they meet in the first round Thursday as Ja Morant of No. 12 Murray State takes on Markus Howard and No. 5 Marquette in West Region action from Hartford. The Golden Eagles are short NCAAB Betting favorites.

How to Bet Murray State vs Marquette March Madness Lines & Game Info

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Why Bet on Murray State?

The Racers tied for the Ohio Valley Conference regular-season title with Belmont and then won the conference tournament title over the Bruins, 77-65 (and Belmont is quite good as it proved in the First Four of the Big Dance on Tuesday).

Ja Morant was named the OVC Tournament MVP after he capped a two-day performance with 36 points scored on 13-of-25 shooting to go with seven rebounds and seven assists in the win over Belmont. Morant was joined on the OVC All-Tournament Team along with teammate Darnell Cowart. Morant was MSU’s 16th OVC Tournament MVP. He joins Popeye Jones (1990) and Lamont Sleets (1981) as the only sophomores for the Racers that have been honored with the award. MSU is now 71-37 all-time in the OVC Tournament and has won four games in a row and six of their last seven.

The Racers are on to their 17th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and their first in back-to-back season since they won three in a row from 1997-98. Those titles came under Coach Mark Gottfried and Coach Tevester Anderson teams.

Morant has been named first-team All-American is will be a Top 3 draft pick this summer. He’s also one of four finalists for the Naismith Trophy, recognizing the most outstanding men’s college basketball player. Rui Hachimura (Gonzaga), Grant Williams (Tennessee) and Zion Williamson (Duke) joined Morant on the list.

Morant has 311 assists, which ranks 10th in NCAA single-season history and his 736 points are second all-time at MSU. He is averaging 24.6 ppg and 5.5 rpg and leading the nation in assists (10.3 apg) and that led to him being named the OVC Player of the Year. He is in line to become the first Division I basketball player to average 20 ppg and 10 apg and has already become the first Division I player in 20 years to record 40 points, 11 assists and five steals in a regulation game.

Morant is eighth nationally in scoring (24.6 ppg), fifth in double-doubles (19) and one of two players to have multiple triple-doubles this season. His 19 double-doubles are just three off the nation’s lead, and he is the only player in the top 20 nationally in double-doubles under 6’6″ tall. Morant has 14 games this year with 20-plus points and 10-plus assists; no other player nationally has three such games.

MSU has won three NCAA games: 1988 against NC State, 2010 against Vanderbilt & 2012 against Colorado State. Thursday will be the third all-time meeting between the Racers and Marquette, with both previous meetings also coming in the NCAA Tournament. Marquette won both of those meetings, picking up an 82-62 win in the first round in Carbondale in 1969 and a 62-53 win in the second round in 2012 in Louisville.

Team Stats

Offense
  • Total Score: 83.29
  • Field Goal Percentage: 49.63
  • Three-Point Percentage: 34.82
  • Free Throw Percentage: 73.77
  • Total Rebounds: 37.90
Defense
  • Total Score: 67.77
  • Field Goal Percentage: 41.04
  • Three-Point Percentage: 28.24
  • Free Throw Percentage: 71.94
  • Total Rebounds: 34.10

Why Bet on Marquette?

Marquette was on track to be the Big East regular-season champion and perhaps a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament but fell apart at the end and dropped five of its final six games including the Big East tournament. The Golden Eagles lost 81-79 to Seton Hall in the semifinals. Big East player of the year Markus Howard of Marquette came up short on a potential winning 3-pointer at the buzzer.

The All-American Howard scored 21 points but finished 1 for 15 from the field. He also went to the locker room with 2:24 left in the first half, favoring his left wrist. He started the second half, but the 90 percent free-throw shooter was 18 for 24 from the line for Marquette (24-9).

Murray State vs Marquette is one of the best games scheduled for Thursday.

Howard, just 5-foot-11, averaged 25.0 points in all games this season. His 24.9 scoring mark in league play led the Big East. One of the nation’s top shooters, Howard led the league with 112 made 3-pointers and shot 41.6 percent from 3-point range. He ranked second in the league in free throw shooting, making 90.2 percent. In an overtime win at Creighton on Jan. 9, Howard broke his own Big East single-game scoring record with 53 points. He is a finalist for several national awards, including the Wooden Award and the Bob Cousy Award.

The Golden Eagles have shot the 10th-best percentage from beyond the arc this season among Division I teams, at nearly 40 percent. Five Marquette players have attempted more than 40 long balls and made more than 36 percent of those shots. It’s Marquette’s 33rd all-time NCAA trip. The Golden Eagles are playing in the NCAA tournament for the first time since the 2016-17 campaign, when they earned the No. 10 seed in the East Region and were defeated in the first round by eventual Final Four participant South Carolina, 93-73, in Greenville, S.C.

Marquette owns an overall record of 41-33 in the event, highlighted by 16 trips to the Sweet 16 and a trio of Final Four appearances (1974, 1977 and 2003), including the 1977 National Championship under legendary head coach Al McGuire.

Team Stats

Offense
  • Total Score: 77.73
  • Field Goal Percentage: 45.86
  • Three-Point Percentage: 39.32
  • Free Throw Percentage: 75.88
  • Total Rebounds: 38.06
Defense
  • Total Score: 69.09
  • Field Goal Percentage: 40.17
  • Three-Point Percentage: 31.91
  • Free Throw Percentage: 68.19
  • Total Rebounds: 33.52

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Murray State vs Marquette March Madness Betting Trends

  • Racers are 7-2 ATS in their last 9 non-conference games
  • Racers are 12-5 ATS in their last 17 games vs. a team with a winning straight up record
  • Golden Eagles are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 neutral site games
  • Golden Eagles are 1-4-1 ATS in their last 6 NCAA Tournament games
  • Murray State is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
  • The total has gone OVER in 5 of Murray State’s last 7 games
  • Marquette is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games
  • The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Marquette’s last 7 games

Expert March Madness Betting Prediction

Murray State 77 – Marquette 75


2019 March Madness Expert Betting News