Interesting spot here for the Big East leading Seton Hall Pirates having six days to get ready for the Marquette Golden Eagles with a much more important showdown against the Villanova Wildcats on deck. Immediately after that, it’s Creighton also possibly for all the conference marbles! The fact that linemakers will likely have them laying a short number on the road makes it all the more trivial. Especially after Markus Howard and his Eagle teammates just opened a can on the Georgetown Hoyas to move to 13-2 SU and 10-5 ATS as hosts to snap a three game losing streak. Wojo’s troops got taken to task in the second half of the first showdown with The Hall, but something tells me that won’t be the case when these clubs partake in the revenge bout this Saturday in what will no doubt be an amped up Fiserv Forum.
This Big East skirmish takes place on Saturday, February 29, 2020. Tip-off will be at 2:30 p.m. ET from the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, WI. The game will be broadcast live on FOX.
Odds Analysis
The Pirates invade Milwaukee off back-to-back wins over Butler and St. John’s. After handling the Bulldogs in Hinkle earlier in the season, it came as no surprise to see Kamar Baldwin and his mates come to play in the rematch. Butler took a six-point lead into the break, but The Hall persevered outscoring the Bulldogs 46-38 the rest of the way to log the slim 74-72 non-covering win as 5-point favorites. Myles Powell and his mates got back in the good graces of college basketball bettors by covering the 10.5-point spread in the 81-65 handling of the Johnnies. Though Seton Hall lost at Providence its most recent time out on the road, Kevin Willard’s squad has been very dependable on the Big East road in going 6-0 SU and 5-1 ATS in their previous seven played games away from the Prudential Center.
Now that’s what I’m talking about! ‘Quette badly needed to dish out a woodshed beating like the one they just administered upon the Hoyas. In trouncing Georgetown 93-72 as near 10-point home favorites, the Golden Eagles did away with a bothersome three game losing streak. It began with a 72-71 loss at Villanova that was much worse than the final score indicates and ended with an embarrassing 73-65 defeat to Creighton on its home hardwood. Only Providence and Creighton figured out ways to take Howard and his mates down in front of the hometown faithful this season, and the Pirates haven’t fared well in the Forum historically dropping three straight and eight of the last 10. Marquette went off the board favored to win each and every one of those games but will likely find itself dogged come Saturday afternoon.
Recent Meeting
Markus Howard must’ve felt all alone on an island the first time these squads hooked up with one another back on January 11. The future NBA sharpshooter went on to score a game-high 27 points which included a 7-of-8 showing from the charity stripe. No other player on the roster even tallied double-digits! Because of it, the Pirates defense allowed their toughest obstacle to get his while making a point of shutting the rest of the team down. When the dust cleared, Marquette shot a gruesome 33 percent from the floor and connected on just 11-of-17 free throw attempts. Though ‘Quette did manage to drain 10 long range shots, it hoisted 30 3-balls overall which equated to an ugly 33 percent success rate. On the flipside, Seton Hall shot 45 percent as a team, won the rebounding battle 37-33 and only turned the ball over five times while forcing a whopping 16 Golden Eagles miscues. The 124 combined points came nowhere close to surpassing the 145.5-point closing total moving the under to 3-1 in the last four and 6-4 in the last 10 meetings.
Prediction
The first go-round between these squads was a snooze fest. I’m not expecting that to be the case in this one! Myles Powell and Markus Howard are going to put on a show much like they did in the first go round in combining for 50 total points. However this time, the peanut gallery will also contribute leading to a back and forth affair with points hitting the board with reckless abandon. Marquette now has film on how the Pirates were able to basically shut them down. Now out of their element and in the comfort of the Golden Eagles own digs, it won’t be as easy the second time around. Look for Marquette to play a much looser brand of offensive basketball that leads to points hitting the board and puts them in a position to keep their three-game home win streak intact against the Pirates.
College Basketball Pick: Marquette 87, Seton Hall 83
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