**Marquette at Georgetown**
--As of Sunday night, most books were listing Georgetown (17-4 straight up, 10-7 against the spread) as a 4.5-point favorite with a total of 122. Gamblers can most likely anticipate a money-line return around +165 for Marquette.
--Marquette (17-5 SU, 9-9 ATS) is in a first-place tie with Syracuse in the Big East standings with identical 8-2 records in league play. Since losing at Louisville, the Golden Eagles have won back-to-back games at South Florida (70-47) and vs. DePaul (89-78). They failed to cover the number in Saturday’s triumph over the Blue Demons as 14-point favorites. The 167 combined points leaped ‘over’ the 150-point total.
--Vander Blue led the way for Marquette with a game-high 18 points at DePaul. Blue is enjoying a stellar junior campaign, pacing the Golden Eagles by scoring a team-best 15.0 points per game.
--Georgetown has won five in a row both SU and ATS and finds itself one game back of Marquette and the ‘Cuse for the Big East lead. The Hoyas are coming off Saturday’s 69-63 win at Rutgers as 4 ½-point favorites. Markel Starks was the catalyst with a team-high 20 points on just 12 shots. Starks made 8-of-12 from the field and knocked down 3-of-5 from 3-point land. Otto Porter added 19 points, four rebounds and four assists.
--Buzz Williams’s team is 3-2 ATS with a pair of outright wins in five games as an underdog this year. Marquette won outright vs. Wisconsin and at Pittsburgh.
--Georgetown has won 12 of its 13 home games but is only 4-5 ATS. The Hoyas are 3-2 ATS in five games as single-digit home favorites.
--Porter leads Georgetown in scoring (15.0 PPG) and rebounding (8.0 RPG). The sophomore from out of Missouri is making 51.2 percent of his shots from the field and has a team-high 36 steals and 21 blocked shots. Marks is averaging 12.2 PPG.
--These schools met in Milwaukee on Jan. 5 with Marquette capturing a 49-48 win as a 3 ½-point home favorite. The 97 combined points had ‘under’ backers (127.5) cashing an easy winner. The Hoyas’ Greg Whittington was fouled shooting a 3-pointer with two seconds remaining. Whittington hit the first two from the charity stripe but after Williams burned a timeout prior to the third free throw, Whittington caught the back iron on the tying attempt. Marks scored a game-high 18 points for Georgetown, while Marquette got 12 points apiece from Blue and Davante Gardner.
--Marquette is 16th in the RPI Rankings with a 4-4 record against RPI Top 50 schools and 8-4 mark against RIP Top 100 foes. Georgetown has an RPI of 23, going 3-3 against the RPI Top 50 and 9-4 against RPI’s Top 100.
--The ‘over’ is 10-7 overall for Marquette, but the ‘under’ is 3-2 in their five true road assignments.
--Totals have been an overall wash in Georgetown games (7-7), but the ‘over’ has hit in each of its last three games.
--ESPN will have television coverage at 7:00 p.m. Eastern.
**Kansas State at Kansas**
--As of Sunday night, most spots had Kansas (19-4 SU, 9-13 ATS) favored by 7.5 or 8 with a total of 129.
--After starting the season with a 19-1 record, Bill Self’s team has suddenly lost three in a row both SU and ATS, including Wednesday’s incomprehensible 62-55 loss at TCU as a 17 ½-point favorite. On Saturday in Norman, Oklahoma snapped a 10-game losing streak against KU by winning a 72-66 decision as a five-point home underdog.
--KU is led by freshman shooting guard Ben McLemore, who is averaging a team-high 16.3 points per game. McLemore pulls down 5.4 boards per contest and is shooting 50.4 percent from the field and 41.8 percent from beyond the arc. Senior center Jeff Withey averages 13.0 points and 8.2 rebounds per game while shooting 56.1 percent from the field. Withey, a San Diego product, has a team-high 93 blocked shots.
--Kansas St. (19-4 SU, 9-9-1 ATS) has won four straight games, going 3-1 ATS. The Wildcats beat up on Iowa St. 79-70 Saturday as 6.5-point home favorites. Rodney McGruder produced 22 points, five assists, four steals and three rebounds. Angel Rodriguez added 20 points.
--With an 8-2 record in Big 12 play, Bruce Weber’s team is in first place with a one-game lead over both KU and Oklahoma St.
--KU has won 11 of its 12 home games, going 5-6 ATS. The Jayhawks have only been single-digit home favorites once this year, losing outright to Oklahoma St. as 9.5-point ‘chalk.’
--When these bitter rivals met in Manhattan on Jan. 22, Kansas collected a 59-55 win as a 3.5-point road favorite. This defensive struggle resulted in an easy winner for ‘under’ backers (127.5). Travis Releford scored a team-high 12 points for KU, while Withey and McLemore finished with 11 apiece.
--Kansas St. has been an underdog five times, compiling a 2-3 record both SU and ATS wins outright wins at Oklahoma and vs. Florida (in Kansas City).
--The ‘under’ is 10-9 overall for Kansas, but the ‘over’ is 5-4 in its nine home games with a total.
--Totals have been an overall wash for K-St. both overall (7-7) and on the road (3-3).
--Tip-off is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. Eastern on ESPN.
**B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets**
--In five seasons at Marquette, Buzz Williams owns a 54-28 record against Big East foes. Very impressive!
--The ‘under’ is 14-3 overall for Cincinnati. Man, the Bearcats really struggle to score sometimes. They couldn’t make anything in the second half of a game they seemingly had control of against Pittsburgh, which rallied for a crucial Big East win Saturday as a short road underdog.
--Minnesota has lost six of its last eight games but the real story from The Barn on Sunday was another huge win for Illinois. Jim Groce showed us he could coach last year when he guided Ohio to the Sweet 16 before losing an overtime heartbreaker to North Carolina. Coming off an upset win at the buzzer over top-ranked Indiana, the Illini won 67-63 over the Gophers as a nine-point underdog. Gamblers taking Illinois on the money line cashed a nice plus-350 ticket (risk $100 to win $350). Leading by one with the shot clock winding down and only 18 ticks remaining, sophomore guard Tracy Abrams drained an audacious step-back trey to insert the dagger.
--Illinois made 11-of-23 from 3-point range against Minnesota. Following his buzzer-beating layup against Indiana, Tyler Griffey had another big game with 16 points.
--Minnesota played without stud forward Rodney Williams, who was nursing a shoulder injury.
--The theme of the week was upsets and California produced Sunday’s biggest stunner. The Bears went into Tuscon and handed Arizona just its third defeat in a 77-69 win as 12.5-point underdogs. They hooked up money-line supporters with a gorgeous +700 return (paid $700 on $100 wagers).
--This Georgia team has won five in a row both SU and ATS to improve to 12-11 overall. The Bulldogs’ next three games are against RIP Top 100 squads: vs. Alabama (63), at Ole Miss (48) and at Arkansas (91).
