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College Basketball

Marquette at Butler

VegasInsider Staff
VegasInsider Staff Sports Betting Expert
3 minute read
The featured matchup on this Friday night’s limited betting board is a Big East battle with a nationally ranked team battling a three-game skid.

In a later start from Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, the Marquette Golden Eagles will be on the road against the struggling No. 13 Butler Bulldogs.

Marquette Golden Eagles at No. 13 Butler Bulldogs
(FOX Sports 1, 9:00 p.m. ET)

Opening Odds: >Butler -5.5, Total 137.5
Provided by Unibet (NJ and PA only)
Odds subject to change

Betting Matchup

With Tuesday’s 82-68 romp against St. John’s as eight-point home favorites, the Golden Eagles have strung together a trio of conference victories both straight-up and against the spread. They improve to 4-3 SU in the Big East highlighted by a 71-60 win against Villanova on Jan. 4 as slight 1 ½-point home favorites. More recently, Marquette outgunned Georgetown 84-80 on Jan. 18 as a four-point road underdog. Its overall SU record is 14-5 SU with a 12-7 record ATS. The total has gone OVER in all three of those recent wins and it has gone OVER in nine of its last 11 contests.

Markus Howard scored 32 points in Tuesday’s win with six rebounds and four assists. The senior guard is the highest scoring player in the nation with an average of 28.4 points per game.

The Golden Eagles are averaging 77.8 points a game and holding opponents to 68.6 points at the other end of the court. They are also pulling down an average of 40.4 rebounds a game.

A three-game losing streak (SU and ATS) has the Bulldogs moving in the wrong direction in the national polls. The most recent loss was Tuesday night’s 76-61 setback against Villanova on the road as 3 ½-point underdogs. The other two defeats came against Seton Hall at home and DePaul on the road as favorites. Butler slips to 3-3 in Big East play as part of a SU record of 15-4.

It is now 11-7-1 ATS with the total going OVER in the last four outings. It has stayed UNDER in 11 of the team’s first 18 games.

The Bulldogs were down by 10 points at halftime in Tuesday’s loss and never able to make a game of things against the No. 9 Wildcats.

Kamar Baldwin led Butler with 21 points while going just 5-for-20 from three-point range. The senior guard is averaging 15.4 PPG with 4.2 rebounds. He has exceeded that scoring average in each of his last five starts. Butler is scoring just 68.3 points a game with a points-allowed average of 58.1 that is ranked fifth in the country. The defense has given up 76 points or more during the three-game slide.

Betting Trends

-- The Golden Eagles are 1-4 ATS this season closing as underdogs and they are 2-3 ATS in five previous road games. They have a 3-6 record ATS in their last nine road games closing as underdogs. The total has gone OVER in three of their last four games on the road getting points.

-- The Bulldogs have gone 6-3-1 ATS this season at home and 8-6-1 ATS in 15 games closing as favorites. The total has stayed UNDER in three of their last four home games. They are 6-3 ATS in their last nine contests as home favorites.

-- Butler has a 7-3 edge both SU and ATS in its last 10 games against Marquette but the Golden Eagles won both meetings last season (SU and ATS). The total has gone OVER in three of the last four meetings.

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