Marquette Golden Eagles vs Xavier Musketeers Prediction, 12/20/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Marquette Golden Eagles vs Xavier Musketeers

Date: Sunday, December 20, 2020

Location: Cintas Center in Cincinnati, OH

TV: FS1

Odds/Point Spread: Marquette (+4.5)

The Marquette Golden Eagles (5-3) travel to Cintas Center on Sunday where they'll meet the Xavier Musketeers (7-0). Marquette opens this contest as 4.5-point dogs. The total has been set at 140.

Marquette will enter this matchup with a record of 5-3 for the campaign. They average 74.6 points per game (156th in the country) while shooting 44.6% from the floor. The Golden Eagles are shooting 38.0% on 3-point shots (65 of 171) and 72.7% from the free throw line. As a unit, Marquette is collecting 41.3 rebounds per contest and has accumulated 111 dimes so far this year, which ranks 44th in the nation in terms of passing the ball. They lose possession via turnover 14.6 times per contest and as a team they are committing 19.0 personal fouls every game. On the defensive end, the Golden Eagles are forcing their opponents into 10.9 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 18.4 personal fouls. The Golden Eagles defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 37.8% (179 of 473) and they concede 32.1 rebounds per game as a unit. They are ranked 275th in Division 1 in allowing assists to their opponents with 96 conceded on the campaign. They are relinquishing 31.2% on shots from beyond the arc while they are 121st in D-1 in points per game from their opponents (66.6).

The Marquette Golden Eagles took the court against the Seton Hall Pirates and took a loss by a final of 70-63 in their last contest. Marquette wrapped up the contest having earned a 40.7% FG percentage (24 out of 59) and knocked down 7 of their 19 3-point attempts. At the free throw line, the Golden Eagles made 8 of 8 attempts for a rate of 100.0%. In the matter of grabbing rebounds, they earned a total of 35 with 10 of them being of the offensive sort. They also doled out 10 assists for this game while earning 6 steals and 5 rejections. With regard to the defense, Marquette allowed the other team to go 40.7% from the field on 24 out of 59. Seton Hall distributed 13 dimes and 6 steals for this game. Moreover, the Pirates pulled down 29 rebounds (5 offensive, 24 defensive) and earned 5 rejections. Seton Hall went 83.3% from the charity stripe by knocking down 15 of their 18 tries. They also converted 9 of their 21 shots from long range.

D.J. Carton is someone who was a contributor in the matchup. He scored 16 points on 5 of 11 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 32 mins and also totaled 3 boards. Carton shot 45.5% from the floor and dished out 3 assists. Someone else that was a contributor in this matchup for the Golden Eagles was Jamal Cain. He collected 8 rebounds and totaled 2 assists. He ended up shooting 55.6% from the field for this contest by shooting 5-of-9 (12 points). When all was said and done, Cain was on the court for 38 minutes.

Xavier has a record of 7-0 so far this season. As an offense, the Musketeers are connecting on 50.9% from the field, which is 58th in college basketball. Xavier has scored 582 pts so far this year (83.1 per game) and they average 39.7 boards per game. They are dishing out assists 20.7 times per game (10th in the country) and they lose possession via turnover 12.0 times per contest. The Musketeers commit 14.6 personal fouls every game and they go 73.3% from the charity stripe. The Musketeers on the defensive side of the court are 114th in college basketball in points given up per game with 66.0. The Xavier defense allows 30.4% on shots from behind the 3-point line (49 of 161) and opponents are knocking down 75.0% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have given up 13.0 dimes and 36.0 rebounds on a nightly basis, which is ranked 180th and 191st in the country. They are able to force 12.0 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 36.4% from the field (25th in college basketball).

For their last game, the Xavier Musketeers got the win with a final of 99-77 against the Oklahoma Sooners. The Musketeers were able to pull down 21 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive boards for a total of 31 in this game. They rejected 3 shots while recording 9 steals in the matchup. The Sooners committed 12 fouls for the game which took the Musketeers to the free throw line for a total of 10 tries. They were able to knock down 8 of them for a percentage of 80.0%. In terms of 3-pointers, Xavier buried 19 out of 32 tries (59.4%). In all, the Musketeers finished shooting 36 out of 63 from the field which gave them a percentage of 57.1%. The Musketeers allowed the Sooners to bury 29 out of 60 attempts from the floor which had them at 48.3% in this contest. They finished 30.0% from beyond the arc by hitting 6 of 20 and ended up going 13 out of 16 at the charity stripe (81.3%). When it comes to rebounding, Xavier allowed Oklahoma to collect 27 in all (9 offensive).

Zach Freemantle ended up playing a lot for the Musketeers for the contest. He made 12 out of 14 in this matchup giving him a rate of 85.7%, which got him 28 points. Freemantle totaled 5 rebounds in his 34 minutes played and had 3 dimes for the contest. An additional guy that was pivotal for Xavier was Paul Scruggs. He was able to score 20 points in his 28 minutes played by going 6 out of 11 shooting for this game. Scruggs walked away from this one going 54.5% from the floor and also contributing 8 assists and 4 total rebounds.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Xavier (-4.5)

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