Marquette Golden Eagles vs Xavier Musketeers Prediction, 12/18/2021 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Marquette Golden Eagles vs Xavier Musketeers

Date: Saturday, December 18, 2021

Location: Cintas Center in Cincinnati, OH

TV: FS1

Cintas Center is the site where the Xavier Musketeers (10-1) will try to beat the Marquette Golden Eagles (8-3) on Saturday.

The Marquette Golden Eagles stepped onto the hardwood against UCLA and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 67-56 in their last game. Marquette ended the game with a 33.3% FG percentage (19 out of 57) and made 8 of 33 shots from distance. At the free throw line, the Golden Eagles converted 10 of 14 shots for a percentage of 71.4%. When talking about getting rebounds, they collected a total of 35 with 7 of them being of the offensive sort. They also doled out 15 dimes for the matchup in addition to forcing the opposition into 10 turnovers and getting 7 steals. With respect to the defense, Marquette allowed their opponent to shoot 36.4% from the field on 24 of 66 shooting. UCLA earned 16 dimes and had 7 steals in this contest. Additionally, UCLA snagged 42 rebounds (12 offensive, 30 defensive), but didn't notch a block. UCLA went 58.8% from the free throw line by making 10 of their 17 attempts. They also converted 9 of their 24 tries from 3-point range. When it comes to fouls, the Golden Eagles ended up with 16 and UCLA had 13 fouls.

Greg Elliott is a player who was a factor in this matchup. He finished the contest at 58.3% from the field and also earned 2 dimes. He was on the court for 25 minutes and grabbed 3 boards. He ended up scoring 22 points on 7 of 12 shooting.

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Marquette heads into this contest with a mark of 8-3 on the season. They have an average of 73.0 points per contest (158th in Division 1) while hitting 43.1% from the field. The Golden Eagles are hitting 31.5% on shots from beyond the arc (92 of 292) and 70.3% from the free throw line. As a unit, Marquette is collecting 37.0 boards per contest and has accounted for 177 dimes this year, which is 32nd in college basketball in terms of passing the ball. They are turning it over 13.8 times per game and as a squad they are committing 17.4 personal fouls per contest.

On defense, the Golden Eagles are able to force 14.6 turnovers every game and they draw 17.9 fouls. They concede 32.2% from beyond the arc and they are ranked 212th in the nation in PPG allowed (69.5). The Golden Eagles are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 41.6% (286 of 687) and they concede 38.9 boards per game as a basketball team. They rank 323rd in D-1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 159 surrendered this season.

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Xavier Musketeers walked away with a victory by a final of 86-63 against Morehead State. The Musketeers snagged 26 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive boards totaling 34 for this contest. They also coughed up the ball 15 times, while recording 6 steals in this game. Morehead State was called for 16 fouls in this game which got the Musketeers to the free throw line for a total of 18 attempts. They were able to knock down 17 of the free throw tries for a clip of 94.4%. Concerning shots from distance, Xavier made 11 out of their 24 tries (45.8%). When the game finished, the Musketeers shot 29 for 59 from the field which had them shooting 49.2%. The Musketeers allowed Morehead State to make 27 out of 66 tries from the field which left them with a rate of 40.9% in the matchup. They shot 33.3% from 3-point land by shooting 5 out of 15 and finished the game at 4 out of 6 from the free throw line (66.7%). In regard to how they cleaned up the glass, Xavier allowed Morehead State to snag 30 overall (11 on the offensive glass).

Jack Nunge ended up having an impact for the Musketeers for the contest. He recorded 13 points in his 22 mins on the court and had 1 assist for the contest. He converted 3 out of 4 in this contest giving him a rate of 75.0%, and had 7 rebounds.

Xavier has a mark of 10-1 for the year. As an offense, the Musketeers are connecting on 45.8% from the floor, which is ranked 109th in D-1. Xavier has 844 pts for the season (76.7 per game) and they grab 41.4 rebounds per contest. They are earning an assist 15.9 times per contest (51st in Division 1) and they lose possession via turnover 14.7 times per contest. The Musketeers are responsible for committing 14.7 fouls per game and they connect on 72.4% from the charity stripe.

The Musketeers on defense are ranked 39th in college hoops in points allowed per contest with 60.4. They have forced 14.2 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 37.5% from the field (21st in the country). The Xavier defense allows 30.5% on shots from beyond the arc (73 of 239) and opponents are knocking down 70.5% of their shots from the free throw line. They have conceded 10.7 assists and 31.5 rebounds per game, which is ranked 80th and 55th in the nation.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Xavier

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