NCAA Basketball Lines – Marquette vs. West Virginia

NCAA Basketball Lines

Marquette Golden Eagles (9-3 SU, 3-3 ATS) at West Virginia Mountaineers (10-0 SU, 4-5 ATS)
Tuesday, December 29 – 7 PM ET

BetOnline NCAA Basketball Lines: WEST VIRGINIA -12

Here are some of the NCAA basketball betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

• MARQ has won nine of its last 12 games SU
• MARQ has lost six of its last eight road games SU
• MARQ has played five of its last seven road games OVER the total
• WV has won its last ten games SU
• WV has covered two of its last eight home games

Marquette was not supposed to be a particularly strong team after losing their top player, Wes Matthews (who is now with the Utah Jazz), but they have retooled. One of the factors is the return of Lazar Hayward, who now leads the team with 18.7 points a game, and anchors a front line that does not have a real center.

The Eagles are rather smallish, and that is reflected in the backcourt, but the guards are very talented. One of them is Darius Johnson-Odom, who provides some instant offense off the bench, shooting 51% from the field and leading the team in three-pointers.

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Marquette sprung some early upsets in NCAA basketball lines, beating Xavier and Michigan in back-to-back games at the Old Spice Classic, and that was followed by a one-point loss to defensive-minded Florida State, which is currently in the Top 25. After a nine-point loss suffered at the hands of another ranked team, the Wisconsin Badgers, they have feasted on patsies like North Florida and Presbyterian, but now have to get themselves back up to Big East speed for this conference opener.

The size difference will become something of a problem for Marquette when it comes to keeping West Virginia off the boards. The Mountaineers, behind Bob Huggins, have averaged more than 16 offensive rebounds a game, which is huge. You’re talking about one of the best front lines in all of college basketball, when you consider the triumvirate of De’Sean Butler, Kevin Jones and former high school phenom Devin Ebanks.

Ebanks had 22 points and 17 rebounds in the NCAA basketball lines win over Seton Hall, in what was his best game as a collegian. Only one of his boards against Seton Hall was on the offensive end, but what was interesting is that in the game before, he had eight offensive boards in the win over Ole Miss. Butler is an incredibly versatile player, perhaps the most versatile in the Big East. He is currently averaging 16.5 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.9 assists (which by the way, leads the team). Jones shoots 59% and pulls down more than four offensive rebounds a contest.

There are good matchup advantages for West Virginia here, especially on the front line. But Marquette will carry a quickness edge. Huggins’ team is undefeated, but has not put a lot of distance between itself and capable opponents like Texas A&M, Cleveland State, Ole Miss and Seton Hall. Let’s count on Marquette to figure out a way to stay in this thing. We’ll take the Eagles with twelve points in the BetOnline NCAA basketball lines.

JAY’S PLAY: MARQUETTE +12 **

(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)