The little free play run ended with the Rams basically giving away the game at Baltimore. Let’s see about starting a new one with a college basketball tournament game going tonight.
751 LSU vs. 752 MARQUETTE
Take: LSU -6.5
I have yet to see LSU play, so I’m looking forward to seeing them in action tonight. The Tigers take on Marquette in the Legends Classic at Brooklyn. LSU is out of the gate 3-0 but the opposition to date has been very low level. Tonight should provide a little more info on the Bayou Bengals, and I’m very much looking forward to watching freshman Ben Simmons. Simmons has certainly not disappointed thus far. He drew rave reviews for his performance in Australia this summer, and I would expect he’s excited about his first real national exposure taking place this evening.
LSU is about as freshman-centric as it gets. Antonio Blakeney and Brandon Sampson are starting and contributing nicely, and with that trio on the court for extended minutes, there are sure to be some mistakes made. But few are doubting the talent level and potential on this basketball team.
Marquette has its own big time freshman big man in Henry Ellenson, and he has gotten his college career off to an impressive start. Unfortunately, he’s not getting much in the way of help from his teammates. The Golden Eagles are struggling big time in the backcourt thus far. They aren’t hitting from the outside and the turnover rate through the first three games has been unacceptable.
The good news for Marquette is that they don’t lack for effort. Head coach Steve Wojciechowski seemed to extract the most out of a very limited roster last season. It didn’t show in the record as Marquette ended up 13-19 and won only four Big East games. But the team played very hard and I would think that bodes well for the future as the very young current crop starts to mature.
But that’s later and for the purposes of this space, I’m only interested in tonight. Losing at home to a respectable Belmont entry wasn’t horrible. But needing overtime to put away a limited IUPUI squad and then getting destroyed at Iowa is not a great way to start the new season. I also feel the shaky guard play could be a big factor here. Marquette will not enjoy a physical advantage in the paint against LSU and if the backcourt play remains below par, it’s tough for me to see the Golden Eagles getting a win this evening.
LSU should be a popular favorite with the bettors this evening. The oddsmakers realized this as well when they set the number as high as it is here. Off the pre-season projections, this figured more like LSU -1 or -1.5. The fact they’re forcing Tigers backers to pay a premium of sorts tonight is smart. But off what I’ve seen from Marquette to date, and even with LSU having faced three nobodies so far, I have to side with the favorite here. I’ll go LSU minus the points for tonight’s free play.