College Basketball on Monday and we will see the Marquette Golden Eagles travel to the Nation's Capital to take on the Georgetown Hoyas. The game is scheduled for a 7:00 pm (Eastern) start time and will be televised on ESPN. Currently the Odds for the game have Georgetown favored by 4.5 points while the total sits at 121.5.
Analysis: Though teams like Syracuse and Louisville have reached the very top of the national rankings it is Marquette that has a share of the top spot in the Big East at 8-2 in league play. The Golden Eagles have earned back-to-back wins coming into this contest after downing DePaul, 89-78, on Saturday. Marquette is 17-5 overall, but has fared much better at home (13-0) than on the road (2-4). Up next Marquette will host another premier program when Pittsburgh comes to the Bradley Center. Five players scored in double figures led by 18 points from Vander Blue, as the Golden Eagles shot at a 56.4 percent clip in the win over DePaul. The Golden Eagles had twice as many assists (18) as turnovers (9) and outscored the Blue Demons 50-30 in the paint and 15-9 in second-chance points. Blue (15.0 ppg) has been a dynamic scorer for Marquette this season and one of only two players on the roster averaging in double figures. Davante Gardner (12.0 ppg, 5.2 rpg) is the other as he has been one of the best options off the bench not only in the Big East but the country overall. Marquette won't blow anyone out of the water with their offensive firepower as they score a respectable 70.1 points per game on 46.2 percent shooting. On the defensive end the Golden Eagles are holding foes to 62.6 points a game on 40.5 percent shooting.
Georgetown has worked its way back up in the Big East with wins in five straight and seven of the last eight, but it is still lagging one game behind first-place Marquette. Georgetown went into an offensive funk beginning with that loss to the Golden Eagles last month but have pulled out of that behind Otto Porter Jr., who is averaging 18.3 points in the last eight games. The Hoyas had a chance to tie the first meeting late when Greg Whittington was fouled on a 3-point attempt with Georgetown trailing by three. But Whittington missed the final free throw with 2.3 seconds left and the Golden Eagles hung on. Georgetown is definitely a team built from the inside out, led by Porter (15.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg), who is tied for second in the conference in rebounds. Georgetown doesn't blow by anyone offensively, though it is an efficient unit on that end. The Hoyas are shooting at a 46.3 percent rate on the season, but score the second fewest points per game (64.4) in the Big East. On defense the Hoyas have been extremely tough, holding teams to just 55.7 points per game on 37.6 percent shooting. Both of those marks are among the top 15 nationally.
Pick: I like the Over in this game. The Hoyas have picked it up offensively of late as they have averaged 70.3 ppg in their last 3 games and hey Golden eagls have allowed 64 ppg on the road this year. The Hoyas have been excellent defensively this year, but Marquette has averaged 70.8 ppg in their last 5 games. I clearly expect both teams in the 60's in this one.
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