College Basketball on Saturday and we will see the Notre Dame Fighting Irish travel to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to take on the Marquette Golden Eagles. The game is scheduled for a 2:00 pm (Eastern) start time and will be televised on ESPN. Currently the Odds for the game have Marquette favored by 6 points while the total sits at 130.
Analysis: Mike Brey's Irish have begun to build some momentum as the season heads towards a close, with wins in two straight and four of their last five games. Notre Dame is coming off an impressive 62-41 rout of Cincinnati last weekend and with the win, moved to 22-6 overall and 10-5 in conference play, a game behind Marquette and Louisville and two games behind league-leading Georgetown with three to play. The Irish aren't a team that will blowout opponents with gaudy offensive numbers, but rather with efficient shooting (.476) and solid defensive play. Notre Dame is yielding just 63.1 ppg on the year and boasts of a +4.6 rebounding margin. Cooley, a 6-foot-9 senior, is a big reason for that, as he is shooting .589 from the floor and leads the team in both scoring and rebounding, averaging a double-double with 14.4 points and 11.0 rebounds per game. Grant and Atkins are the perfect backcourt complements, as both can score and distribute. Grant is netting 13.0 ppg, while dishing out 5.6 apg. Atkins comes in at 11.6 ppg and doles out 6.0 apg.
Buzz Williams' Golden Eagles are in a little better shape, sitting just a game behind the Hoyas in the conference standings at 11-4. Marquette has won three of its last four games and comes in off a thrilling 74-71 come-from-behind victory over Syracuse a the Bradley Center, where Marquette is a flawless 15-0 on the year. Sixth man Davante Gardner was nearly flawless against the Orange, scoring a career-high 26 points on 7-for-7 shooting from the floor and 12-for-13 from the foul line. Thanks to Gardner’s offensive explosion, the Golden Eagles’ bench accounted for a season-high 55 points. For the season, Marquette’s reserves are providing 44.5 percent of the team’s offense – the third-highest percentage in the country. Gardner also gave the Golden Eagles a decided advantage from the foul line. Marquette shot 29-of-35 from the foul line Monday – including 24-of-28 in the second half – while Syracuse went 5-of-7 for the game. The Golden Eagles are another team that has modest scoring outputs at 69.4 ppg, but does so on efficient shooting (.464). Vander Blue headlines the scoring options for Marquette with 14.3 ppg. Gardner is next in line, coming off the bench all season long with 12.1 ppg. Wilson (8.6 ppg) and Cadougan (8.6 ppg) provide limited scoring depth, while Cadougan serves as the team's top facilitator (4.3 apg).
Pick: I like the Under in this one. Notre Dame has really slowed down their pace of play and their defense has played much better of late, allowing just 83 total points in their last 2 games. Marquette has played good defense all year, especially at home where they have allowed just 62.3 ppg on 40.4% shooting. I really don't see either team hitting 65 points in this one.
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