The Marquette Golden Eagles (8-3) will be at home in BMO Harris Bradley Center when they square off with the American University Eagles (3-7). Marquette opened as a 22-point favorite, while the game’s Over/Under (O/U) has been set at 150 points. Action starts at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday, December 21, 2017.
American University Eagles at Marquette Golden Eagles Betting Preview
The last time the Eagles played, they lost a tough one against the Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers, 59-56. American University’s Sa’eed Nelson had a good performance, leading both teams in scoring with 19 points on 7-for-21 shooting. Mount St. Mary’s had a turnover percentage of 12.4 (better than their season average of 15.9). American University, meanwhile, had an offensive rebounding percentage of 32.5 (above their season average of 24.8).
The Golden Eagles will look to maintain momentum after beating the Northern Illinois Huskies in their last contest, 79-70. Marquette rallied around Markus Howard, who was the games leading scorer with 26 points on 7-for-19 shooting. The Golden Eagles forced 18 turnovers and held the Huskies to an effective field goal percentage of 0.409 (below their season average of 0.529).
The prolific offense of Marquette (24th in the nation with an offensive efficiency of 117.5) will face off against the porous defense of American University (316th in the NCAA with a defensive efficiency of 111.0). The Golden Eagles figure to have the edge on that side of the ball.
Marquette has a superb 8-3 SU record, but they are just 4-6 ATS. Of the Golden Eagles nine games with betting action, five have finished over the total.
Both teams have had a player trending in the right direction over their last five games. For the Eagles, it’s been Laurynas Motuzis, who has averaged 22.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.0 steals, while the Golden Eagles have gotten great contributions from Howard (26.6 points).
American University Eagles vs. Marquette Golden Eagles Prediction
Predictions: SU Winner – Marquette, ATS Winner – American University, O/U – Under
Betting Notes:
- he Golden Eagles average 15.5 assists per game, which ranks 75th in the NCAA. The Eagles rank 111th in assists allowed per game (13.1).
- arquette ranks 245th in rebounds per game (31.5) while American University ranks 251st (30.6).
- arquette ranks 20th in steals allowed per game (4.9) while American University ranks 177th (8.0).
- he Golden Eagles rank 13th in three pointers attempted per game (29.0) while the Eagles rank 85th (24.2).
- arquette ranks 47th in blocks per game (4.7) while American University ranks 116th (3.3).
Bettings Trends:
- he Golden Eagles average margin of victory in their last five games has been 11.4, up from 6.6 for the season.
- uring their last five games, the Eagles have scored an average of 69.0 points per game (2.3 above their season average) and allowed an average of 73.0 points per game (2.1 below their season average).
