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It's a battle for first place in the Big East Conference when No. 11 Marquette hosts No. 16 Xavier Wednesday night in Milwaukee. The Warriors - errr, the “Golden Eagles” - just bounced back from a bad loss their previous time out. The Musketeers are hoping to bounce back here after losing their last time out. Which way are we going here for our free college basketball betting pick?
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College Basketball Betting Odds<br />
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Wednesday's CBB betting lines opened Marquette as a 5.5-point favorite over Xavier, with an over/under of right around 159. Early betting action then edged that total to 159.5. According to Sagarin's CBB ratings at USAToday.com, the Eagles should be favored by four points for this match-up.
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Xavier-Marquette College Basketball Betting Preview<br />
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The Musketeers won 11 games in a row into January, but they're only 4-3 SU, 2-5 ATS their last seven times out after falling at Butler last Friday 69-67. Xavier, favored by seven points, came out cold and trailed 35-21 at the half. The Musketeers then rallied to tie the game at 67-67 with just nine seconds to go, only to lose it on a goal-tending call with two seconds left. Xavier ended up shooting 46 percent from the floor Friday but allowed the Bulldogs to shoot 54 percent. And while the Musketeers won the battle on the boards 34-23, they also committed 18 turnovers. Two games ago, Xavier shot 54 percent from the floor, beat St. John's 96-71, and covered easily at -9.5. Three games ago the Musketeers shot 46 percent and outlasted Providence in overtime 85-83. Meanwhile, the Eagles just bounced back from a bad loss at UConn last week to beat Georgetown Saturday 89-75. Marquette, favored by 11 points over the worst team in the conference, spurted to a double-digit lead five minutes in and led 45-33 at the half. The Eagles then never allowed the Hoyas to get within the spread from there and later led by 25 on their way to the win and the money. Marquette shot 52 percent from the floor Saturday and hit 15/31 from 3-point land. Two games ago, the Eagles fell way down early at Connecticut and lost 87-72. But just before that, Marquette won five in a row. At 12-3 in conference play, the Eagles lead the Big East by a half-game over 11-3 Xavier. Also, at 20-6 and 19-6 overall, respectively, Marquette and the Musketeers look like very good bets to receive NCAA tournament bids. On the injury front, Xavier F Zach Freemantle (15 points, eight rebounds per game this season) has missed the last three games with a bad foot, and he'll miss this one, too.
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Xavier-Marquette Recent History<br />
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These teams split two meetings each of the last two seasons. The Musketeers then took the first meeting between the teams this season one month ago, 80-76. Neither team ever led that game by double-digits, and the score was tied at 72 with a minute to go. Xavier then took a lead and sealed the win at the free-throw line. Also, that game played under a total of 163 as the teams combined to hit only 11/42 from beyond the arc.
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<span style="font-size:16px; color:#008000;">Get more details:</span> <a href="https://www.sportsbettingstats.com/ncaab/matchup/1759346">Xavier at Marquette 2/15/23 Betting Stats</a>
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College Basketball Betting Trends<br />
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Xavier is 4-2 ATS this season as an underdog.
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Marquette is 5-2 ATS this season when favored by six points or less.
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Marquette is 7-2 ATS over the last nine meetings with Xavier.
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Totals Report<br />
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The Overs are 17-7 in Xavier games this season and averaged 159 total points. The Overs are 15-10 in Marquette games this season, averaging 152 points.
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