Big East Tournament Betting – Can Marquette keep rolling against #14 Louisville

Yes sir, Marquette is still alive and kicking in Big East Tournament Betting thanks to their big win over West Virginia last night just as I predicted. Up next is a date with the Louisville Cardinals who haven’t played since a 72-70 loss to that very same Mountaineer team on the last day of the regular season way back on March 5. I know that’s only five days ago, but since then Marquette has been on a roll, with wins over Providence in the first round and WVU last night and although some people might say this team has to be tired, these kids are fresh as daisy’s.

Marquette Golden Eagles (20-13) vs. #14 Louisville Cardinals (23-8)

Thursday, March 10 – 9 PM ET (Madison Square Garden – New York, NY)

TV: ESPN

The Golden Eagles needed a strong showing in this tournament to punch their ticket to the big dance, and I’d say they’ve done that and then some. Now they go up against the third seed in the Big East in Louisville, a team they lost by a single point to back on January 15, in Kentucky to boot. In that game, they were up big in the second half, like 18 points big, but just couldn’t hold onto the lead. That’s obviously a game they won’t soon forget and they get to face the same Cardinals team at an MSG arena they clearly feel very comfortable playing at. 

Big East Tournament Betting Spread:

Marquette Golden Eagles +150

Louisville Cardinals -4, -170   

Total: 141

The winner of this one goes onto the semi-finals where they’ll either play Cincinnati or Notre Dame, a game that tips off right before this showdown. For Louisville, they’re going to need to use their quickness and playmaking if they want to slow down this Marquette team. For the Eagles, they’re going to need to continue relying on the pair of Darius Johnson-Odom and Jimmy Butler as these two were big in their first two tournament wins.

Here are some Big East Tournament Betting Trends:

• Under is 6-0 in the last 6 meetings.
• Underdog is 5-2 ATS in the last 7 meetings.
• Golden Eagles are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 neutral site games as an underdog.
• Golden Eagles are 7-2 ATS in their last 9 Thursday games.

I’d like to pick Marquette outright again, but have to give some respect to Louisville who didn’t earn the number three seed in the Big East by mistake. Rick Pitino will have this team ready to play but I just see this one coming down to the last shot again, and looking at the Big East Tournament Betting odds, that means I’m rolling with Marquette again.

Big East Tournament Betting Pick:  Marquette +4