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The Marshall Thundering Herd take on the Duquesne Dukes. Check out our college basketball odds series for our Marshall Duquesne prediction and pick.
The Duquesne Dukes have not been to the NCAA Tournament since 1977, one of the longer NCAA Tournament droughts of any program which has regularly competed in Division I NCAA men's basketball. Duquesne's coach is Keith Dambrot, who will forever be known as LeBron James' high school coach. He went to Akron and molded a good program with the Zips. He came to Pittsburgh to coach Duquesne and break this long NCAA dry spell. It is and has been an uphill battle to make Duquesne a respectable program. Before the Dukes can dream of bigger goals, they have to win a game precisely like this, against another program from a conference which is not expected to get five or six NCAA Tournament bids. Duquesne is 7-1 so far this season, which is encouraging. The Dukes' only loss was to Kentucky, so they have not yet lost a game they figured to win. They need to maintain that reality as long as humanly possible if they want to build a resume which might potentially get them consideration for an NCAA bid. Beating Marshall is extremely important when viewed in that particular context.
Marshall, which used to be part of Conference USA, has moved to the Sun Belt this season. Marshall hasn't yet started its Sun Belt Conference slate of games, since this is the nonconference portion of the schedule, but the Thundering Herd know that navigating the Sun Belt won't be easier than going through C-USA. Marshall's most recent NCAA Tournament appearance was in 2018, so the Herd haven't felt the pain of a decades-long NCAA Tournament drought. Nevertheless, every season is its own urgent and acutely-felt opportunity. This school wants to marshal its resources and get back to the Big Dance.
Marshall, like Duquesne, is 7-1, but the loss on the slate is a much worse defeat than Duquesne losing to Kentucky. Marshall lost to Queens of Charlotte (NC), a result which stands out like a sore thumb. The Herd need to stack up a lot more wins to overcome that particular defeat. Strictly in terms of their overall resume, they need this game even more than Duquesne does.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Marshall-Duquesne College Basketball odds.
College Basketball Odds: Marshall-Duquesne Odds
Marshall Thundering Herd: +2.5 (-115)
Duquesne Dukes: -2.5 (-105)
Over: 151.5 (-115)
Under: 151.5 (-105)
Why Marshall Could Cover the Spread
The spread is small, so one could reasonably conclude that the game is almost a pick 'em in terms of the dynamics of making a pick. You could make the bet that the game will be decided by only one or two points, but that is a narrow window. You could just go with the Herd on the moneyline. Nevertheless, you are getting two and a half points with the spread. If you think Marshall can win this game outright, you should pick the Herd. One thing to keep in mind is that Duquesne has two one-point wins so far this season, over North Florida and Ball State. The Dukes have not been a dominant 7-1. They could very easily be 5-3. That point alone could offer reason to take Marshall in this contest.
Why Duquesne Could Cover the Spread
Marshall has not played a road game since Nov. 17, a period of three weeks. Duquesne has been able to stay at home for the past week and not travel anywhere for games. That could matter.
Final Marshall-Duquesne Prediction & Pick
The fact that Duquesne has won a pair of one-point games this season points to the idea that the Dukes are playing with fire and could get burned. That's what will happen here. Marshall wins outright.
Final Marshall-Duquesne Prediction & Pick: Marshall +2.5
