The UConn Huskies take on the Marquette Golden Eagles. Our Big East Tournament odds series has our UConn Marquette prediction and pick. Find out how to watch UConn vs Marquette.
The UConn Huskies are now in a place where they want to be. They struggled for much of the Big East regular season, but the Big East Tournament feels like home for Connecticut. No fan base brings a more vocal crowd to Madison Square Garden than UConn. Other fan bases bring big groups to MSG, but UConn is probably the No. 1 seed in terms of fan representation when the Big East gathers in the Big Apple in March. UConn was away from the Big East for several years when it was part of the AAC. The Huskies are back in their spiritual March home, and they will rely on their fans to help them through the weekend on what they hope will be a run to the Big East Tournament championship.
The Huskies took care of the Providence Friars on Thursday in the Big East quarterfinals. For a long time, it seemed UConn was going to have an easy afternoon, going up by 26 and maintaining a hefty lead for most of the day. However, Providence — with a stunning 28-5 run — chopped that lead all the way down to just three points late in regulation. The Huskies could have panicked and fully imploded, but they managed to steady themselves and win. Now they should feel as though they have learned a few things heading into this Big East semifinal against top seed and regular season champion Marquette.
UConn was plainly bested by Marquette over the past two months, but now UConn gets to play a game with a partisan crowd in its corner. This will be a challenge for Marquette, as the betting lines suggest below:
Here are the UConn-Marquette Big East Tournament odds, courtesy of FanDuel:
Big East Tournament Odds: UConn-Marquette Odds
UConn Huskies: -4.5 (-102)
Marquette Golden Eagles: +4.5 (-120)
Over: 146.5 (-110)
Under: 146.5 (-110)
How To Watch UConn vs. Marquette
TV: Fox Sports 1
Stream: Fox Sports app
Time: 6:30 p.m. ET, 3:30 p.m. PT
*Watch UConn-Marquette LIVE with fuboTV (Click for free trial)*
Why UConn Could Cover The Spread
The Huskies are still the Big East team a lot of national college basketball commentators love in the NCAA Tournament. UConn has size, power and length. The Huskies are a quality defensive team. They are tough and rugged and will make it hard for opponents to score. As long as they get enough offense from their guards, they are going to be very tough to beat in March. What should also help them here is that Marquette just played a draining overtime game in its Big East quarterfinal against St. John's. Marquette might be overextended and a little tired. Given that Marquette won the Big East regular-season championship and pushed itself really hard to do so, the Golden Eagles might be running on fumes in this game, and UConn — with that energy in MSG — can ride a partisan crowd to a big win.
Why Marquette Could Cover The Spread
The Golden Eagles have been the class of the Big East this season. They have been surprising everyone in the Big East and the country for the past two and a half months, so why can't they surprise everyone for one more week? UConn, as tough as it is, allowed a 28-5 run to Providence on Thursday, reminding everyone that the Huskies — though blessed with a lot of potential — are simply not as consistent as they probably should be. Marquette's ability to win in overtime over St. John's shows that the Golden Eagles do not get rattled in tough situations.
Oh, and have we mentioned that Marquette can lose this game by four points and still cover? That seems entirely possible.
Final UConn-Marquette Prediction & Pick
Stay away from this game. UConn has struggled but will have a home-court advantage in New York. Marquette, though, plays a lot of close games and knows how to win them. Pass on this one.
Final UConn-Marquette Prediction & Pick: UConn -4.5
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