The Butler Bulldogs take on the Marquette Golden Eagles. Check out our college basketball odds series for our Butler Marquette prediction and pick. Find how to watch Butler Marquette.

The Marquette Golden Eagles knew they would have a target on their backs entering this season. That's what happens when a team wins the Big East Conference regular-season championship and earns a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Marquette was a preseason top-10 team, a target for everyone else in a league which included defending national champion Connecticut. Marquette has not been terrible, but the Golden Eagles have not been elite, either. They have lost four times, and one thing shines through in looking at MU's season: This team is frail away from home. Marquette's four losses have all been away from Milwaukee. The team lost to Purdue in the Maui Invitational. It lost at Wisconsin. It has then lost on the road in two Big East games at Providence and Seton Hall. The challenge isn't winning at home; it's winning away from home. This is a home game, so we might not learn a whole lot about the Golden Eagles in this particular contest, but we know that as the season evolves, Marquette will have to face up to its limitations and climb right over them, proving this talented team is worthy of Final Four status.

Here are the Butler-Marquette College Basketball odds, courtesy of FanDuel.

College Basketball Odds: Butler-Marquette Odds

Butler Bulldogs: +11.5 (-104)

Marquette Golden Eagles: -11.5 (-118)

Over: 154.5 (-110)

Under: 154.5 (-110)

How To Watch Butler vs Marquette

Time: 9:00 pm ET / 6:00 pm PT

TV: CBS Sports Network

Stream: fuboTV (click for a free trial)*

Why Butler Could Cover the Spread

The point spread is a double-digit point spread. That might not seem like anything noteworthy by itself, but the larger reality of this game is that it is part of conference college basketball. Conference games, even when matching teams which seem to be several levels of talent apart, can easily become very close and contentious. It's not so much a reflection of the limitations of the better team or the excellence of the inferior team. It's more a matter of the basic truth that conference foes know each other more intimately and fully than nonconference teams do. The matchup isn't foreign. The coaching staffs have scouted each other out. They have an awareness of what the other team likes to do. Games naturally constrict and become close and tight. Within this context, Butler has a better chance of covering the spread than what we might initially think. Marquette is a better team, but Butler could very easily keep this game moderately close, losing by eight or nine points and thereby covering the number.

Why Marquette Could Cover the Spread

The Golden Eagles have struggled this season, but not at home. Not in Milwaukee. When they get on their home court, they're very good, and no opponent has figured them out on their home floor. Marquette at home is a very different animal when compared to MU on neutral or road courts. Marquette at home is going to absolutely blow the doors off this game. The different versions of Marquette require attention. Don't assume that the mediocre road-court version of MU will show up here. The best version of Marquette will take the floor against Butler.

Final Butler-Marquette Prediction & Pick

Home-court Marquette is a great team. That team will blast Butler. Take the Golden Eagles here.

Final Butler-Marquette Prediction & Pick: Marquette -11.5