Big East foes will lock horns when the Marquette Golden Eagles (14-7) play the Butler Bulldogs (14-6) at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. The game begins at 12:00 pm ET on Saturday, Jan. 30 and will air on FS1.
The Golden Eagles defeated Stetson 74-60 on Wednesday. JaJuan Johnson was the game’s high scorer with 22 points on 9-for-16 shooting. The Bulldogs are coming off a 67-53 win over DePaul on Wednesday. Roosevelt Jones led the game in scoring with 23 points on 7-for-11 shooting.
While the Golden Eagles have a good Straight Up (SU) record (14-7), they’ve been poor Against The Spread (ATS) with a 7-13 record. They are 2-8 ATS over their last 10 games.
Across the court, the Bulldogs have 14-6 SU and 8-11-1 ATS records. The Bulldogs rank 24th in the country in scoring, averaging 81.5 points per game. The Bulldogs convert their free throws at a high percentage, ranking 43rd in the nation at .738. The Bulldogs are the better of the two teams when it comes to assist-to-turnover ratio, ranking 30th in Division I at 1.43. Butler’s three-point defense is one of the top in the country, with opponents shooting only .311 from the three.
This game marks the first time these teams will play this season. The last time these conference foes played, Butler won, bringing its SU record in their most recent games to 4-2. The Bulldogs also hold the advantage ATS with a record of 4-1-1. Butler held the edge in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers one time, while Marquette was never able to do so in their most recent five games.
Predictions: SU Winner – Butler, ATS Winner – Butler
Notes
Marquette is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games.
Marquette is 13-5 SU in its last 18 games.
Marquette is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games at home.
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Marquette’s last 6 games when playing Butler.
The Marquette Golden Eagles and Butler Bulldogs both hold losing records of 3-5 SU against teams in the Big East Conference.
Butler scores 74.8 points per away game (ranked 61st). Marquette ranks a poor 188th in points allowed at home, allowing 70.1 points.
The Marquette Golden Eagles average 73.3 possessions per game and 1.031 points per possession, while the Butler Bulldogs earn fewer possessions (69.2) but more points per possession (1.178).
Marquette has an average effective field goal percentage of 51.1%. Butler is 4-3 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
On average, Marquette attempts 18.0 three pointers and Butler attempts 18.0. In games where they have 20 or more three point attempts, the Marquette Golden Eagles are 5-4 while the Butler Bulldogs have a winning 4-1 record.
Butler ranks 30th in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.43. Marquette is ranked lower at 153rd with an A/TO of 1.09.
Marquette ranks 46th in defensive rebounding. When it comes to offensive rebounds, Butler ranks 99th.
Opponents have had an average turnover percentage of 20.3% when playing Marquette this season. Butler is undefeated (2-0) when its TO% is 20.3% or higher.
