The Marquette Golden Eagles (9-2) look to extend their eight-game winning streak when they take on the Presbyterian Blue Hose (5-7) at the Bradley Center. The game gets underway at 2:00 pm ET on Sunday, Dec. 27 and will air on FS1.
The Golden Eagles beat Chicago State 91-74 in their last game. JaJuan Johnson played well, contributing 12 points, six steals, and five rebounds for the Golden Eagles. The Blue Hose, meanwhile, are coming off a deflating 74-44 loss to Richmond in their last outing. DeSean Murray had a team-high 13 points.
Over the last five games, Henry Ellenson has really been playing well for the Golden Eagles. During that stretch, he has averaged 18.6 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 0.6 steals, 1.2 blocks, and 1.2 three-pointers.
Marquette is a heavy 23-point favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is 140 points. The Golden Eagles enter the game with records of 9-2 Straight Up (SU) and 5-5 Against The Spread (ATS). Marquette has consistently been near the top of the nation in terms of field goal percentage, currently ranking 37th in the nation with a FG% of .481. Turning to the defensive side, the Golden Eagles are 23rd in the country in steals with 8.6 per game.
Marquette and Presbyterian will be facing off in their first head-to-head clash of the season. When they last met the Golden Eagles were winners, bringing their SU record to 2-0 over Presbyterian.
Predictions: SU Winner – Marq, ATS Winner – Marq, O/U – Over
Notes
Marquette is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home.
Marquette scores 83.0 points per home game (ranked 98th). Presbyterian ranks a poor 106th in points allowed on the road, allowing 71.2 points.
The Marquette Golden Eagles have a defensive rating of 93.7 (ranked 48th), while the Presbyterian Blue Hose have an offensive rating of 95.0 (ranked 315th).
Marquette has an average field goal percentage of 48.1%. Presbyterian is a losing 1-2 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The Marquette Golden Eagles and the Presbyterian Blue Hose both rank higher in average field goal percentage when compared to their effective field goal percentages. Marquette is 49th and 37th in the nation for eFG% and FG% respectively, while Presbyterian ranks 286th and 192nd in these categories.
The Marquette Golden Eagles rank 14th in assists per game with an average of 18.9. The Presbyterian Blue Hose are among the worst in the country with 11.5 assists per game (ranked 297th).
Marquette, the 65th-ranked team in blocked shots, records an average of 4.8 per game. Presbyterian does worse, ranked 294th with 2.3.
Presbyterian ranks 275th in offensive rebounds, while Marquette ranks at 20th in defensive rebounds.
On average, Presbyterian forces a turnover rate of 21.1%. When Marquette turns over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has a winning 3-1 record.
