St John’s + 6.5 @ 10 Marquette at 8 pm on FS1
Pick: Marquette -6.5
The Golden Eagles have been on a tear since the start of 2019. They’ve managed to finish the month of January with a record of 8-1 with their lone loss to the Red Storm who they’ll rematch tonight.
Marquette (19-3) has been riding an eight-game winning streak behind Big East leading scorer Markus Howard (25.0 PPG). The dynamic brothers Sam Hauser and Joey Hauser have been taking over the glass averaging a combined total of 13 RPG. Coach Steve Wojciechowski has spoken highly about the Golden Eagles defense which is holding opponents to 41.3% from the field and 34.5% from beyond the arc.
The Red Storm were inconsistent in January as they finished with a record of 4-4. Shamorie Ponds continues to light up the Red Storm’s offense averaging 20.4 PPG and 5.6 APG. Ponds and Howard are arguably the best two guards in the Big East. Coach Chris Mullen has made sure the offense hasn’t missed a beat averaging 81.2 PPG which is good for 34th in the nation.
The Golden Eagles have been 11-3-0 ATS as the home favorite and have covered by at least 3.8 points over the spread. The Red Storm have been 3-2-0 ATS as the away underdog and are trying to remain in the race for the Big East.
I think we’re in for an electrifying showdown between two very talented guards in Ponds and Howard. However, I think the Golden Eagles get their revenge tonight and cover big. The Red Storm will eventually get back on track after having suffered a thirty-point loss to second ranked Duke.