Now they have to start the tournament with a tricky first-round pairing with the Utah State Aggies on Friday.
This is the Aggies’ 10th consecutive 20-win season and their sixth NCAA trip this decade. They are the nation’s second-winningest team this season, behind only Memphis.

The Aggies prefer to control the pace and keep it in the high 60s; while they were 13-0 when they scored at least 75 points, it’s doubtful they can win a shootout with a major-conference power like Marquette.
This game will really show if Marquette has overcome the loss of James. Get all of your NCAA lines over at the Bodog Sportsbook.

Marquette is still a dangerous team in the Big East; Louisville (-8.5) almost found that out the hard way on Sunday before finally sealing off a 62-58 victory at Freedom Hall. The Eagles have enough depth at guard behind James to continue their offensive game plan; their problem has been on defense, where the relatively small lineup has trouble dealing with some of the conference giants.

Pittsburgh isn’t one of those taller teams. The Panthers are 3-4 SU and 2-5 ATS against Marquette since the Eagles joined the Big East in 2005. Be sure to get your college basketball picks with the Bodog Sportsbook.

Marquette lost starting point guard Dominic James to a broken left foot after just four minutes of action, then stuck around against the Huskies before eventually losing the game 93-82 as 1.5-point home faves.

The depth of the Golden Eagles will be tested on Sunday when they travel to Freedom Hall to face the Louisville Cardinals (22-5 SU, 17-10 ATS). The Cards are well rested after beating Georgetown 76-58 on Monday as a 1-point road fave. Louisville is 5-1 SU and ATS over the past six games, and the over has rattled off five paydays in a row despite the defensive prowess of the Cards. They hold their opponents to 31 percent from behind the arc – bad news for undersized and shorthanded Marquette.

Neither club has done well against the spread recently, each going 1-4 ATS over the past five games. But handicappers have loaded up their wallets by betting the under. UConn, led by 7-foot-3 behemoth Hasheem Thabeet, has the under on a 5-1 run and 14-7 on the season. Marquette’s defense is a bit more suspect, but the under is still 4-2 during the past six games.

ESPN has the television coverage of this titanic battle starting at 7:00 p.m. Eastern, so we’ll be there with live betting from the opening tip to the final buzzer.

The Golden Eagles have five games remaining in the regular season, all of which except the first are against ranked teams. After traveling to Washington to face the Georgetown Hoyas on Saturday, it closes the season with UConn, Louisville, Pitt, and Syracuse.

Georgetown is reeling, but the Hoyas have shown the ability to beat top teams. They have quickness on the perimeter and a strong presence underneath in freshman Greg Monroe. Marquette has struggled defensively recently, but rebounded with a good effort against St. John’s on Feb. 14.

Georgetown is running out of time to save its season, but Marquette at home offers the opportunity for a much-needed signature win. Get all your college basketball betting with Bodog now.

Villanova is 12-1 at home and carries a 25-game winning streak on-campus into this contest.
The Wildcats have won their last two games at home against ranked opponents, beating  Pittsburgh 67-57 at home on Jan. 28 and  Syracuse 102-85 on Saturday.

Dante Cunningham, who averages team highs with 17.1 points and 7.4 rebounds, has posted double-doubles in his last two contests.

Can the Golden Eagles rebound after their run as the lone undefeated team in the Big East ended with a 57-56 loss at South Florida on Friday? Get your NCAA basketball odds in the Bodog Sportsbook.

That doesn’t mean Chicago State isn’t worth a look during this Monday’s matchup against the No. 16 Marquette Golden Eagles. The Cougars are 5-3-1 ATS over the past three years; Marquette, meanwhile, lost respected coach Tom Crean to Indiana. He’s been replaced by Buzz Williams, who was a rookie Division I coach last year at New Orleans (19-13 SU, 12-14 ATS) in the Sun Belt Conference.

Marquette is still a dangerous team in the Big East with four starters returning from last year’s 25-10 (17-12 ATS) squad. But the Eagles are soft in the post and a definite fade candidate while Williams gets his feet wet.

Dominic James and the Marquette Golden Eagles survived storied Kentucky. (AP Images)

The University of Kentucky is one helluva basketball school. Just not this year. The Wildcats, along with first-year coach Billy Gillespie, were on the wrong end of a fairly close one today in Anaheim. Their opponents, the Marquette Golden Eages, finally escaped the first round of the NCAA tournament with a 74-66 victory.

Before the game, it appeared the Kentucky tradition might play a role in intimidating the team that was actually favored by six points.

“I mean, Kentucky?” Marquette guard Dominic James said. “I’ve never heard of Kentucky being the underdog. They’re one of the most prestigious schools in basketball.”

But tradition, it turned out, wasn't enough. Both James and teammate Wesley Matthews clutched up late for Marquette at the free throw line. James finished 8-for-10 from the charity stripe; Matthews was 9-for-10, including two with just seconds left to cover the spread.

Jerel McNeal led the Golden Eagles with 20 points.

Joe Crawford was huge in a losing effort for Kentucky with 35 points. Ramel Bradley added 19.

But perhaps the most telling statistic was this: the Wildcats had just four players who scored at least a point; the Golden Eagles had nine. Bit of a balance discrepancy there.

Marquette moves on to play the winner of the smart kids game, Stanford (-15) versus Cornell.

Stay tuned for all your NCAA men's tournament first round results and recaps!

March Madness odds

Marquette held Notre Dame's Luke Harangody to just 13 points on Thursday night. (AP Images)

Although oddsmakers expected a close matchup, you can officially chalk up another upset for the Big East tourney as Marquette defeated Notre Dame 89-79.

The odds closed with Marquette as the one-point favorite over Notre Dame and it looks like the books were right. The Fighting Irish led by six after the first half but Marquette came out blazing in the second, dropping 57 points.

Guard Jered McNeal led the Golden Eagles with 28 points and six rebounds, while the Marquette defense was able to keep Notre Dame's leading scorer Luke Harangody to just 13. Well off his 21-point average.

Marquette reaches the Big East semi-finals for the first time in school history.

Get your NCAA odds in the Bodog Sportsbook!

Dan Fitzgerald of Marquette denies Pitt’s DeJuan Blair of possession during the matchup of Big East teams. (AP Images)

Marquette started the season ranked in the top 10 in college basketball. It entered Friday night’s Big East matchup just looking to get back in the top 25. The Golden Eagles’ opponent, Pittsburgh, had climbed as high as No. 6 in the polls before falling to No. 22.

The Panthers may now be the ones on the outside after getting thumped 72-54 in Milwaukee. Led by Jerel McNeal’s 17 points, Marquette dominated from start to finish as they improved 18-6. The Golden Eagles, who were highly touted because of their veteran backcourt, also got contributions from their frontcourt as forward Ousmane Barrow put up a double-double (14 points, 12 rebounds).

In the only game on the night featuring a top 25 team, Marquette covered the point spread, which was 4.5, while the betting total fell under 137.

Pitt (19-6) has struggled because of injuries to its top players, but the Panthers were at close to full strength for this one. With the result, the Panthers are likely to drop out of the top 25 and the Eagles should re-join the ranks when the polls are announced Sunday night.

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