Marshall vs. Xavier Pick
Can No. 9 Xavier cruise to a big victory at home when it takes on Marshall tonight at 6:30PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, Xavier is favored in this game, as the Musketeers are getting odds of -21 points against Marshall. The over/under total for the contest has been set at 176 points. Today’s game takes place from the Cintas Center in Cincinnati, Ohio and will air live on FS1.
Xavier is coming off a narrow 68-66 win over East Tennessee State last weekend to improve to 10-1 on the season. The Musketeers didn’t cover in that win but are 9-2 against the spread this season. Xavier is averaging 88.4 points per game on offense while allowing 69.5 per contest. Trevon Bluiett is leading the team with 21.4 points and 5.5 rebounds per game while J.P Macura is adding 11.9 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. Macura is questionable for tonight’s game due to an undisclosed injury.
Marshall is coming off a 99-96 OT win over Ohio this past weekend for a fourth straight victory. The Thundering Herd are 8-3 on the season with a 3-5 mark against the spread. Marshall is averaging 88.6 points per game on offense while allowing 85.3 per game. Jon Elmore is putting up 24.2 points and 7.5 assists per game on offense while Ajdin Penava is adding 19.1 points and 9.9 rebounds per game.
Xavier won the last meeting in this series in 2004, 69-46. Xavier is dealing with some injuries and is facing a team that is capable of putting up plenty of offense. Marshall has three players scoring at least 19 points per game. I think they will be able to do enough scoring to keep this game with Xavier within reach. The public betting is nearly split in this game, but I like Marshall to cover.
CBB DAILY PREDICTION: MARSHALL +21