UConn vs. Marquette Odds, Picks, Predictions NCAAB (1/11/23)

Wednesday’s matchup between UConn and Marquette in Milwaukee is set to be one of the premier games on the Big East schedule. The Huskies have looked like a national title contender for much of the season but have hit some bumps on the road recently, while Marquette is 5-1 in conference play and surging at the right time. Whichever team comes out of this one with a win will have serious momentum.

Let’s take a look at the odds and make some picks and predictions for Wednesday’s game in Milwaukee.

UConn vs. Marquette Odds

UConn enters as a 2-point road favorite, sitting at -130 on the moneyline. The over/under is set at 147 points.

The Huskies are holding the line as a road favorite, even after road losses at Xavier and Providence. Marquette has been taking care of business against Big East competition, recently picking up a road win over Villanova, but it’s fair to say UConn is a bigger threat than any of the Golden Eagles’ recent opponents. Is home-court advantage enough to carry Marquette to a win?

UConn vs. Marquette Prediction & Pick

This has the potential to be a truly great matchup. Marquette has been the better offensive team of late, but UConn should have the clear defensive advantage. Both teams are high on confidence and have plenty of depth.

Marquette has only lost one true home game all season, a three-point defeat against Wisconsin in early December, and Shaka Smart’s team hasn’t lost by more than five points all season. This team also walloped Baylor by 26 in this building.

With Fiserv Forum set to be rocking and Marquette’s offensive options enough to match a UConn team that has hit a bit of a lull, it feels safer to roll with Marquette +2 in what should be a close, high-scoring game.

UConn vs. Marquette Key Matchups

UConn is one of the nation’s deepest teams, which has proven to be huge on days when Adama Sanogo isn’t at his best. Sanogo is still the centerpiece of the team, and he’s coming off one of his best games of the season with 26 points and 9 rebounds against Creighton.

Marquette will have to find a way to stop the big man. We’ve seen Shaka Smart’s team struggle with some of the nation’s most talented big men this season, giving up 20+ points and 13+ rebounds against both Zach Edey and Joel Soriano, so defending Sanogo is an instant concern.

Beyond Sanogo, Marquette will have to deal with a UConn offense that moves the ball well and averages just north of 80 points per game. Jordan Hawkins has been a big-time shooter for the Huskies this season, though he’s coming off a couple shaky performances.

UConn has five different players averaging between 6-10 points per game, which speaks to the depth of this team. Marquette doesn’t defend the three particularly well, but UConn’s shooting has fallen off a bit lately – the offense still didn’t look up to par in the recent win over Creighton.

On the other side, UConn’s defense got back on track in a big way against Creighton. The unit had a tough time against Xavier, but that seems to be the case for every defense. Overall, the Huskies allow only 61.4 points per game, and opponents are shooting just 27.2% from beyond the arc against Dan Hurley’s team.

Marquette isn’t a spectacular three-point shooting team, but the Golden Eagles do have an excellent offense and don’t rely on the three by any means. Marquette ranks 9th in the nation at 50.1% from the field, averaging 83.1 points per game.

This may not be a very tall Marquette team, but this group excels from midrange. Kam Jones is the only premier three-point shooter in the starting five and will be a big factor, but the decisive matchup of this game might be how well UConn can defend the rest of the group inside the three-point line. Olivier-Maxence Prosper has been hit or miss for Marquette, capable of scoring 25+ points but scoring in the single-digits in three of his last five games. He’ll be someone the Huskies need to keep contained.

UConn has the clear size advantage over Marquette, which is 311th in the nation in rebounds per game. It’s possible we could see more of towering freshman Donovan Clingan for the Huskies despite Clingan seeing his minutes scaled back lately.