Xavier vs Marquette Predictions, Odds & Lines for Big East Championship Game

• The top-seeded Marquette Golden Eagles are 1.5-point favorites over the #2 Xavier Musketeers in the Big East Tournament final on Saturday, March 11
• Whichever schools wins, they’ll be a first-time Big East tourney champion
• See the Marquette vs Xavier odds and predictions, below

There’s a first time for everything, and whether the Marquette Warriors (27-6, 20-12-1 ATS) or Xavier Musketeers (25-8, 18-14-1 ATS) wind up winning the Big East Tournament final, it will be the initial conference title win for the school.

Top-seeded Marquette only joined the Big East in 2006. The Golden Eagles will be playing in their first Big East tourney final. Xavier, the #2 seed, lost the 2015 final to Villanova in the school’s only previous appearance.

There hasn’t been a first-time winner of this event since West Virginia in 2010.

Oddsmakers are staying with the chalk in this game. They’re setting Marquette as a 1.5-point favorite. The Golden Eagles are 1-4 against the spread the last five games in which they were the betting choice.

Xavier vs Marquette Odds

Marquette is set as the #3 seed in the Midwest Region, while Xavier is the #7 seed in the South Region in the projected March Madness bracket. The Golden Eagles are given a betting line of +3000 in the March Madness odds. Xavier is offering odds of +6000 to win the title.

Tip-off for this game is set for 6:30 pm ET on Saturday March 11 at the United Center. Carrying the game is FOX Sports. Marquette was given +320 odds as the second favorite to win the tourney in the Big East Tournament opening odds. The Musketeers were set as the +420 fourth choice in this betting market.

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Musketeers vs Golden Eagles Betting Trends

Oddly enough, despite being the ninth (Xavier, 82.34 points per game) and 17th (Marquette, 80.72 points per game) scoring offenses in the nation, both Xavier vs Marquette games this season have gone under the total.

The Golden Eagles are 22-1 straight up when taking the court as the betting favorite. Xavier is 4-5 SU when starting as the underdog.

Golden Eagles Defying the Experts

It was UConn that oddsmakers were setting as the +190 chalk to capture the Big East Tournament championship in the pre-tourney betting line. The Huskies (+1500) are also given the shortest odds of any Big East school to win the NCAA Tournament.

💪 @MarquetteMBB holds on and Shaka is FIRED UP! pic.twitter.com/8FGrKXXF1O

— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) March 11, 2023

Instead, the Golden Eagles sent the Huskies packing via a 70-68 semifinal victory on Friday. A balanced scoring attack helped to key Marquette’s win. Guard Tyler Kolek and David Joplin, off the bench, both were netting a team-leading 17 points. Guard Kameron Jones (14 points) and forward Olivier Maxence-Prosper (11) also counted double digits in points.

Marquette rates among the top-20 in the nation in field goal percentage (49.18%, ninth). On the other hand, the Golden Eagles are 259th in defensive field goal percentage (44.84%) and 213th in scoring defense (71.28). Rebounding the ball is also an issue. Marquette 260th in offensive rebounding (8.97 rebounds per game and 320th in defensive rebounding (22.84 reg).

Musketeers Muscle Past Bluejays

Second-seeded Xavier raced to a 14-point halftime lead in the other semifinal against #3 Creighton, and never looked back. The Musketeers ended up whipping the Bluejays 82-60.

Xavier has one Big East Championship appearance. The team fell to Josh Hart, Dylan Ennis, and the Villanova Wildcats back in 2015.

The Musketeers are back on that stage tomorrow night in Sean Miller's first year back. pic.twitter.com/VH1CsZFqbj

— Matt St. Jean (@mattstdream) March 11, 2023

Guard Sidney Boum led the way with a game-high 23 points. Guard Colby Jones accounted for a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Forward Jack Nunge scored 17 points and Desmond Claude added 11 points off the bench.

Defensively, Xavier held Creighton to 37.5% from the field. The Musketeers also held a 40-24 edge on points in the paint while winning the fifth successive game.

Xavier vs Marquette Prediction

The Golden Warriors are rolling. Marquette are winners of eight in a row and 13 of 14. But the Golden Warriors are just 8-6 ATS over that span.

The two teams split two regular-season meeting, with the home team winning each game. The Musketeers are 2-0 ATS against the Golden Eagles. Xavier was an 80-76 victor as a 3-point underdog on Jan. 15. Marquette took a 69-68 verdict as the 7-point home chalk on Feb. 15.

Pick: Xavier Musketeers +1.5  (-110)