Georgetown Hoyas at Marquette Golden Eagles Betting Preview

The second half of Wednesday’s Big East doubleheader will feature the Georgetown Hoyas paying a visit to the Marquette Golden Eagles. At home, Marquette is favored by 7.5 points with an over/under of 151.5 points.
At this point, every game is a must-win for Georgetown. The Hoyas are firmly on the bubble but know that one more loss could cause their bubble to pop. With back-to-back losses to Providence and DePaul, Georgetown surely needs to win out the rest of the way to get into the tournament. That won’t be easy with three games against ranked teams, but it does provide a chance to add quality wins.
Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles can rest easy as far as the NCAA Tournament is concerned. However, Marquette is surely concerned after suffering three straight losses that have taken them out of the running for the Big East regular-season title. The sooner the Golden Eagles can get back on track, the better they’ll feel going into March, making Wednesday’s game a virtual must-win for them.
Just the One?
Despite their recent struggles, Marquette can take some solace in knowing that they have one of the best players in the country. Markus Howard is averaging 27 points per game, managing to top what he did last season. While he’s just 5-11, Howard plays much bigger than he is and is a threat to score 30-plus points on any given night.
Of course, Howard’s 38 points weren’t enough in Marquette’s loss to Providence over the weekend. It remains to be seen if the Golden Eagles have the supporting cast to take down quality teams.
Sacar Anim and Brendan Bailey provide two additional shooting threats while Koby McEwen is a capable point guard who allows Howard to work off the ball at times. But inside scoring and defense remain concerns for Marquette.
Any Support?
Ironically, Georgetown has a similar problem when it comes to getting production from its supporting cast. The good news for the Hoyas is that they have two reliable players, rather than one super-human player like Howard.
Omer Yurtseven is one of the best post players in the Big East, averaging close to 16 points and 10 rebounds per game. He’s more skilled than most 7-footers, allowing him to create mismatches.
Georgetown’s problem at the moment is that their second reliable player, Mac McClung, missed the team’s last game due to a foot injury. Jahvon Blair, the team’s third-leading scorer, was also a no-show in that game with just four points.
The likes of Terrell Allen, Jagan Mosely, and Jamorko Pickett have been helpful at times, but none have been consistent enough for the Hoyas to count on from one game to the next. Whether or not McClung is able to return, Blair needs to be the one to step up for Georgetown and give Yurtseven some much-needed support.
Mighty Mouse
With the injury to McClung and game-to-game uncertainty from their supporting cast, it’s hard to trust Georgetown at the moment. At least Marquette has one star player they can count on when they need him. Bet on the Golden Eagles to win and cover the 7.5-point spread against the Hoyas.