NCAA Basketball Betting – Golden Eagles vs Bearcats
Big East Player of the Year candidate Jae Crowder will lead his No. 10 Marquette Golden Eagles into battle against the Cincinnati Bearcats on Wednesday in Ohio.
Date/Time: 7:00 PM ET, Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Venue: Fifth Third Arena, Cincinnati, Ohio
Broadcast: ESPN2
Spread: Bearcats -1.5
Over/Under: 138
The senior forward has been named the league’s player of the week for the second-straight time, and has really stepped up his game at both ends of the court in recent weeks, helping MU to a 24-5 overall record and a 13-3 slate in league play.
He is averaging 26.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 2.5 assists per game in the team’s last four outings, while shooting 62.1 percent (36-of-58) from the field, including uncorking for 26 points as the visiting Golden Eagles overcame some roster problems en route to a 61-60 win over West Virginia.
Crowder proved himself in this one, single handedly keeping the Golden Eagles alive while three starters- Darius Johnson-Odom, Junior Cadougan and Vander Blue- all served a school mandated half-game suspension because of team rule violations.
But the trio will be back in the lineup for Wednesday, including Johnson-Odom who did manage to score five points after he game into the game at WVU. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
The Golden Eagles at full strength will be a handful for Cincinnati, which is coming off a 46-45 loss against South Florida.
The Bearcats entered the contest as one of the worst shooting teams in the Big East, and went out the game the same way after missing 13 of its first 17 shots while going seven minutes without a bucket in the first half.
It was Cincinnati’s lowest point total since losing to Georgetown, 74-47 in the 2009-2010 regular season finale.
Marquette’s key advantage in over Cincinnati in this one will be scoring, where the Golden Eagles outperform the Bearcats, 76 pts/game to 68 pts/game.
The Golden Eagles have already played Cincinnati this season, back on February 11th, and won 95-78. Last year, the Bearcats won 67-60. In four seasons, Marquette has a record of 4-1 against Cincinnati, including 2-0 at Fifth Third Arena.
Look for another big game from Crowder and for Johnson-Odom to breakout after shortened outing last time out.
Free Pick: Marquette
