Purdue @ MARQUETTE
#524 MARQUETTE +5 -106 over Purdue

BEST LINES: Pinnacle +1+ -106 Bet365 +5 -110 SportsInteraction +5 -110 5DIMES +5 -110

BEST LINES: Pinnacle +186 Bet365 +5 +185 SportsInteraction +180 5DIMES +185 

Posted at 1:30 PM EST.

8:30 PM ET. The Gavitt Tipoff Games is in its third year of pitting participating schools from the Big 10 and Big East Conferences in an attempt to place some sort of stakes on what would be otherwise relatively meaningless early season ball games.  As we know, everything is about money, and so this game tonight will be played at the home of the Milwaukee Bucks, the BMO Harris Bradley Center to give it that “big game” feel.

The Golden Eagles are in their fourth year under head coach Steve Wojciechowski and for the first time ever, this roster is only comprised of players recruited by Woj and his staff. This Marquette team is an unknown commodity with nine players who are either in their first or second year of eligibility. Only seven other teams have more freshman and sophomores than the Golden Eagles. Marquette kicked its season off with an 80-59 win over Mount St. Mary’s on Friday night, but this nationally televised game is truly the start of its season.

The Boilermakers jumped one spot in the Top 25 and find themselves ranked 19th after an undefeated weekend to open the season. Now, you might think that Purdue faced a quality opponent or two to coincide with its climb up the ladder, but that is just not the case. The Boilermakers started their season with a 105-74 win over SIU-Edwardsville, narrowly covering as -29½ point chalk. In game two, Purdue took on the Chicago State Cougars in a contest where oddsmakers refused to post a number, and while the Boilermakers rolled to a 111-42 victory, it’s nearly impossible to put stock in a W over such weak competition. After wins of 31 and 69 points respectively, Boilermakers senior center Isaac Haas quipped, “We all try to prepare for every game like it’s Michigan State or Marquette or any other big team. We treat Chicago State like its Indiana”. While that sentiment sounds good in the papers, the reality is not all teams are created equal. The players all know the point spread and we suspect covering big numbers against weak competition is a far bigger motivator than picturing the CS Cougars in Indiana’s crimson and cream.

These two school’s haven’t played against each other in nearly 50 years, which is unusually for a pair of schools separated by 219 miles. For Purdue, this major step up in competition will be its third game in five nights. Even with the cupcake schedule to start the season, that is a lot of ball in a short time. As for this matchup with Marquette, the market has absolutely taken a stand, as #19 Purdue is getting the brunt of the action and it’s easy to understand why. Laying two or three baskets with a ranked team over an unranked team looks like an appealing bet, but anyone that has followed college hoops for any length of time knows that these early season rankings mean nothing. However, they do provide us with an opportunity, as Top 25 teams are often overvalued.  We trust that is the case tonight, as the Golden Eagles can win this game outright and with such a good chance to do just that, we’ll split this up and play 1 unit on the money line and 1 unit taking back the points

Therefore the bets are as follows:

Marquette +189 for 1 unit

Marquette +5 -106 for 1.06 units to win 1

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Our Pick

#524 MARQUETTE +5 -106 (Risking 2.06 units - To Win: 1.94)

 

 

Clemson +257 over Arizona
San Diego St +12 -106 over UConn
Alabama +168 over North Carolina
Illinois +102 over Iowa State