Marquette controls its destiny for the Big East regular-season title, but first they must get past Providence on Saturday at noon ET at the Dunkin' Donuts Center. The Eagles (22-4, 11-2) haven't lost to anyone other than St. John's since November, and hold a half-game lead over Villanova in the Big East. The Friars (15-12, 5-9) have dropped three of five, but both victories were against St. John's. The 11th-ranked Eagles are three-point sportsbook favorites with the over-under for total points scored at 143 in the latest Marquette vs. Providence odds. Before you lock in your own Marquette vs. Providence picks, check out the college basketball predictions from SportsLine's proven computer model.
The model, which simulates every game 10,000 times, has raked in the winnings for those following its picks. Over the past two years, the SportsLine Projection Model has returned over $5,200 to $100 players on its top-rated college basketball picks. It also entered Week 16 of the 2018-19 college basketball season on a blistering 16-8 run on top-rated college basketball side picks either against the spread or on the money line. Anyone who has followed it is way up.
Now it has locked in on Marquette vs. Providence. We can tell you it's leaning over, but it has also locked in a confident against-the-spread pick that hits in a whopping 60 percent of simulations. You can only see that selection at SportsLine.
Marquette has had notable recent success against Providence. Last year at Providence, Markus Howard netted a then-Big East record 52 points in a 95-90 OT Eagles win. Earlier this season at Marquette, Sam Hauser had 25 points and Howard had 24 in a 79-68 victory.
Howard has put together a season worthy of Naismith Player of the Year consideration, averaging 25.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists, including four 30-point efforts the last six games. The versatile 6-8 Hauser has been a perfect complement, averaging 15.1 ppg and 6.4 rpg.
But just because the Eagles have been red-hot doesn't mean they'll cover the Marquette vs. Providence spread on Saturday.
While Marquette has Howard, Providence has its own star in Alpha Diallo. The 6-7 junior leads his team in points (16.4), rebounds (8.1) and assists (3.2), one of only five players from a major conference to do so.
But Providence success is predicated by a defense that ranks second in the Big East in points allowed at 71 ppg. The Friars lead the league in steals (8.6) and in turnover forces at 15.4 per game. Marquette commits 13.6 per game, ranking 223rd in that category.
So who wins Providence vs. Marquette? And which side of the spread can you bank on in 60 percent of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Providence vs. Marquette spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that is up more than $5,200 on its college basketball picks the past two years, and find out.
