The Marquette Golden Eagles and Western Kentucky Hilltoppers will face off in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Basketball Tournament. Marquette enters March Madness as a 2-seed from the Big East and the runner-up in the Big East Tournament. Their opponent, Western Kentucky, clinched a March Madness berth after winning the Conference USA Tournament.
Below, we will preview this Marquette vs Western Kentucky NCAA Tournament college basketball game, providing trends, statistics, and analysis of both teams. Which school will win and keep their hopes of winning the championship trophy alive?
Marquette vs Western Kentucky Prediction and March Madness Expert Picks
2024 NCAA Tournament
No. 2 Marquette Golden Eagles (25-9) vs. No. 15 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (22-11)
Date: Friday, March 22, 2024
Time: 2:00 PM EST
Venue: Gainbridge Fieldhouse — Indianapolis, IN
Coverage: TBS
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Marquette vs Western Kentucky March Madness Odds
All college basketball betting odds for Marquette vs Western Kentucky can be found at BetUS Sportsbook.
Moneyline: MRQ: (-1500) | WKU: (+850)
Point Spread: MRQ: -14.5 (-110) | WKU: +14.5 (-110)
Total: Over: 158.5 (-110) | Under: 158.5 (-110)
KenPom Rankings | Bracketology
KenPom Rankings are from KenPom.com
| Team | Rk | AdjO | AdjD | AdjT |
| Marquette | 12 | 118.3 (21) | 95.6 (19) | 69 (91) |
| WKU | 132 | 105.6 (191) | 102.5 (103) | 75.1 (1) |
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Marquette vs Western Kentucky College Basketball Trends
- Marquette is 9-2 in non-conference college basketball games this season.
- Western Kentucky is 8-3 in non-conference college basketball games this season.
- Marquette is 20-13-1 against the spread this year.
- Western Kentucky is 19-11 against the spread this year.
- The UNDER is 20-14 in Marquette games this year.
- The UNDER is 7-4 in Western Kentucky’s non-conference games this year.
Marquette vs Western Kentucky Prediction | March Madness Expert Picks
This March Madness run for Marquette is heavily-dependent on the health of star point guard Tyler Kolek. He averages 15 points, 4.7 rebounds, 7.6 assists, and was just named a Second-Team All-American. When he’s in the lineup, the Golden Eagles are extremely efficient on both ends and will be a tough out no matter who their opponent is. Kolek missed the entire Big East Tournament, but head coach Shaka Smart said that the plan is for him to play in this game.
After losing four straight games to close the regular season, postseason hopes were looking bleak for Western Kentucky. However, they rattled off three straight wins in the Conference USA Tournament to clinch a bid. They have a very unique style, playing faster than anyone in the country but not shooting many threes. Junior guard Don McHenry leads the team in scoring at 15.2 points per game.
Despite the Hilltoppers’ impressive run in the CUSA Tournament, this is a mismatch in all facets of the game. Especially if Kolek is playing and healthy, Marquette should have no problem running up and down the court with Western Kentucky. For our Marquette vs Western Kentucky prediction, we are picking the Marquette Golden Eagles to win and move on in the NCAA Tournament.
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