Colorado vs Marquette Odds: Golden Eagles Small Favorites

The Colorado Buffaloes and Marquette Golden Eagles get the Sunday NCAA Tournament started in a decent matchup. No. 10 seed Colorado (26-10) won a defensive struggle in the play-in game. Against Florida, a last-second shot gave the Buffaloes the win in a defensive debacle. The No. 2 seed Marquette, started slow, but finished fast in defeating Western Kentucky.

The Golden Eagles used a 51-26 second-half advantage to post an 87-69 victory. The Colorado vs Marquette odds show the Golden Eagles are favored by 3.5 points with a total of 147.5 points.

Colorado Solid Shooting Team

Colorado’s defense is solid, although it’s not on the same tier as the offense. The Buffaloes rank No. 43 in the KenPom efficiency ratings. Colorado defends the 3-pointer well and doesn’t allow too many offensive rebounds. The Buffaloes haven’t forced a lot of turnovers, although they really haven’t needed to. Colorado does enough of the other things right to be solid defensively.

• The Buffaloes are ranked No. 22 in the KenPom offensive efficiency ratings.
• Colorado is one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the country at 39.4%
• The Buffaloes don’t shoot many: Only 25.6% of the team’s points come from 3-point range, which is well below the average of 30.4%.
• The Buffaloes only shot 10 3-pointers in the 102-100 win over Florida, although as bad as the Gators were in 2-point defense, there was no need to shoot more.
• Colorado made six of the 10 attempts, forcing the Gators to respect the outside shot.
• The Buffaloes can score from the inside.
• Colorado hit 53.9% from 2-point range and are solid from the foul line.
• Turnovers have been a problem at times, but they made just 12 against Florida in a fast-paced game.

The Buffaloes have gotten plenty of respect from bettors so far this 2024 NCAA tournament. Florida opened as small favorites against the Buffaloes, but money on the underdog saw Colorado go off as slight favorites.

The Buffaloes have been much better in that role, going 16-13-1 ATS compared to 2-4 as an underdog. Marquette is just the second NCAAB team ranked in the KenPom Top 20 the Buffaloes have faced this college basketball season. Colorado met Arizona twice and lost both games in ugly fashion.

Marquette Solid on Both Ends of Court

The Golden Eagles are one of the most well-rounded teams according to the KenPom efficiency ratings.

• Marquette is No. 20 on offense and No. 18 on defense.
• The Golden Eagles push the pace offensively, but opposing teams slow it down.
• Marquette uses 15.3 second per possession, which is No. 9 in the nation, but opposing teams hold the ball 19 seconds, which is No. 361.
• Marquette has been a strong under team this season, going 14-21 in totals.
• The Golden Eagles are 21-14 against the spread and 16-9 when favored.
• The Golden Eagles take 40.9% of their shots from 3-point range, although they’re ranked higher in 2-point percentage.
• Marquette is ranked No. 15 in 2-point percentage at 56.1 and No. 69 in 3-point percentage.

That does allow the Golden Eagles to make teams respect the perimeter game and open up the inside. The Golden Eagles take care of the basketball, but don’t get many offensive rebounds or trips to the foul line. Marquette is No. 355 in the nation at percentage of points scored from the foul line, although part of that is due to the number of 3-pointers the team shoots.

Defensively, Marquette allows too many offensive rebounds and teams can hit some shots against them. The Golden Eagles do force a lot of turnovers and block shots, which helps in the efficiency ratings. Marquette is one of those NCAAB teams probably ranked a little bit higher than it deserves to be on defense.

What to Expect for The Colorado vs Marquette Odds?

Colorado has shown it can run with you or play a half-court game and the Golden Eagles will want to run. It could be an entertaining game, which you want to see from the first game on Sunday’s college basketball schedule.

The teams are fairly well matched, but Colorado’s 3-point shooting can keep them in the game.

Who to Bet On?

The Colorado vs Marquette odds are a little on the low side for a No. 2 seed vs a No. 10 seed. It’s hard to fault the NCAA basketball odds on this game, however, as you can make a case for either team. The Golden Eagles were certainly used more in the March Madness bracket predictions, based on being a No. 2 seed, but the point spread is saying the margin between these two teams isn’t that great.

The Colorado vs Marquette odds on the total are a bit unpredictable once again. The over looks almost too good to be true after watching Colorado play Florida.

The same thing could be said for the under in the Colorado vs Florida game, however, as the total dropped from 159.5 to 157, but went over by 45 points

This looks to be a game that can go either way. Both college basketball teams will have to play their best to win, but with Colorado, you only need the Buffaloes to keep it close. Take Colorado +3.5 in this spot.

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