March Madness prediction, odds: Marquette the pick

It’s as if Marquette has been undervalued in nearly every NCAA tournament betting market, despite playing as one of the top teams in the country for months.

And that continues to be the case ahead of its Sunday clash with Michigan State.

The Golden Eagles struggled to find a rhythm at the start of the year, going 9-4 with two overtime losses in late December.

Since then, they’ve gone on an incredible 20-2 streak – tied for the second-best record of any team in that streak – with the country’s second-longest winning streak (10 games) entering on Sunday.

During this 10-game warm-up, Marquette ranks eighth in the T-Rank power rating and is one of five teams with top-30 efficiency on offense (12th) and defense (26th).

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The key has been the turnover battle: Shaka Smart’s group ranks 21st in defensive turnover (21.7%) and 31st in offensive turnover (13.8%), allowing star goaltender Tyler Kolek (7.6 APG) to facilitate this team’s fluid offense. in large volume.

That’s a major concern for Michigan State, which is among the worst teams in the nation at generating extra possessions via forced turnovers or offensive rebounds.

In fact, the only way the Spartans keep pace with elite teams is with their ultra-efficient 3-point shooting (39.4%).

Defending the 3-pointer has been a weakness for the Golden Eagles at times, but they’ve held four consecutive opponents to 33.3% or worse from depth.

If they can limit Tom Izzo’s group in that department on Sunday, this game won’t be as close as the line suggests.

The game: Marquette -2.5 (BetMGM)