The Red Zone Report

Tonight, we’ve got a must-see showdown in the beast that is the Big East. Neither team is ranked right now, but on their best nights, it’s certainly not a stretch to say that both are capable of beating almost anyone in the country.

Both Marquette and Louisville have weathered adversity and rough defeats this season to put themselves in an excellent position to make the NCAA Tournament yet again, and not only will the winner of tonight’s matchup in Milwaukee win their 20th game of the season, but they’ll also significantly bolster their NCAA Tournament resume as well.

Who’s going to come out on top in this one? It looks like a real toss-up, but no matchup is too tough for our favorite sports prediction generator.

Tuesday’s Pick

Marquette Golden Eagles vs. Louisville Cardinals

Odds (brought to you by SBG Global)

Odds: Marquette -1.5
Moneyline: Marquette -125
Over/Under: 137.5

Not that long ago, Marquette and Louisville were both solidly on the NCAA Tournament bubble heading into hellacious home stretches.

Thanks to more than surviving those tough tests to this point, both teams look set to go dancing.

Marquette, who stood at 11-8 overall and 2-5 in the Big East after a 76-71 loss at Syracuse on Jan. 23, has won eight of nine coming into tonight.

The Golden Eagles’ turnaround has come about thanks to having a lot more luck in close games than they did earlier in the season and being better on the road than they were earlier in the season as well. Marquette started the season 0-5 on the road, and they were 1-7 in games decided by five points or less during their 11-8 start.

In their 8-1 run, Marquette is 5-0 on the road, and they’re also 5-0 in games decided by three points or less. Both of those marks include their last three games, as the Golden Eagles are coming off back-to-back-to-back overtime road wins against Cincinnati (79-76), St. John’s (63-61), and Seton Hall (84-83). That string of wins might have sealed the deal for the Golden Eagles’ place in the field of 65.

Meanwhile, Louisville, who looked absolutely atrocious in a 74-55 loss at St. John’s on Feb. 11, has bolstered its resume with road wins at Syracuse (looks even better now that the Orange are #1) and Connecticut in the last couple of weeks.

However, even though both teams look to be solidly on the right side of the bubble heading into the final week of the regular season, there’s still plenty to play for when they tip off tonight.

Not only is there a matter of making sure there’s no doubt about their NCAA Tournament resumes, but there’s also the matter of improving their seeding for the Big Dance, and there’s also the matter of fighting for a top-four seed in the Big East tournament, which would mean a double bye into the quarterfinals.

Marquette and Louisville are tied for fifth in the Big East with identical 10-6 marks, and they’re one game behind Pittsburgh, who owns head-to-head wins over both. Even if both teams fall short of the #4 seed, winning the fifth seed could mean a little more of a favorable matchup.

Considering that 11 of Marquette’s 16 Big East games and 13 of their 28 games this season have been decided by five points or less, you’d think that we’re in store for another barnburner tonight in Milwaukee.

Or are we?

SimuPick Says: MARQUETTE 74, Louisville 65
SimuPick’s Recommended Plays: Marquette -1.5/-125, OVER 137.5