The Marquette Golden Eagles are coming off of a huge upset victory over the Illinois Fighting Illini on Monday. Now, Shaka Smart’s team will look to take down the Ole Miss Rebels in the Charleston Classic.
Which of these two teams will end up suffering its first loss of the season? Keep reading our Marquette vs. Ole Miss picks and predictions for Thursday, November 18 to find out.
Marquette vs Ole Miss odds
Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.
Ole Miss was favored by 3.5 at open and the team is now laying 4 or 4.5 on some sportsbooks. The majority of bettors have the Rebels at the moment, and it seems as though public action might be moving this line. The total has gone from 136.5 to 135.5 on some books, but it has also gone to 137.5 on others.
Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right up until tip-off and be sure to check out the full college basketball odds before placing your bets.
Marquette vs Ole Miss predictions
Predictions made on 11/18/2021 at 10:20 a.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.
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Marquette vs Ole Miss game info
• Location: TD Arena, South Charleston, SC
• Date: Thursday, November 18, 2021
• Tip-off: 7:00 p.m. ET
• TV: ESPN2
Marquette at Ole Miss betting preview
Injuries
Marquette: Greg Elliott G (Out).
Ole Miss: Daeshun Ruffin G (Out).
Find our latest NCAA basketball injury reports.
Betting trend to know
Ole Miss is 5-2 against the spread in its last seven games against teams with winning records. Find more NCAA betting trends for Marquette vs. Ole Miss.
Marquette vs Ole Miss picks and predictions
Our predictions are compiled from the analysis of the spread and total and are indications of where we are leaning for this game.
Our best bet is the play that we like the most for this game, which we would actually put some of our bankroll behind.
Spread analysis
Marquette is coming off of an impressive win over Illinois, but the Golden Eagles were playing at home in that game. The crowd played a huge factor in swinging that one in Smart’s team’s direction, as the Fighting Illini had a big lead late in the game, and then the Eagles were able to seize momentum and come from behind to pull off the massive upset. Not only is Marquette in for a potential letdown here, but Ole Miss is the better basketball team, and this game will be played on a neutral floor. Those things make it hard to go away from the Rebels.
This Ole Miss team is really deep this season, as head coach Kermit Davis has played eight different players at least 17.5 minutes per game. If that continues for the remainder of the year, the Rebels will have a lot of energy late in games while their opponents begin to tire out. This group is, however, led by senior Jarkel Joiner. Joiner was Ole Miss’ second-leading scorer last season, and he’s now averaging 18.0 points per game on this young season. The guard appears to have made the leap and he should give Marquette a lot of trouble here.
Austin Crowley and Luis Rodriguez are two other returners for this Ole Miss team that you’ll want to keep an eye on. Both are averaging double figures in points per game, and the two of them will look to make an impact among the deep rotation. However, it’s not only returners that are going to be leading this Rebels team this year, as University of Miami transfer Nysier Brooks is now manning the pivot. Brooks spent the first three years of his career with the University of Cincinnati before playing one year with the Hurricanes. He’s an experienced big with a good understanding of winning basketball.
As of this moment, Ole Miss has the 53rd-ranked adjusted efficiency ranking (all efficiency stats from KenPom.com), and it’s the team’s 23rd-ranked defense that should make a huge difference in this game. Marquette is yet another team that prides itself on its defense, but the group doesn’t defend quite as well as the Rebels do. The Golden Eagles also go through stretches where their offense can struggle, which is why it’s ultimately hard to see them covering here.
Prediction: Ole Miss -3.5 (-115)
Over/Under analysis
Ole Miss is only 96th in the nation in adjusted offensive efficiency and Marquette is a little worse at 110th. Neither one of these teams has been particularly impressive on the offensive end, even in meetings with some smaller mid-major schools to open the year. With that, it could be something of an offensive struggle with these two having to face each other. Both of these programs have shown a commitment to the defensive end early in the year.
When Marquette faced Illinois last game, the two combined to score only 133 points. It wouldn’t be too crazy if this game was somewhat similar. The Under is 12-2 when Ole Miss is coming off a game as a home favorite over the last three seasons, and it’s also 9-2 when Marquette is coming off a win by six points or less in that span.
Prediction: Under 137.5 (-110)
Best bet
Depending on where you end up getting this line, it’s just hard to pass up taking the Rebels in this game. There are books hanging this thing at 3.5, so try to do your best to get that spread. But you should still feel comfortable taking it if it’s at 4 or 4.5.
Over the last three seasons, Marquette is just 1-4 against the spread when coming off an upset win. Sure, the Golden Eagles have new leadership this season, but they do have a lot of returners and it’s evident that this team is prone to suffering emotional letdowns every now and then. That win over Illinois likely took a lot out of Marquette, and Ole Miss is a very good basketball team. After a week off, the Rebels will look forward to going out there and earning their first big win of the year.
Pick: Ole Miss -3.5 (-115)
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