Detroit Mercy Titans vs Marquette Golden Eagles Prediction, Odds, Best Bets - Week 1
Detroit Mercy plays its first game of the season at the Al McGuire Center against a Marquette team that just won by 35. Cold start, warm building, enormous number.
The Matchup
Detroit Mercy visits Marquette on Friday night at the Al McGuire Center in Milwaukee, on ESPN+, with Marquette a 30.5-point favorite and a total of 152.5. This is Detroit Mercy's season opener. Marquette is 1-0 after a routine home rout.
Last season Detroit Mercy finished 17-15, scoring 77.2 points a game and allowing 77.3. Marquette finished 12-20, scoring 75.2 and allowing 75.8. For Detroit Mercy those are last season's numbers only, because the Titans have not played a game yet this season. Read that profile again, because it is the whole case: a winning mid-major team that scored 77 a game is catching 30.5 points against a Big East team that had a losing season and scored less per game than the visitor did.
Marquette's opener was a 78-43 win over Mercyhurst, built inside. The Golden Eagles outrebounded Mercyhurst 49-26, handed out 23 assists, and got their scoring from the frontcourt. It was a professional home win. It was also a win that never required Marquette to shoot well from outside, and that detail matters at this number.
Key Factors
Marquette's cold perimeter shooting is the opening Detroit Mercy needs. The Golden Eagles went 4-of-21 from three against Mercyhurst, and a favorite that cannot stretch a defense has to build its margin two points at a time in the paint.
That is slow work, and slow work is the underdog's friend at 30.5. Detroit Mercy, with a roster that includes Tyler Spratt, Lance Stone, and Keaton Aldridge Jr., scored 77.2 points a game last season with a near-even scoring differential, which describes a competitive team, not a punching bag.
Inside, Marquette is genuinely dangerous, and Detroit Mercy has to survive it. Joshua Clark scored 18 points on 8-of-9 shooting with 7 rebounds and 3 blocks in just 17 minutes against Mercyhurst. Royce Parham added 16 points and 7 rebounds, and Sananda Fru put up 12 points, 12 rebounds, and 3 blocks. That frontcourt trio is how this margin gets built, and if the Titans' bigs get into early foul trouble, the layup line starts and the cover follows.
The counterpoint is the cold start itself. Detroit Mercy plays its first real minutes of the season in a loud student-only campus arena against a team that has already shaken off its rust, and first games produce the kind of turnovers and rushed shots that favorites turn into runs.
Marquette does not need its threes if Clark and Fru control the rim the way they did on Monday. The bet is narrower than it looks: a 17-win team that could score last season, catching more than 30 in a game where the favorite just shot 19 percent from three, only needs to be ordinary to stay inside the number.
Detroit Mercy has not played yet, and that cuts both ways, but a team that scored well last season getting this many points against a favorite that could not make a three in its opener is worth backing. Marquette should win comfortably at home. Comfortable and this far apart are different things. Take the points with Detroit Mercy Titans +30.5 at -110.
Game Information
| Date | Friday (11/6) |
|---|---|
| Start Time | 7:00 PM CT |
| How to Watch | ESPN+ |
| Venue | Al McGuire Center, Milwaukee |
| Spread | Marquette Golden Eagles -30.5 |
| Total | 152.5 |
| Moneyline | Marquette Golden Eagles -100,000 |
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