The No. 2 Marquette Golden Eagles will battle the No. 15 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers on Friday, March 22, in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Marquette is back in the Big Dance for the third consecutive year, and the Golden Eagles are looking to make it past the first weekend of March Madness for the first time since 2013. They finished in third place in the Big East regular season standings, behind Creighton and UConn. Their bid to the NCAA Tournament was never in question, but they couldn’t quite hang with the Bluejays and the Huskies, going 1-3 combined against the two teams.
Marquette still had a solid season, though – they shot 48.4% from the field, ranking in the top 20 nationally. Led by Kam Jones and Tyler Kolek, the Golden Eagles ranked in the top 20 in both adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency at KenPom.
NET: 13
KenPom Overall: 12
KenPom O: 21
KenPom D: 19
Record: 25-9
Strength of Schedule: 7
Conference: Big East
Conference Record: 14-6
Quad 1 Record: 9-8
The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers grabbed a 78-71 win over the UTEP Miners to earn the Conference USA title. The Hilltoppers’ last NCAA Tournament appearance came in 2013. They have the highest adjusted tempo in the nation per KenPom, averaging 77.3 possessions per game. They earned the No. 3 seed in the C-USA tournament after dropping the last four games of conference play in the regular season.
Guard Don McHenry leads the team with 15.2 points per game, and the Hilltoppers average 79.1 points per game (39th in the nation) and grab 39 rebounds per game (24th in the nation).
NET: 136
KenPom Overall: 132
KenPom O: 191
KenPom D: 103
Record: 22-11
Strength of Schedule: 243
Conference: C-USA
Conference Record: 8-8
Quad 1 Record: 0-0
2024 March Madness: Marquette vs. Western Kentucky odds
Odds from DraftKings Sportsbook
Spread: Marquette, -16
Over/Under: 158.5
Moneyline: Marquette -1350, WKU +800
