Gross Bombs: NFL Props for Week 16
Josh Gross
Check out our entire college basketball season preview!
The college basketball season is less than three weeks away, and here at FTN Fantasy we have you covered for what promises to be another thrilling year of upsets and incredible finishes. I will be taking you around the country with a betting preview of the major conferences. I recap the betting trends from last season, list projected starters, preview the season, identify a key player, and reveal how I’m backing or fading each team.
Let’s continue with the Big East, home of the two-time defending national champion Connecticut Huskies. This 11-team conference plays its conference tournament in the world’s most famous arena, Madison Square Garden in New York City. While UConn has won two straight NCAA Championships, there has been a new regular-season conference champion in each of the past four seasons. The Big East is one of the few conferences that did not expand or contract, relying on its rich history and elite level of basketball that started 45 years ago.
Let’s continue with our betting preview for the Marquette Golden Eagles.
2024-2025 College Basketball Season Preview: Marquette Golden Eagles
Conference: Big East
Head Coach: Shaka Smart (5th Season)
2023-2024 Record: 27-10 (14-6)
ATS: 21-15-1
O/U: 15-22
Projected Starters: G Kam Jones; G Stevie Mitchell; F Chase Ross; F David Joplin; C Ben Gold
Head coach Shaka Smart followed his 29-win season with a 27-win season, made even more impressive by the late-season absence of point guard Tyler Kolek for five games. Marquette reached the Big East Tournament finals and then lost in the Sweet 16 to Cinderella NC State. It feels like the Golden Eagles are losing more minutes than reality, with 72.5% of their minutes returning per Torvik. The problem is the loss of Kolek and forward Oso Ighodaro to the NBA. Kam Jones will be asked to assume more of the lead guard duties, which he certainly can handle. He posted 17.2 PPG with 40.6% 3P accuracy on a whopping 234 attempts. Stevie Mitchell (8.8 PPG) and Chase Ross (6.1 PPG) will need to produce more, especially until guard Sean Jones (hopefully) returns in mid-January from ACL repair.
Key Player: Ben Gold
Oso Ighodaro averaged 13.6 PPG for Marquette last season, but his contributions went well beyond scoring. He has an explosive athlete that posted 6.9 RPG and 2.4 stocks per game. Ighodaro was also an underrated passer with 11 games of 4 or more assists. Gold is not that type of player and is underwhelming as a rim protector at 6-foot-11. He needs to show much improvement for Marquette to stay among the Big East’s elite this season.
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