Who’s playing
Western Carolina Catamounts @ Marquette Golden Eagles
Current record: Western Carolina 2-3, Marquette 7-0.
How to watch
When: Saturday, November 30, 2024, 2:00 PM ET Where: Fiserv Forum — Milwaukee, WI TV: Fox Sports 2Follow: CBS Sports App Online Streaming: fuboTV (Free trial, regional restrictions) )Ticket price: $2.00.
What you need to know
Western Carolina has a sizable 32.5 point disadvantage against the spread heading into Saturday’s contest. They will be on the road again on Saturday, taking on the Marquette Golden Eagles at Fiserv Forum starting at 2:00 PM ET. The Catamounts are averaging 75.8 points per game this season, showing off their offensive prowess.
It will likely take a while for Western Carolina to recover from Tuesday’s 91-57 loss to Florida State. The Catamounts were already in a tough position at the end of the first half with the score at 49-26.
Perhaps unsurprising given the score, Western Carolina struggled to connect and finished the game with only eight assists. They were crushed by their opponents in that division, as Florida State scored 19 points.
Meanwhile, Marquette entered Wednesday’s game with six straight wins, but exited with seven straight wins. They had a huge 94-59 victory over the Skyhawks. The Golden Eagles have a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, winning three games this season by a margin of 19 points or more.
Coach Marquette credits much of that success to David Joplin, who went 10-for-12 with 27 points and seven rebounds along the way. With this dominant performance, Joplin also set a career high in field goal percentage (83.3%). Another player who made a difference was Damarius Owens, who went 5-for-8 and scored 14 points along the way.
Western Carolina suffered their third consecutive away loss, dropping their record to 2 wins and 3 losses. As for Marquette, the win improved his record to 7-0.
Keep an eye on the arc for Saturday’s game. Western Carolina is averaging 9.8 threes per game this season, and making deep shots looked easy. However, Marquette is averaging 9.6 points per game, so it’s not like he’s struggling in that department. Given these competing strengths, it will be interesting to see how their conflict plays out.
Western Carolina suffered a blowback in their last meeting in November 2016, losing 90-44 to Marquette. Will Western Carolina be able to avenge the loss or is history destined to repeat itself? We’ll soon find out.
Oddsmakers were completely in line with the betting community on this matchup and stayed that way, as the game started with a 32.5 point spread.
The over-under is 151.5 points.
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Series history
Marquette won the only game these two teams have faced in the past eight years.
November 30, 2016 – Marquette 90 vs. Western Carolina 44
