Marquette vs. Xavier odds, picks, prediction: Fanatics Sportsbook promo code for Big East Tournament

Thursday’s showdown between Marquette (22-9, 13-7 Big East) and Xavier (21-10, 13-7) is massive. Both teams have strong resumes and will like to think they’re on stable footing to get into the NCAA Tournament, but the truth is that an early loss in the Big East Tournament could spell trouble for either side. For fifth-seeded Marquette, that trouble would likely be in the form of a drop in seeding – possibly to a play-in game – while fourth-seeded Xavier could have its bubble burst with a loss.Adding to the intrigue is the fact that the betting market views these two teams as near equals, with Marquette sitting as a 2.5-point favorite at the time of writing. Check out our Marquette vs.Xavier Big East Tournament preview and bet on the men’s basketball game with our exclusive offer from Fanatics Sportsbook.Fanatics Sportsbook is offering new users a $1,000 No Sweat First Bet sign-up bonus or a bet $30 and receive $300 in bonus bets promotion, and new customers in New York will receive a 300% profit boost token.This is a matchup between two teams heading in opposite directions. While Marquette has lost three of its last five games, Xavier ran rampant down the stretch, collecting seven wins on the spin to put itself in a decent position to get an at-large bid. The Musketeers still have work to do, but they’ve at least put themselves on the bubble in what looked like a lost season not too long ago.That sets up an interesting quandary for handicappers Is this a situation where you want to back the team that got hot at the right time?Or is this a classic buy-low spot on a Marquette side that was ranked inside the top 10 for a large chunk of the season?In this case, the latter seems to hold more value.Bettors tend to flock to the hotter team in situations like these – especially when it has a lot more to play for than its opponent – and that causes their price to get a bit out of whack.That seems to be what’s happening here, as Marquette is a one-scor...