The 11th seeded Marquette Golden Eagles will take on the 14th seeded Providence Friars in tonight's opening round of the Big East Tournament. This evening's game is scheduled to tip off at 9:00pm ET at the Madison Square Garden in New York; coverage of the postseason clash will be provided by ESPNU. The latest College Basketball Lines have Marquette listed as a -7.5 against the spread NCAA basketball predictions favorite and the Over/Under set at 155.
These two squads met a mere 10 days ago and the result was not a good one for the Friars. Marquette won the contest 
86-62 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee to secure its third straight win. The Golden Eagles, who shot 52.5 percent for the game, had five players in double figures, including guard Darius Johnson-Odom.
Johnson-Odom, Marquette's second leading scorer (15.9 points per game), scored 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting while fellow guard Junior Cadougan posted a 10 point, 10 assist double double.
Unfortunately for the 18-13 Golden Eagles, they have not won a game since beating Providence. Marquette closed out its regular season slate with losses to Cincinnati and Seton Hall.
Providence, which comes into tonight's game with a 15-16 record (4-14 Big East), followed up its loss at Marquette with a 60-87 setback at Louisville. The Friars did snap their losing streak, which extended to seven game with the loss to the Cardinals, on Saturday, though, with a 75-74 win against Rutgers.
Senior standout Marshon Brooks dropped in 28 points against the Scarlet Knights to boost his season scoring average to 24.8 points per game.
Brooks, who tallied 17 points in the Friars' loss at Marquette, will need another big effort if he hopes to lead his team past history and the Golden Eagles tonight. Marquette is 7-1 in its last eight meetings with Providence, the only loss coming in January of 2007 (59-74).
Marquette vs Providence Lines 2011 College Basketball Predictions:
Marquette Golden Eagles -7.5 (-110), Over 155 (-110), -300 (Moneyline)
Providence Friars +7.5 (-110), Under 155 (-110), +280 (Moneyline)
