NCAA Basketball Picks: ESPN 2 will be televising the game between the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and Marquette Golden Eagles on Thursday night on ESPN 2. This game is part of the Orlando Classic that is taking place in Orlando, Florida. Let’s look at the matchup and NCAA basketball predictions.
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 3-0 SU, 1-0-1 ATS
The Yellow Jackets come into this game at 3-0 with wins over Georgia AAMU, and IPFW. The team is averaging 75 points per game while allowing 63 per contest. Quinton Stephens leads the team in scoring at 14 points per game. The team will come into this game well rested as they have not played since last Friday when they defeated IPFW. They were a nine point favorite in that contest that they won 78-69.
Struggling Marquette Golden Eagles
The Golden Eagles have struggled early in the season. They lost two of their first three games. They were expected to beat New Jersey Tech but even if they pull out that win it means nothing since it is a game against a very weak opponent. Marquette defeated Tennessee Martin in their opener but then lost to Ohio State in their second game. Neither of those results was surprising but the loss to Nebraska Omaha in the third game was a complete shock. It was the first loss by Marquette to a non-major conference school since 2006.
“Obviously we’re very disappointed in the outcome and how we performed,” Marquette head coach Steve Wojciechowski said. “I’m surprised based on how hard we’ve worked on defense since the Ohio State game that we could come out and perform the way we did on the defensive end. We’re a work in progress, we have to grow up quickly and we certainly have to defend much better.”
This year’s Marquette team is simply not good enough to beat opponents without giving a full effort.
“We’re a team that’s got to fight like crazy together in order to beat anyone on our schedule. We do not have anyone on our roster who has been an established, marquee player at Marquette.” Wojciechhowski said, “We’re asking these guys to do more than they’ve ever done. We have to get better.”
Orlando Classic
This game is one of four in the Orlando Classic on Thursday that can be seen on ESPN 2. The other six teams in the event are Kansas, Michigan State, Rhode Island, Rider, Santa Clara and Tennessee.
NCAA Basketball Predictions
We’ll look for the Yellow Jackets to get the win on Thursday Night.
