Marquette vs New Mexico Prediction, Preview & Odds: NCAA Tournament First Round

Originally posted on College Football News
By Pete Fiutak | Last updated Mar 20, 2025 4:22 PM ET

Both teams were fantastic for the first few months and struggled a bit with the finishing kick.

New Mexico was fine. It lost three of its last seven games, and it hasn’t come up with a strong win since walloping Colorado State back in early February.

Marquette was rolling, and then came February. The Golden Eagles lost seven of their last 12 games with too many power outages.

The winner of this gets the honor of dealing with Michigan State - or, if the world collapses, Bryant - in the next round.

Marquette vs New Mexico Game Preview

Marquette vs New Mexico How To Watch

Date: Friday, March 21
Venue: Rocket Arena, Cleveland, OH
Time: 7:25 pm ET
TV: TBS
Teams: (10) New Mexico (26-7), (7) Marquette (23-10)
Region: South
NCAA Tournament Schedule, Predictions, Previews

Why New Mexico Will Win

Marquette is really, really struggling the boards.

This is a high-powered New Mexico team that doesn’t turn the ball over and is great at forcing mistakes and turning them into points. It doesn’t take enough threes, but it makes them when it does - it’s selective about it; it doesn’t just bomb away.

The Lobos have way more of a scoring pop when needed, and they’ll get to the free throw line close to five more times. But …

Why Marquette Will Win

Here come the Marquette threes.

The offense has been hit or miss, and it misses way too many from the outside, but it’ll keep bombing away.

It’s a simple equation. Marquette is usually fine when it hits its shots - some teams can overcome cold shooting days. Not this one.

When it’s making at least 44% from the floor, that means the steals are there and the transition baskets are coming. But when it’s off there’s a huge problem.

The Golden Eagles are 4-7 when shooting under 41% - they won't be that off, but ...

Marquette vs New Mexico: Who Will Win?

New Mexico is 14-0 when keeping teams under 43% shooting. The defense forces a ton of mistakes, but Marquette is among the best in the nation at not giving the ball away.

In a nip-and-tuck game, the Marquette D will do more than New Mexico’s.

Marquette vs New Mexico Prediction, Betting Lines

Prediction: Marquette 79, New Mexico 74
Marquette vs New Mexico Betting Lines
BetMGM Line: Marquette -4.5, o/u: 152.5
DraftKings Line: Marquette -3.5, o/u: 152.5
FanDuel Line: Marquette -3.5, o/u: 152.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 2.5

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