College Basketball Best Bet: Maui Invitational Day 2 (11/21/23)

Game: #4 Marquette Golden Eagles vs. Kansas Jayhawks

Line: Kansas -3.5 | Total: 156.5

Pick: Marquette +3.5 AND Moneyline +140

Matchup:

The nightcap of the first day of the Maui Invitational was by far the best game of the day, with Marquette narrowly escaping a VERY good UCLA team, 71-69. UCLA guard Sebastian Mack had a contested, off-balance layup attempt at the buzzer that fell just short, allowing Marquette to advance to face the number 1 team in the country, the Kansas Jayhawks, in the Maui Invitational Semis. The Jayhawks on the other hand, got a de-facto bye, facing the lone Division 2 team in Chaminade (host school), a game where the Jayhawks dominated from start to finish.

Pick: Look Kansas is a very good team, and they will likely be right there to win the Big 12 as they always are. They will very likely be there deep in the NCAA Tourney. Bill Self ALWAYS gets his teams playing well at the right time. Unfortunately for the Jayhawks, they won’t be ranked #1 after this tournament end: the team likely to be ranked #1 is going to be the Marquette Golden Eagles, as I believe they are going to win this tournament.

I was on the Jayhawks when they faced off against Kentucky early in the year in the Champions Classic. I took the Jayhawks live at +120 when they were down late in the first half, as I thought they had a good shot to comeback against a Kentucky team playing way better than they actually were that first half. That said, I got to see the Jayhawks play a full game against a quality opponent in that one. And what I realized is this is a team that is NOT DEEP AT ALL. I think honestly after Dewan Harris and Hunter Dickinson, they really don’t have anyone ready to play at this level (against a top 10 team with really good guards). I’m not a fan of McCullers whatsoever, despite the fact that he got a triple double against a Division 2 team. And the other starters the Jayhawks have would likely not be in the rotation for the Golden Eagles. Christian Braun’s brother is in the rotation off the bench, and he looks like a mid-major player at best. I just don’t see why Kansas is favored in this one. Not only do they lack depth, but they REALLY lack shooting. So you’re asking a lot of young guys who lack experience to go up and beat a very experienced, tough, deep Marquette team by margin? Good luck.

I understand that Marquette snuck by UCLA last night, but the Bruins are a very good young team. They have outstanding guards (Better guards than Kansas overall). And Marquette, despite barely winning, was impressive for a stretch of that game. After getting down 12 in the second half, they went on a 17-0 run, and eventually got as much as a 7 point lead in that game. UCLA went from playing outstanding to completely out of synch. This is a VETERAN TEAM with tons of talent. Brandon Kolak is “SURGICAL” as a Point Guard for the Golden Eagles. He didn’t play well yesterday, but he doesn’t have two bad games in a row. He’s going to be locked in for this one. Moreover they had a number of guys step up off the bench and make some huge defensive plays as well as hitting some big time shots.

PICK:

I believe Marquette will be there at the end of the year as well. This is a legit Final Four contender, and Kansas isn’t anywhere near ready to play with a team like this. Give me Marquette all day. I wouldn’t even mess with the +3.5, I would take Marquette Moneyline at +140 or better. I think they win this one outright and I don’t think it’s particularly close.

OFFICIAL PICK = MARQUETTE +140 Moneyline (To Win Outright)