Marquette vs. Vermont: 2023 NCAA Tournament Odds, Preview & Predictions

Mar 13, 2023 - 12:16 AM

March Madness is officially here! The 2023 NCAA Tournament Bracket has been announced, and the teams are lining up for the Big Dance. Let’s take a look at the early odds, preview, and predictions for the 2023 NCAA Tournament Round 1 game: Marquette vs. Vermont.

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2023 March Madness Odds, Preview & Predictions: Marquette vs. Vermont

Marquette vs. Vermont Odds, Spread & Match Up Overview

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Vermont 2023 NCAA Tournament Betting Preview

The Catamounts are kings of the American East again, and head coach John Becker enters his fifth NCAA Tournament with Vermont. The Catamounts are a veteran team that ranks in the top 100 in Division I experience.

Vermont depends on its offense to get things done, taking care of the ball and posting a top-25 interior shooting percentage. The Catamounts’ careful care of the ball and preference for the perimeter look give them a dangerous offense. The backcourt combination of Dylan Penn and Aaron Deloney (the latter a 41 percent shooter from beyond the arc) combine with the frontcourt duo of Robin Duncan and Matt Veretto, making Vermont a difficult team for opposing defenses to stop.

The Catamounts are riding a 15-game winning streak entering the tournament. Vermont’s weakness is its sub-150th-ranked defense. Despite their strong defensive rebounding rate, Vermont lost seven of its first nine games to start the season, mostly against opponents who ranked higher than anyone they saw in the American East. We have yet to see Vermont take down a top-100 KenPom team, but March is the time for madness.

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Marquette 2023 NCAA Tournament Betting Preview

The Marquette Golden Eagles have to be considered one of the most impressive stories of the college basketball season. What Shaka Smart has done with the talent he brought in is remarkable, considering not one DI transfer came in this offseason. Tyler Kolek and Kam Jones are two of the best scorers in the Big East, and a plethora of solid sophomores means Marquette is capable of making a deep tournament run.

Smart is a creative coach who has bought into the analytical side of the game. The Golden Eagles rank in the top 25 at rim-and-three rate, and they score at an effective clip with a top-three 2pt scoring percentage. They rank in the top 25 in transition scoring. Two of Marquette’s losses this season came in overtime, and they have an impressive 96-70 win over Baylor to highlight their impressive resume.

If this team is going deep in the tournament, it will ride Kolek and Jones, taking care of the ball while outpacing their opponent. The Golden Eagles are capable of making a trip to Houston, and if any team out of the Big East is going to make a run, I would pick Marquette as the team to do so. While Marquette ranks in the top 25 in near-proximity looks, those shots aren’t exactly layups. Marquette’s half-jumpers aren’t immune to good defenses, and the Golden Eagles rank outside the top 50 in adjusted defensive efficiency themselves. If this team bows out early in the tournament, it will be because opponents get continual good looks from deep against them, and rebound well. Marquette is capable of losing shootouts, and Jones does have some games where he simply doesn’t show up.

Smart is one of the better coaches in this tournament, and he has plenty of March experience. Marquette’s ceiling is as high as any of the elite squads, with a relatively comfortable floor.