NCAA Tournament Picks: Marquette Golden Eagles vs. Miami Hurricanes

The Miami Hurricanes are 16-7 against the spread as favorites this season, which is hard to ignore when making your NCAA basketball picks on Thursday night as they prepare to take on the Marquette Golden Eagles at the Verizon Center.

Sports bettors will find that the Hurricanes are five-point neutral-site favorites in the college basketball odds (courtesy of SBR Forum), while the total sits at 127 in the market.

Let's take a closer look at this Sweet 16 matchup from a betting perspective, while offering up an against-the-spread pick along the way. 

Marquette Golden Eagles

The Marquette Golden Eagles have won 12 NCAA tournament games since 1997, including a 74-72 victory as two-point favorites over the Butler Bulldogs last Saturday.

Over the last two-plus seasons, the Golden Eagles are 18-8 against the spread as an underdog, while the UNDER is 16-10 in that situation. 

Miami Hurricanes

The Miami Hurricanes have won five of seven games on a neutral floor this season, including a 63-59 victory over the Illinois Fighting Illini as eight-point favorites on Sunday.

Sports bettors will find that the Hurricanes are 13-6-1 against the spread in March dating back to the 2010-11 campaign. 

Prediction

I'm going to recommend that readers back the Miami Hurricanes in the first half on Thursday night, as the Marquette Golden Eagles have played their best basketball in the final 20 minutes during the 2013 NCAA tournament.

NCAA Basketball Pick: Miami Hurricanes -3 First Half 

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