Xavier Musketeers at Marquette Golden Eagles

The Big East Tournament gets underway at Madison Square Garden with a clash between two teams trending in totally opposite directions as the Marquette Golden Eagles face the Xavier Musketeers. Marquette is playing their best basketball of the season right now. They just pulled off a massive 68-62 upset over No. 4 UConn, holding the Huskies to 35.6 percent shooting from the floor, which followed a dominant 22-point win over Providence. Shaka Smart's defense has finally locked in, climbing to 41st in adjusted defensive efficiency, and they are generating consistent stops at the perfect time of year.

Xavier, on the other hand, comes into New York limping both literally and figuratively. They have dropped their last two games, most recently giving up 91 points to Villanova on 56.5 percent shooting. Head coach Richard Pitino bluntly admitted his team isn't guarding anyone, and the numbers back that up with a defensive efficiency ranking of 169th. To make matters worse, their leading scorer, Tre Carroll, is a game-time decision after missing most of the last week with a hip issue. Carroll was the engine behind Xavier's 96-88 win over Marquette back in February, dropping 22 points. Without him at 100 percent, Xavier's offense becomes overly reliant on the three-point line against a defense that just suffocated a top-tier opponent.

While the Musketeers take exceptional care of the basketball, their path to keeping this close relies on winning a shootout. Marquette's backcourt, led by freshman Nigel James Jr. and his 19.6 points per game over his last five outings, should find zero resistance against this Xavier defense. The Musketeers have been dreadful away from their home floor this season, posting an 0-6 true road record with a -13.8 average scoring margin. Even at a neutral site like MSG, the defensive gap between these two teams is simply too wide to ignore. Marquette has the momentum and the defense, and I will gladly lay the short number with the team that can actually get a stop.