The DePaul Blue Demons'(10-22) battle the No. 15'Xavier Musketeers'(23-8) on Thursday in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals. Tip from Madison Square Garden is set for 7 p.m. ET (FS1). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the DePaul vs. Xavier'odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
DePaul beat Seton Hall 66-65 Wednesday in the opening round of the tournament, covering as a 5-point underdog. The victory snapped a 12-game losing skid. The Blue Demons are just 3-7 against the spread (ATS) in their last 10 games and are 13-18-1 ATS this season including Wednesday’s victory.
Xavier beat Butler 78-66 at home on Saturday but failed to cover as a 13.5-point favorite in its final regular season game. It has now won 3 straight games and 6 of its last 10. The Musketeers are 5-5 ATS along that 10-game span and 17-13-1 ATS on the season.
Xavier and DePaul split the season series this season with DePaul winning 73-72 as a 9-point home underdog on Jan. 18 and Xavier winning 82-68 as a 13-point home favorite on Feb. 18.