Xavier vs DePaul Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for March 9 Big East Tournament (Musketeers Cruise in New York City)

Xavier vs DePaul Game Info

• 2022-23 NCAA Basketball Big East Tournament Game
• No. 15 Xavier (23-8, 15-5 Big East) vs. DePaul (10-22, 3-17 Big East)
• Date: Thursday, March 9, 2023
• Time: 7:00 PM ET
• Venue: Madison Square Garden -- New York City, New York
• Coverage: Fox Sports 1

The Big East Tournament continues on Thursday with a thrilling matchup between the DePaul Blue Demons and Xavier Musketeers. Neither team has ever captured a Big East Tournament title. The winner of this quarterfinal matchup will then face the winner of the Villanova vs Creighton game.

DePaul snapped a 12-game losing streak with an exciting 66-65 win over Seton Hall in the first round on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Xavier has now won four of its last five games thanks to a 78-66 victory over Butler on Saturday. Which Big East squad will keep its conference title hope alive on Thursday?

Xavier vs DePaul Odds & Spread

• All college basketball betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
• Moneyline: XAVIER: (-900) | DEPAUL: (+590)
• Spread: XAVIER: -12.5 (-110) | DEPAUL: +12.5 (-110)
• Total: 152.5 -- Over: (-110) | Under: (-110)

Xavier enters this contest as a considerable favorite on the moneyline and spread per FanDuel Sportsbook's odds. This 7 p.m. ET clash also features an over/under of 152.5 points, which is above average compared to Thursday's projected totals.

Xavier vs DePaul Betting Trends

• Xavier has beaten the spread 17 times in 31 games.
• Against the spread as 11.5-point favorites or more, the Musketeers are 3-5.
• There have been 20 Xavier's games (out of 31) that went over the total this season.
• DePaul is 14-17-0 against the spread this season.
• The Blue Demons have won twice ATS (2-4) as a 11.5-point underdog or more this year.
• DePaul has seen 16 of its 31 games go over the point total.

Xavier Rank	Xavier AVG		DePaul AVG	DePaul Rank
10th	82.1	Points Scored	70.8	195th
304th	74.5	Points Allowed	76.9	342nd
36th	34.8	Rebounds	29.4	301st
144th	8.9	Off. Rebounds	7.8	243rd
157th	7.6	3pt Made	8.3	74th
1st	19.9	Assists	13.9	115th
244th	12.5	Turnovers	12.6	254th

Xavier vs DePaul Prediction & Pick

It's important to not let DePaul's first round victory distract from the fact that they own a 10-22 record on the season with a -6.2 average scoring margin (No. 304 in NCAA). The Blue Demons are horrible on both ends of the court, ranking 268th in offensive efficiency and 293rd in defensive efficiency.

To put things into perspective, Xavier ranks 15th in offensive efficiency and owns a +7.6 average scoring margin (No. 42 in NCAA). The Musketeers roster five players averaging at least 10.3 points per game and are led by Souley Boum, who is averaging 22.3 points over his last three contests.

Xavier has won 13 of its last 17 games against DePaul, so back the Musketeers with confidence here.

Final Score Prediction: Xavier: 84 | DePaul: 68

Xavier vs DePaul Best Bet

DePaul proved that anything can happen in college basketball when it took down Xavier by a score of 73-72 back on Jan. 18. The Musketeers have only gotten better since that point, though, and beat the Blue Demons by a score of 82-68 on Feb. 18. Expect a game much like that second one tonight.

Xavier is 4-2 against the spread (ATS) in its last six games overall, while DePaul is 3-10 ATS in its last 13 games overall. The Blue Demons are also 3-8 ATS in their last 11 games as an underdog. They haven't proven that they can keep a game close, which makes backing the Musketeers a safe move.

Bet: Xavier Musketeers -12.5 (-110)

Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel. 

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.