The first round of the Big East Tournament is coming up on Wednesday, March 13 at 4:00 PM ET, with the Xavier Musketeers (15-16) taking on the Butler Bulldogs (18-13) at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. The Musketeers are favored with a point spread at -1.5 (-110).

The Musketeers have gone 2-3 in their previous five matchups and are coming into this one with a two-game losing streak. While they are trying to shake this off, one of those key losses was against the Bulldogs. Their most recent defeat was an 86-80 outing against the 10^th-ranked Marquette Golden Eagles.

Against the Bulldogs a few games back, they lost 72-66 while playing on the road and turning the ball over 15 times. Desmond Claude led with 17 points, but Quincy Olivari leads them each game with 19.5 points scored and ranks 45^th in the nation. Together they will need to bring a killer instinct to help push their offense early.

The Musketeers put up 76.4 points per game and are shooting 43.7 percent from the field. Their ball movement is slightly better than the Bulldogs, as they accumulate 16.3 assists. This shows they could obtain more scoring opportunities.

On the other end of the court, the Musketeers are allowing 74.2 points per game. Compared to their offense, they are keeping games close with only a two-point margin of victory.

The Bulldogs are also 2-3 in their previous five games, but they are currently riding a two-game win streak. Their most recent victory was against the Musketeers, so they have had some quality time off in preparation.

Jahmyl Telfort led them against the Musketeers with 18 points. Usually, Pierre Brooks leads with 14.8 points each matchup, which ranks outside the top 150 players for scoring in the nation. Regardless of where they rank, they will need to showcase their best offense to stay ahead of the Musketeers.

The Bulldogs average 77.4 points each game and shoot 45.2 percent from the field. They put up 15.0 assists each game and offer plenty of scoring opportunities.

Defensively, they are allowing their opponents to put up 73.6 points each game. When paired with their offense, you can see they only have a margin of about four points when they win games. 

MyBookie offers the Xavier Musketeers as 1.5-point favorites. According to market insights, the Musketeers have a 60.8 percent chance at winning.

While the market is favoring the Musketeers, bettors should consider the Bulldogs. They not only defeated the Musketeers in their last game by six points, but they feature a more appealing winning spread and a winning record for their consistency.