On Friday night in Big East action, the Marquette Golden Eagles and the DePaul Blue Demons will renew their rivalry in Chicago at Wintrust Arena. Marquette enters this clash struggling through a tough season, while DePaul has managed to hold its own and sit above .500. Both of these teams are desperate for some wins in Big East play. Keep reading as I make my Marquette vs DePaul prediction and tell you who I think will get one such win here.
Our Marquette vs DePaul Pick
Pick:
DePaul -3.5 ATS PRO
Confidence:
4/5
Game Snapshot
Matchup: Marquette Golden Eagles @ DePaul Blue Demons
Date & Time: Friday, January 16, 2026, 8:30 p.m. ET
Venue: Wintrust Arena, Chicago, IL
Broadcast: FS1
Key Storylines
DePaul holds a 10‑7 overall record and has been competitive at home, owning an 8‑3 mark in games at Wintrust Arena, where its defense often limits scoring against opponents. Their ability to defend inside and keep opponents under their usual shooting numbers has been a major part of their identity this season.
Marquette has encountered difficulties in Big East play, sitting at 6‑12 and 1‑6 in the conference. The Golden Eagles have dropped eight of their last nine games and are looking for their first road victory of the season, having gone 0‑5 away from home with a large margin of defeat in recent outings. Key scorer Chase Ross is averaging 15.8 points while Nigel James Jr. adds scoring of his own, but the club has struggled to consistently put together complete performances.
DePaul is coming off a tough loss to one of the nation’s top teams in UConn, where scoring was hard to come by, but the Blue Demons remain solid at home and have shown they can hang with better competition within the league even if things went poorly against the Huskies. Players like CJ Gunn and Layden Blocker provide steady production, especially in clutch moments.
Marquette’s offensive inconsistencies and turnover issues have plagued them, particularly on the road. They’ve allowed too many second‑chance opportunities and have struggled to limit opponent field goal efficiency, which has contributed to their slide to the bottom of the Big East standings.
Betting Trends
Marquette enters this game with a 4-13-1 record against the spread this year.
DePaul is 11-5-1 against the spread going into Friday night's game.
The Golden Eagles are 9-9 in the over/under market so far this year.
The under is 12-5 in games involving DePaul this season.
Marquette vs DePaul Model Projection
Score Projection: Marquette 68 – DePaul 75 ATS PRO
Win Probability: Marquette 34%, DePaul 66% ATS PRO
Final Thoughts
With the Golden Eagles struggling to find consistent offense and turning the ball over at key times, and DePaul showing a ton of defensive toughness at home, the Blue Demons are a strong play in this Big East contest. DePaul’s ability to defend and control pace suggests they will cover the spread and potentially exceed expectations as they look to improve their conference standing in the Windy City on Friday night.
Jay Sanin is the GM and Head of Sports at ATS.io. He has been writing about sports gambling since 2013, handicapping tens of thousands of sporting events. He plays sides and totals aggressively across most sports and is more selective in player prop markets. He does his own modeling across most sports, and his family is jealous of how much time he spends on his precious spreadsheets.
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