Beasts of the Big East - Pitt tops Power Poll
by Mike Rose
COLLEGE BASKETBALL BETTING – Big East Power Poll
The Big East Conference proudly boasts a number of the top ranked teams in the country, and the following entails each team’s college basketball betting worthiness over the last week of play.
1: Pittsburgh Panthers (13-7-1 ATS, 25-2 SU) (9-5 ATS, 12-3 SU in Big East) (LW: 1) Will Pittsburgh be the new #1 team in the country when the polls come out this week? It sure appears that way after the Panthers marched into Hartford and knocked off the previous #1 team in the land. A letdown against DePaul was to be expected. Two road trips are on the horizon this week. The Panthers have covered each road game since January 28th.
This Week: Away @ Providence, Away @ Seton Hall
2: Louisville Cardinals (16-10 ATS, 21-5 SU) (11-3 ATS, 12-2 SU in Big East) (LW: 4) Could Louisville be headed to a #1 seed as well? The Cards crushed Providence, then went on the road and beat a tough Cincy squad trying to make the tournament. They’ll have a chance to bust Georgetown’s bubble this week on the road, but then return home for a huge positional battle with Marquette.
This Week: Away @ Georgetown, Home vs. Marquette
3: Villanova Wildcats (14-9 ATS, 22-5 SU) (9-5 ATS, 10-4 SU in Big East) (LW: 2) Villanova kept up its winning ways by beating both Rutgers and Syracuse last week. The win in the Carrier Dome snapped a brief two-game cover skid after rolling off eight straight. The SU win streak should easily run to four games this week against a pair of sub-par Big East foes.
This Week: Away @ DePaul, Home vs. Georgetown
4: Seton Hall Pirates (13-8 ATS, 14-12 SU) (9-5 ATS, 5-9 SU in Big East) (LW: 3) Not that Seton Hall really believed it had a legitimate chance of making the Big Dance, but losses against Marquette and St. John’s removed all doubt. Still, sports betting fans salvaged a split by narrowly covering vs. the Golden Eagles. The loss to the Johnnies snapped a five-game cover streak.
This Week: Home vs. South Florida, Home vs. Pittsburgh
5: South Florida Bulls (14-11 ATS, 8-18 SU) (8-6 ATS, 3-11 SU in Big East) (LW: 5) The Bulls offense was offensive last week, as they only scored 40 points against Georgetown, and then followed that up by failing to score a point in the first five minutes against Connecticut. Will things get any better for the 316th ranked offense in America this week? Don’t count on it, as there is a pair of stingy defenses on the schedule.
This Week: Away @ Seton Hall, Home vs. West Virginia
6: Rutgers Scarlet Knights (10-8 ATS, 10-17 SU) (7-6 ATS, 1-13 SU in Big East) (LW: 7) The Scarlet Knights may have only won one game this year in Big East play, but they remained a stingy squad last week by sticking within the number against a red hot Villanova squad. They’re 5-2 ATS in their L/7, and can play the role of spoiler this week against a pair of bubble teams.
This Week: Away @ Notre Dame, Home vs. Providence
7: Marquette Golden Eagles (11-10-1 ATS, 23-4 SU) (8-6 ATS, 12-2 SU in Big East) (LW: 6) Marquette laughed at the oddsmakers on Saturday, who installed the Golden Eagles as 3.5-point underdogs at Georgetown. They beat the Hoyas 78-72, but the tests get significantly harder this week with first place in the Big East on the line. No one in the country has a harder finish to the regular season, as Marquette plays the Huskies, Cardinals, Panthers, and Orange.
This Week: Home vs. Connecticut, Away @ Louisville
8: (12-12 ATS, 19-8 SU) (8-6 ATS, 9-5 SU in Big East) (LW: 11) With one of the higher RPI rankings in the conference, the Mountaineers almost certainly put themselves in the field of 65 last week. One more win should certainly do the trick, and with both South Florida and DePaul still on the schedule, there should be no excuse. A 5-5 ATS road record will be tested twice this week.
This Week: Away @ Cincinnati, Away @ South Florida
9: Connecticut Huskies (10-11 ATS, 25-2 SU) (7-8 ATS, 14-2 SU in Big East) (LW: 8) C Hasheem Thabeet finally met his match last week in the form of the stingy Pittsburgh defense. Thabeet was held in check the entire night, and the Huskies lost the #1 ranking in the country to the Panthers with a 76-68 loss. They failed to cover their third straight spread by only beating USF by 14. They’re 3-1 ATS in their L/4 road games in conference with a big trip to Marquette coming up this week.
This Week: Away @ Marquette, Home vs. Notre Dame
10: Cincinnati Bearcats (10-11 ATS, 17-10 SU) (7-7 ATS, 7-7 SU in Big East) (LW: 9) The Bearcats had a chance to put a stamp on their NCAA Tournament resume by beating the Cardinals at home, but failed losing 72-63. Things are starting to get hairy for Cincy, which badly needs at least one victory this week to avoid the drop to the NIT. Anything less than 20 wins probably won’t be enough.
This Week: Home vs. West Virginia, Away @ Syracuse
And the rest…
11: St. John’s Red Storm (9-11-1 ATS, 13-14 SU) (7-8 ATS, 4-11 SU in Big East) (LW: 13)
12: Syracuse Orange (10-13 ATS, 19-8 SU) (6-8 ATS, 7-7 SU in Big East) (LW: 10)
13: Georgetown Hoyas (7-13-1 ATS, 14-11 SU) (3-11 ATS, 5-9 SU in Big East) (LW: 14)
14: Providence Friars (9-14 ATS, 16-11 SU) (7-8 ATS, 8-7 SU in Big East) (LW: 12)
15: Notre Dame Fighting Irish (6-14 ATS, 15-11 SU) (4-11 ATS, 6-9 SU in Big East) (LW: 15)
16: DePaul Blue Demons (4-16 ATS, 8-19 SU) (3-11 ATS, 0-14 SU in Big East) (LW: 16)
