Big East Men’s Basketball Betting Preview: Can UConn Repeat as National Champs?
It seems like a safe assumption that more people will remember UConn cutting down the nets after winning the national championship than Marquette winning the regular season Big East title and adding the Big East tournament championships. Marquette and UConn lead the list of contenders to win the Big East title, according to our NCAAB betting lines.
Creighton and Villanova are among the other top contenders as the Big East promises to be one of the best leagues in college basketball again, even with five Big East players selected in the 2023 NBA Draft.

UConn is ranked fifth in the coaches poll and sixth in the Associated Press poll. The Huskies received first-place votes in both polls. Marquette is fifth in the AP poll and seventh in the coaches poll. Creighton is eighth in both rankings, making the Big East the only conference with three top-10 teams. Villanova is 20th in the coaches poll and 22nd in the AP poll. Xavier is receiving votes in both national polls.
UConn’s Donovan Clingan (+2000), Marquette’s Tyler Kolek (+3000), Villanova’s Justin Moore (+5000) and Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner (+7500) are showing as National Player of the Year candidates.
When it comes to NCAAB predictions, keep in mind that Marquette received seven of the 11 first-place votes in the Big East coaches’ preseason poll, with the Golden Eagles picked to win the conference title. Creighton picked up the other four No. 1 votes and was selected second, followed by UConn, Villanova, St. John’s and Xavier.
Marquette’s Tyler Kolek was named the preseason Big East Player of the Year. He was joined on the first team by Creighton’s Trey Alexander and Ryan Kalkbrenner, Providence’s Bryce Hopkins, Joel Soriano of St. John’s and Villanova’s Justin Moore.
UConn (+1600) is fourth in the odds to win the college basketball title. Marquette (+2000) is tied for seventh, followed by Creighton at +2500, Villanova (+3000) and Xavier (+5500).
The season begins on Nov. 6 with seven Big East teams in action. Leading the way is UConn playing Northern Arizona, Marquette facing Northern Illinois and Villanova welcoming American University to town.
Top Contenders
Marquette returns seven of the eight players who averaged more than 10 minutes per game, led by top scorer Kam Jones (15.1 points per game as a sophomore), Kolek (12.9 points, 7.5 assists) and Oso Ighodaro (11.4 points, team-leading 5.9 rebounds). The biggest loss is double-digit scorer Olivier-Maxence Prosper. It is not a surprise that Marquette’s +230 odds are the best to win the Big East title.
UConn, listed by our sportsbook at +280 to win the conference title, saw top perimeter scoring threat Ryan Hawkins, post player Adama Sanogo and versatile Andre Jackson embark on professional careers with Joey Calcaterra and Naheim Alleyne also moving on.
The offense will run through sophomores Donovan Clingan and Alex Karaban, with Tristan Newton the lone returning double-digit scorer.
Stephon Castle leads a highly touted recruiting class, with Rutgers’ second-leading scorer Cam Spencer another key newcomer.
Kalkbrenner and Trey Alexander form a dynamic 1-2 duo for Creighton, with Baylor Scheierman being another double-digit scorer returning for Creighton.
Creighton (+300 in the odds to win the Big East) saw starting guard and assist leader Ryan Nembhard transfer to Gonzaga and forward Arthur Kaluma landing at Kansas State.
Guard Steve Ashworth, the top scorer at Utah State, is one of three incoming transfers for the Blue Jays.
Eric Dixon and Justin Moore give Villanova two returning double-digit scorers. The Wildcats need to replace three of its top five scorers, with Cam Whitmore and Caleb Daniels off to the NBA.
Tyler Burton, Richmond’s top scorer and rebounder, joins Washington State’s scoring leader TJ Bamba, Maryland’s Hakim Hart and Kentucky’s Lance Ware as incoming transfers. Villanova seems a little undervalued at +550 in the odds to win the Big East title.
Hoping to Crash the Party
St. John’s will be in the spotlight thanks to the return of head coach Rick Pitino to the Big East.
Top scorer Joel Soriano (15.2 points, 11.9 rebounds) is back, but the other eight players who averaged more than 10 minutes per game transferred elsewhere, including double-digit scorers David Jones and Posh Alexander.
Pitino added nine transfers, headlined by Penn’s Jordan Dingle, RJ Luis out of UMass and Chris Ledlum from Harvard.
St. John’s is priced at +1400 in the odds to win the Big East. How much of that is a result of the Red Storm’s big-name head coach?
Top scorer Bryce Hopkins and No. 3 scorer Devin Carter return for Providence. However, head coach Ed Cooley left for Georgetown and double-digit scorers Ed Croswell, Noah Locke and Jared Bynum. There are more questions than answers for the Friars, who are priced at +2000 to win the Big East.
Zach Freemantle is back for Xavier (+2500 in the odds to win the Big East). Souley Boum, Colby Jones, Jack Nunge and Adam Kunkel have all departed.
Georgetown (+6000), Butler (+15000) and DePaul (+20000) all have work to do to become a factor in the Big East race.
Top Newcomers
UConn added top-10 national recruit Stephon Castle, the Big East Preseason Freshman of the Year, to the team looking to repeat as national champions, with Solomon Ball another freshman to keep an eye on for UConn.
Former Richmond forward Tyler Burton, now at Villanova, is the top-rated incoming transfer. St. John’s guard Jordan Dingle and the Villanova duo of TJ Bamba and Hakim Hart are among the other transfers to keep an eye on.
Creighton’s Ryan Nembhard and Georgetown’s Brandon Murray are the most prominent outgoing transfers.
Questions Of The Day
Which Big East team is most likely to win the conference title?
A veteran Marquette was selected by the Big East coaches to win the conference title.
Which Big East player is most likely to win the conference's Player of the Year award?
Marquette guard Tyler Kolek was named the preseason Big East Player of the Year, with UConn’s Donovan Clingan a top candidate, according to Las Vegas College Basketball odds.