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Big East This Weekend: Marquette vs Creighton Top Game to Bet
Depending on what happens in the huge game between Marquette and Creighton, UConn might be in a position to clinch the Big East regular-season title against Seton Hall, one of the teams to beat the Huskies this season.
Marquette, the team listed by the NCAA basketball predictions as the preseason Big East favorite, is two games behind UConn with three games left in the regular season for both teams.
UConn is the only Big East team still undefeated at home while the Huskies join Marquette and Creighton as the only Big East teams with a winning record on the road this season.
After spending the last six weeks at No. 1 in both national polls, UConn fell to No. 3 in the Associated Press poll and to No. 2 in the USA Today coaches poll. Marquette moved up two spots to No. 5 in the AP poll and is also fifth in the coaches poll while Creighton comes in at No. 12 in both national polls.
The Huskies are fourth in the NCAA NET rankings and are tied for the national lead with nine Quad 1 wins. Creighton moved from 16th to ninth after the UConn win while Marquette is 13th in the NCAA NET rankings.
When looking at the college basketball futures odds, UConn is first with +500 odds of winning the NCAAM championship. Marquette’s odds to win March Madness have moved from +1600 to +2000. Creighton is the next closest Big East team with +3000 odds to win it all.
1. Villanova (16-12 SU, 16-12 ATS) vs Providence (18-10 SU, 16-11-1 ATS)
- Date/Time: Saturday, March 2, noon ET
- TV & Live Stream: FOX
The two teams tied for fifth in the Big East standings will be getting together with both teams looking for a win that could help their resumes for a possible at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament.
After Providence won both games against the Wildcats last season, it is Villanova that can sweep the regular-season series after winning at home 68-50 in early February when listed by the college basketball spread as a 4½-point favorite.
This could be the first time since the 2020-21 season that both games between the Friars and the Wildcats finished under the total.
After losing by 24 points at UConn, Villanova bounced back with a 75-47 win over Georgetown to finish February with a 5-2 record. Eric Dixon led Villanova with 22 points in the victory.
Providence saw its modest three-game losing streak end with a 22-point loss at Marquette. Devin Carter led the Friars with 18 points and has scored in double figures in every game this season.
Providence is 8-7-1 against the Las Vegas odds at home games while Villanova is 4-6 ATS on the road.
2. Marquette (22-6, 17-10-1 ATS) vs Creighton (21-8 SU, 15-14 ATS)
- Date/Time: Saturday, March 2, 2:30 p.m. ET
- TV & Live Stream: FOX
This is the game of the weekend in the Big East with a pair of ranked teams meeting up in what could be a glimpse into a possible Big East tournament semifinal showdown.
Marquette won the first game of the season 72-67 on Dec. 30 as a 3.5-point home favorite in what was Marquette’s 20th straight conference home win. Tyler Kolek led the way with 15 points and eight assists.
Marquette has won three games in a row against Creighton and covered in each of those contests.
Creighton will honor its 1973-74 Sweet 16 men’s basketball team at halftime tomorrow.
They beat a Top 10 Marquette team, if you don’t remember. https://t.co/mippbfIEyA pic.twitter.com/v9PNwywqUW
— Rob Anderson (@_robanderson) March 1, 2024
Marquette has put up 105, 88 and 91 points in its last three games since the loss to UConn. Kam Jones is averaging 28.3 points during the three-game winning streak.
There have been plenty of ups and downs recently for Creighton. A dominating win over UConn was followed by a 14-point loss at St. John’s. Ryan Kalkbrenner and Baylor Scheierman combined for 43 points in an 85-64 win over Seton Hall the last time out.
The Golden Eagles have covered in five of their 10 road games. Creighton is just 7-8 against the NCAAB spread at home this season. The Bluejays lead the Big East with 10 of their home games landing over the total.
3. Seton Hall (18-10 SU, 13-15 ATS) vs UConn (25-3 SU, 17-11 ATS)
- Date/Time: Sunday, March 3, noon ET
- TV & Live Stream: CBS
Defending national champion UConn gets more national exposure against a Seton Hall team that handed the Huskies their first conference loss of the season.
Kadary Richmond had 23 points to lift Seton Hall to the 75-60 victory.
Seton Hall had an interesting February with a 4-2 record but the two losses were by 26 and 21 points. The Pirates allowed Creighton to shoot 54% from the field in the last game.
This will be the final home game of the season for the Huskies. Cam Spencer is shooting 50% from 3-point range at home this season to lead the Huskies.
Since UConn returned to the Big East, the Huskies are 2-1 at home against Seton Hall but the Pirates covered in each of the three matchups. Each of the last five games between the Huskies and the Pirates finished under the total.
UConn is undefeated at home this season but is just 7-6 against the spread in those games. Seton Hall has covered in only four of its 10 road games.
Questions Of The Day
Which Big East team has had the most games go over the total?
Georgetown leads the Big East with 16 of its games going over the total this season followed by DePaul and Xavier having 15 games go over the total.
Who has the best odds of reaching the Final Four among Big East teams?
UConn has +110 odds to reach the Final Four while Marquette has +500 odds to reach the Final Four according to the BetUS sportsbook.
The odds and predictions in the article are based on the time of writing and publication. They may differ as to when the actual event takes place.
