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Big East This Weekend: Top 3 Games to Bet
Mid-February games don’t get much bigger than the clash of Big East heavyweights when No. 1 UConn welcomes fourth-ranked Marquette to town. The NCAA basketball predictions view both teams as national title contenders. UConn’s last loss during the 2022-23 season came to Marquette in the Big East tournament semifinals before the Huskies began their march to the national title.
Creighton and Butler are set to square off as they are among the teams jockeying for position behind UConn and Marquette.
UConn is the only Big East team undefeated in Big East play while the Huskies join Marquette and Creighton as teams with winning records on the road.
UConn received 69 first-place votes to remain atop both the national polls. Marquette moved up three spots to No. 4 in both The Associated Press and USA Today coaches polls.
The Huskies are fourth in the NCAA NET rankings and are tied for second nationally with eight Quad 1 wins. Marquette and Creighton are 10th and 16th in the NCAA NET rankings.
When looking at the college basketball futures odds, UConn is first with +650 odds of winning the NCAAM championship. Marquette’s odds to win March Madness have moved from +1600 to +2200. Creighton is the next closest Big East team with +5000 odds to win it all.
UConn has the best odds at -800 to win the Big East title followed by Marquette at +600 and Creighton at +900.
1. Creighton (18-7 SU, 12-13 ATS) vs Butler (16-9 SU, 13-9-2 ATS)
- Date/Time: Saturday, Feb. 17, 12:30 p.m. ET
- TV and Live Stream: FOX
The Blue Jays and Bulldogs have a hard act to follow after taking part in perhaps the game of the year in the Big East when Butler won 99-98 at Creighton on Feb. 2. Six different players had at least 20 points with Butler’s Jahmyl Telfort scoring 26 for Butler. Creighton’s Steven Ashworth and Baylor Scheierman also had 26 points apiece.
Creighton has won three of the last four games against Butler. The Blue Jays won by 21 and 22 points to sweep the 2022-23 season series. Each of the last three games between the teams had finished under the total before the wild affair between the teams earlier this month.
This is the fourth matchup against a ranked team over the last five games. Telfort averaged 18.3 points in the previous three. Scheierman is coming off a triple-double with 15 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists in a win against Georgetown in his most recent game.
Butler has covered against the Las Vegas College Basketball odds in five of its 13 home games while Creighton is 6-3 ATS on the road.
2. Marquette (19-5, 9-15 ATS) vs UConn (23-2 SU, 13-11-1 ATS)
- Date/Time: Saturday, Feb. 17, 3 p.m. ET
- TV and Live Stream: FOX
It doesn’t get much bigger than this as UConn puts its 13-game winning streak on the line while Marquette has won eight games in a row.
Marquette won two of the three games between the teams last season after the Huskies swept the 2021-22 and 2022-23 season series. Four of the last five games between the Golden Eagles and the Huskies have been decided by eight points or less.
TOP DOGS! @RobDauster and @jerel_mcneal preview the Game of the Year: Marquette vs. UConn | Presented by @BetMGM https://t.co/e7DA8lIBhW
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) February 15, 2024
Alex Karaban has 46 points in the last two games for UConn after managing 37 in the previous four.
Over his last four games, Marquette’s Tyler Kolek is putting up 25.8 points and 8.7 assists per game. The New England native averaged 13.3 points and 4.7 assists in three games against UConn last season.
The Golden Eagles have covered in five of their nine road games. UConn is just 6-7 against the college basketball spread at home this season.
3. Seton Hall (16-9 SU, 12-12-1 ATS) vs St. John’s (14-11 SU, 13-11-1 ATS)
- Date/Time: Sunday, Feb. 18, 5 p.m. ET
- TV and Live Stream: FS1
The only Big East game set for Sunday has the Red Storm eyeing a 10th home win of the season while Seton Hall is 4-4 on the road.
Seton Hall has seven players from either New York or New Jersey while St. John’s has three players from New York, including the top two rebounders Joel Soriano and Chris Ledlum.
Seton Hall has won five of the last six meetings with St. John’s including the 80-65 home win last month as a one-point underdog. Seven of the last nine games between the teams went under the total.
It has been a tough stretch for Soriano with 28 points on 9-of-25 shooting in his last four games.
Kadary Richmond is coming off a 20-point effort in Seton Hall’s win over Xavier.
St. John’s ATS Pick is 7-5 at home and is tied for third in the Big East with 13 games going over the total.
Questions Of The Day
Which Big East team has had the most games go over the total?
Since the start of the 2022-23 season, 37 Xavier games have landed over the total.
Who has the best odds of reaching the Final Four among Big East teams?
UConn is priced at +160 to return to the Final Four while Marquette has +450 odds to reach the Final Four according to the BetUS sportsbook.
