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Big East Conference Tournament: Wide-Open Field

The Big East Conference tournament could be fun. It might be hard to find a conference that is more wide open or an event where there is more on the line for teams hoping to be included in the March Madness bracket.

Providence won the regular-season title for the first time but has the third-best odds to capture the conference title. If the seeds hold true to form and the semifinal between UConn and Villanova is anything close to the recent regular-season meeting, that could be more thrilling than many of the Big Teast title games.

NCAA betting: Big East tournament preview, March 09
Brady Klain/Getty Images/AFP

There is plenty on the line for teams like Creighton, Marquette and Seton Hall, who are showing up as Nos. 7-9 seeds in many March Madness predictions. An early exit or deep run could make all the difference in the world.

The championship game is on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Here is a team-by-team look at the Big East tournament field with the March Madness odds included.

Teams to Beat

Villanova Wildcats

  • Record: 23-7
  • Big East record: 16-4
  • Last Big East tournament title: 2019
  • Odds to win Big East Tournament: +150
  • Odds to win national title: +2500
  • NET ranking: 6
  • What you should know: Five of Villanova’s last six games went over the total.

Just a piece of advice to the rest of the field: Don’t put Villanova on the foul line and don’t give the Wildcats open looks from the perimeter. Villanova leads the country by making 82.5 percent of its foul shots and also tops the Big East in 3-point percentage. The backcourt of Collin Gillespie and Justin Moore have combined to only miss one game, but both have been dealing with injuries in the latter stages of the season. With just two games in the last two weeks, they should be as healthy as they’ve been in awhile.

UConn Huskies

  • Record: 22-8
  • Big East record: 13-6
  • Last Big East tournament title: 2011
  • Odds to win Big East Tournament: +325
  • Odds to win national title: +6000
  • NET ranking: 18
  • What you should know: UConn is 1-6-1 against the college basketball spreads in its last eight games.

It’s been an interesting season for UConn as five of the nine players in the main rotation have missed multiple games. When the Huskies have all of their players available, they can be downright scary. UConn could be without freshman Jordan Hawkins (concussion protocol) while Tyler Polley is dealing with a virus. Even if those two can’t go, it won’t be surprising to see UConn have an extended stay in New York.

Providence Friars

  • Record: 24-4
  • Big East record: 14-3
  • Last Big East tournament title: 2014
  • Odds to win Big East Tournament: +400
  • Odds to win national title: +10000
  • NET ranking: 26
  • What you should know: Five of Providence’s last six games went over the total.

It is not often that the regular-season conference champion has the third-best odds to win the conference title, but that is the case with the Friars. Providence was swept by Villanova while UConn, when healthy, is as talented as any team in the Big East. Providence’s greatest strength is its work from 3-point range. The Friars have the second-best 3-point percentage on both offense and defense.

Marquette Golden Eagles

  • Record: 19-11
  • Big East record: 11-8
  • Odds to win Big East Tournament: +650
  • Odds to win national title: +10000
  • NET ranking: 38
  • What you should know: Marquette is 1-5-1 against the Las Vegas odds in its last seven games.

It is hard to predict which Marquette team will take the court in New York. Will it be the one that topped Villanova by 10 points in early February or the one that lost to DePaul earlier this month? Any team with Justin Lewis, who averaged 27 points and 8.5 rebounds in his last two games, can be dangerous.

Challengers to Watch

Seton Hall Pirates

  • Record: 20-9
  • Big East record: 11-8
  • Last Big East tournament title: 2016
  • Odds to win Big East Tournament: +1100
  • Odds to win national title: +15000
  • NET ranking: 32
  • What you should know: The total has gone under in five of Seton Hall’s last six games.

One can’t help but wonder how the season would have turned out if guard Bryce Aiken, the Pirates’ second-leading scorer, had been available for the entire season instead of being limited to only 15 games. There is a chance that Kadary Richmond, the team leader in assists and steals, could be available. That could certainly impact how those who bet online view the Pirates in this tournament.

Creighton Bluejays

  • Record: 20-10
  • Big East record: 12-7
  • Odds to win the Big East Tournament: +1400
  • NET ranking: 66
  • What you should know: Each of Creighton’s last three games went under the total.

Creighton was rolling right along with a six-game winning streak before dropping two of its last three. Big East Defensive Player of the Year Ryan Kalkbrenner has averaged 17.4 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocks over his last eight games.

Xavier Musketeers

  • Record: 18-12
  • Big East record: 8-11
  • Odds to win Big East Tournament: +1200
  • Odds to win national title: +12500
  • NET ranking: 36
  • What you should know: The total has gone over in six of Xavier’s last eight games.

Xavier was looking like an NCAA Tournament team by the end of January when the Musketeers were 15-5 and ranked 21st in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, but at one point the Musketeers dropped seven of eight games in February and into March.

Will the Glass Slipper Fit?

St. John’s Red Storm

  • Record: 16-14
  • Big East record: 8-11
  • Last Big East tournament title: 2000
  • Odds to win Big East Tournament: +2000
  • NET ranking: 72
  • What you should know: The total has gone over in four of the last six St. John’s games.

St. John’s can certainly put up points as the Red Storm led the conference with an average of 79.7 points per game, but only last-place Georgetown allowed more points per contest.

Butler Bulldogs

  • Record: 13-18
  • Big East record: 6-14
  • Odds to win Big East Tournament: +4000
  • NET ranking: 128
  • What you should know: Butler has covered in six of its last eight games.

Bo Hodges scored just 10 points in his first four games but averaged 13.3 points and 7.2 rebounds over his last 11. Jair Bolden has missed the last four games and it is uncertain if he’ll be able to take the court when Butler opens play against Xavier in the tournament.

DePaul Blue Demons

  • Record: 15-15
  • Big East record: 6-14
  • Odds to win Big East Tournament: +6000
  • NET ranking: 101
  • What you should know: DePaul has covered in its last five games.

Javon Freeman-Liberty missed seven games due to injury but returned with five straight 20-point games. He averaged 26.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.8 steals over those five contests.

Georgetown Hoyas

  • Record: 6-24
  • Big East record: 0-19
  • Last Big East tournament title: 2021
  • Odds to win Big East Tournament: +25000
  • NET ranking: 198
  • What you should know: The total has gone under in four of Georgetown’s last six games.

The defending champions don’t figure to be around for very long after being the first Big East team since DePaul during the 2008-09 season to finish the regular season winless in conference play. It should be noted that DePaul did win its opening game in the 2009 Big East tournament.

Here’s your chance to win $1,000,000. Shoot your shot in the BetUS March Mayhem Bracket Contest.

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