NCAA Basketball Big East Conference Betting
By By Josh Walfish
Updated date: March 6, 2022
Despite not being the top seed in the Big East Tournament, Villanova is a deserved favorite to win the conference tournament and secure the automatic bid. The Wildcats won seven of their final eight games, which included a sweep of conference champion Providence in a pair of tight contests. Villanova has +165 odds to win the event, but the Big East is loaded with as many as seven teams potentially earning bids to the NCAA Tournament depending upon their performance in New York City.
The team with the most to lose is eighth-seeded Xavier, which won its season finale to halt a stretch of seven losses in eight games. The talent and potential is there for the Musketeers, but they will need to knock off Providence to secure that tournament bid. Otherwise, Xavier will be sweating it out on Selection Sunday while seated firmly on the bubble.
The Friars won the regular-season title in the Big East, but are just the third choice at +500 odds thanks to a bevy of close games. Providence survived most of those tight encounters, which will be helpful in March, but it was a rarity for the Friars to win comfortably, especially against any quality opponent.
UConn is the second choice to win the Big East Tournament as the third seed, and those +350 odds come from the Huskies winning seven of their last nine games. When everything is working, UConn is a dangerous team, but that has not always been the case this season. Some bouts of inconsistency are the reason UConn is the third seed and not higher, which means it will need to likely overcome both Villanova and Providence to win the tournament.
There are going to be plenty of enticing quarterfinals matchups, but none will be as intriguing as Creighton facing Marquette. The Golden Eagles are safely in the field and could make an impact on their seeding with a win over the Bluejays. Creighton is just on the bubble after a strong performance in Big East play, but a third win over Marquette this season would definitely keep the Bluejays in the field. The question then becomes if either team can make a run at the title.
The Golden Eagles are slightly more favored at +700 to win the tournament, and they are the tougher matchup for Providence in the semifinals. The Bluejays are +1400 with a 3-2 record against the top-three seeds because their home date with Providence was canceled. Seton Hall is seeded sixth and will likely make the NCAA Tournament, but the Pirates are +1600 to win the event with just nine of their 11 conference wins coming against the team seeded below them.
It has certainly been an interesting year for the Big East with Providence coming out of nowhere to claim the conference title this season. The Friars have been engaged in a lot of tight battles and managed to survive most of those close games, but have been playing with fire. Villanova was expected to run the conference again this year, but some early slip-ups kept the Wildcats behind Providence, and sweeping the Friars was not enough to rescue them. Providence and Villanova are the most dangerous teams out of the Big East for no other reason than the consistency each has shown this season.
The same cannot be said for the rest of the league even though as many as seven teams could end up in the NCAA Tournament. Xavier’s success in non-conference play has overshadowed the fact the Musketeers have a losing record in Big East play and lost seven of their last nine games. It might not be enough to save Xavier, but the Big East helped catapult Creighton into the NCAA Tournament discussion with eight wins in its last 11 games. The Bluejays have mostly beaten up on the weaker teams in the league, but they did sweep UConn and takedown Villanova at home.
UConn is the biggest mystery in the Big East because when everything is clicking, the Huskies are a Final-Four caliber team. When it isn’t working, the Huskies could lose by 20 in the first round of the Big East or NCAA Tournament. The question isn’t whether or not Connecticut will earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament but what exactly it will do with the opportunity. The same can be said for Marquette and Seton Hall, two other Big East squads with lots of talent but lacking consistency. Both squads have earned some big wins both inside and outside Big East play, but they also have suffered some tough setbacks that leave them as sleepers.