The Big East has been ruled by Jay Wright and Villanova in recent years. The Wildcats have won the past three Big East Tournaments (and four of the past five), and they have earned at least a share of the regular season championship in six of the past seven seasons. Despite that success, 'Nova is not the odds-on favorite to take down the nets in Madison Square Garden over the weekend.
Seton Hall has been installed as the favorite in the eyes of the sportsbooks instead, and the Pirates will be gunning for just their second Big East Tournament title since 1993.
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2020 Big East Tournament odds
- Seton Hall +250
- Villanova +300
- Creighton +350
- Providence +550
- Butler +600
- Marquette +700
- Xavier +800
- Georgetown +3300
- St. John’s +4000
- DePaul +5000
The Pirates could have locked up the outright regular season title in the Big East with a win in one of their last two games, but they fell to conference co-champions Villanova and Creighton. A previous loss to Creighton led to Seton Hall having to settle for the No. 3 seed in the Big East Tournament by way of the tiebreaker, and that means the Pirates have a difficult test in the quarterfinals in Marquette.
Myles Powell was one of the Big East’s leading scorers with 21 points per game, but he made fewer than 40 percent of his field goals and hit just 30.6 percent of his threes. Fortunately, Sandro Mamukelashvili is more efficient than his teammate. The Georgian is knocking down 54 percent of his field goals and draining 43.4 percent of his threes.
Seton Hall is rated behind Creighton and Villanova by both Ken Pomeroy and Bart Torvik, so it’s unwise to bet them at this price. The Pirates have the toughest road to the title of the three favorites, and there’s a good chance they are underdogs per the CBB betting odds against both the Bluejays and Wildcats if they meet in the semifinals and finals.
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Villanova has one of the best offenses in the conference. Saddiq Bey has been a lights-out shooter this season, making over 45 percent of his threes, and Collin Gillespie, Jermaine Samuels, and Justin Moore have all proven they can take over games when needed.
The Wildcats won seven of their past eight games to claim a share of the Big East title, but this team is not as stolid on defense as in seasons’ past. They are outside the top 100 in terms of effective field goal percentage, so 'Nova cannot afford a poor shooting performance.
The best value on the board is Creighton. The Bluejays are the No. 1 seed in the Big East Tournament, and that will give them an easier path to the Big East Championship Game than either of the two teams listed ahead of them. Creighton will face the winner of Georgetown and St. John’s on Thursday, and if the Bluejays win that game, they will take on either Providence or Butler in the semifinals.
Creighton is the highest-rated team in the Big East by multiple metrics, too. The Bluejays have won 11 of their past 13 games, and they are hitting 38.7 percent from three-point range. They are likely to be without second-leading scorer Marcus Zegarowski as he deals with a knee injury, but Creighton has a wealth of shooters on the roster. Ty-Shon Alexander and Mitch Ballock are both knocking down over 40 percent of their threes, while Christian Bishop has been a force in the low post.
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Coming into the Big East Tournament, Providence has won six straight games. Those victories likely punched the Friars’ ticket to the Big Dance, but a trip to the Big East Championship Game would erase any lingering doubt. The Friars are excellent at defending the perimeter, allowing opponents to make just 31.1 percent of their baskets, and they match up well with the Bluejays. However, they will find it difficult to get past Butler, as the Bulldogs are favored in their quarterfinal matchup.
Although Xavier will have to win four games in four days to win the Big East Tournament, the Musketeers have been given a decent shot of achieving the feat by the oddsmakers. They need to win as many games as possible to get off the wrong side of the bubble, but they were 2-10 against the six teams that finished ahead of them in conference play. While Xavier should have little trouble with DePaul, the Musketeers will be underdogs in their next three games.