The Big East Odds Tracker as of February 10, 2020

Oct 26, 2020 5:24 AM ET | By: matan

Big East Odds Report: Seton Hall in Command of a Loaded Big East

By: Brent Booher

The Seton Hall Pirates (18-5, 10-1 Big East) took a commanding three–game lead in the conference after defeating then 10th ranked Villanova in Philadelphia on Saturday.

The Pirates were led by senior guard Myles Powell, and now not only do they have dreams of their first Big East championship since 1993, but a long run in the NCAA Tournament is certainly not out of question either.

If you’re unaware about Seton Hall basketball this season, you may want to take a crash course really quickly.

The Big East preseason co-favorites are a team filled with upperclassmen, led by the aforementioned Powell and fellow seniors Quincy McKnight and Romaro Gill, Seton Hall has serious Final Four potential.

From a betting perspective, the Pirates have been very good to bettors this season as they’ve gone 9-3-1 ATS in their last 13 outings.

Vegas oddsmakers have listed Seton Hall as +1200 favorites to win the NCAA Tournament.

Due to state law in New Jersey, you’re unable to wager on the Pirates in the state of New Jersey. But if you’re able to bet on Seton Hall, you should definitely consider them for the rest of the season.

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The Big East Odds for all the 7-4 Teams

Similar to boarding a flight, the Big East can really be separated into three groups right now.

First-class is Seton Hall. They stand all by themselves.

Coach would be Butler, Providence and Xavier. More on them a little later.

Business class? That’s where you’ll find a trio of teams with identical 7-4 records in Big East conference play.

After starting the season 7-1 in conference play, the young Wildcats (17-6, 7-4 Big East) face their first real test of adversity as they have dropped three-straight games for the first time all season.
On Saturday, Villanova suffered a 70-64 loss to that first-class Pirates team. It was their first home defeat at the hands of Seton Hall since 2004.

Life doesn’t get any easier for the No. 15 Wildcats as Markus Howard and the 18^th ranked Marquette Golden Eagles are coming to Philadelphia on Wednesday (Feb. 12) before a tricky road-game against Temple on Sunday (Feb. 16).

Despite their struggles of late, oddsmakers still have Nova as the short +275 favorite to win the Big East Tournament in March. If you’re interested in taking a shot at them to win the National Championship, you can currently find their odds listed at +2200.

Marquette (17-6, 7-4 Big East) has been sizzling of late, winners of 3 straight games and a lovely 6-1 ATS in their last seven games.
The Golden Eagles are led in large part by scoring dynamo and Wooden Award candidate Markus Howard. Howard leads all players in college basketball with 27.4 ppg this season.

It is when Howard gets help, like he did in Saturday’s 76-57 win over Butler, that Marquette becomes a very dangerous team.
Guards Koby McEwen and Sacar Anim are essential pieces for the Golden Eagles chances at making a run in the Big East Conference Tournament or the NCAA Tournament.

Oddsmakers believe Marquette has a good chance to heat up and win the conference tournament as well, as they have listed the Golden Eagles at +350.

Marquette also has outstanding value as a possible futures long shot to win the NCAA Tournament at +6000.

With a lot of attention on the three teams we’ve just talked about, many quickly forget about the 23^rd ranked Creighton Blue Jays (18-6, 7-4 Big East), but you should absolutely not sleep on the boys from Omaha.

The Blue Jays are led by the fantastic backcourt of Ty-Shon Alexander (16.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.1 apg) and Marcus Zegarowski (15.9 ppg, 5.1 apg, 3.6 rpg) and are tied for second-place in the conference.

Creighton is a team that shoots tremendously well at the line and from downtown, two places that help cover point spreads – something Creighton has done in four of their last five games.

Currently oddsmakers have the Jays at +450 to win the Big East Tournament and if you want a lotto ticket for the NCAA Tournament, maybe their 100-to-1 odds to win the National Championship will tickle your fancy.

These two teams have both been frustratingly hard to figure out, particularly No. 19 Butler (18-6, 6-5 Big East), a team that climbed into the Top 5 but has since stumbled with five losses in eight games.

Their topsy-turvy play of late showed itself again last week when the Bulldogs followed up a 79-76 win over #10 Villanova with a 76-57 road loss to Marquette.

Providence (13-11, 6-5 Big East) has been just as difficult to decipher, as they had a brief two-game win streak halted at the hands of Xavier. This is a team that’s considered to be on the bubble as we inch closer and closer to March.

Oh, and speaking of Xavier. After starting conference play 2-6, including sweeps at the hands of Creighton and Marquette, Xavier (16-8, 5-6 Big East) has rattled off three straight wins of their own and now sit at 5-6 in the Big East with a chance to play themselves into the field of 68.

As far as their Big East Tournament odds go, Butler is still listed at +300 despite their recent skid. Xavier is listed at +800 and Providence is still considered quite the longshot at +1500.