Big East Tournament Odds: Bookmakers Still Disrespecting Providence

The 2022 Big East men’s basketball tournament tips off Wednesday at Madison Square Garden.

Ed Cooley’s top-seeded Providence Friars breezed through a remarkable regular season with a 24-4 record and 14-3 mark in conference play to win their first-ever Big East regular-season championship.

Bookmakers certainly tipped their caps to the Friars’ successful year, but that doesn’t mean they have to respect Providence more than other teams as far as winning the conference tournament. For the first time I can remember, a top seed in a power conference is +500 to cut down the nets.

Providence is also as high as 100-1 to win the NCAA Tournament at PointsBet.

It’s even more proof that bookmakers don’t give a damn about rankings or regular season play.

Big East tourney title odds via FanDuel:
Villanova +165 ($100 wins $165)
UConn +350
Providence +500
Marquette +700
Creighton +1400
Xavier +1900
St. John’s +2700
Butler +3500
DePaul +6500
Georgetown +40000 ($100 wins $40,000)

The Favorite: Villanova +170
Jay Wright is more wizard than pumpkin when the calendar turns to March and oddsmakers tend to give his clubs the benefit of the doubt when they’re fully healthy. Villanova has won four of the last six Big East tournaments — 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019 — and its consistency is lauded by both bettors and by people behind the betting counter. The Wildcats possess a smooth top-10 offense, they’re extra-efficient and they lead the nation at the free-throw line at an 83% clip. Nova will be tough to beat.

The Longshot: Xavier +1900
I don’t think the Musketeers can win the whole enchilada, but they can easily win a couple games against Butler and Providence. The task obviously gets tougher against the winner of Creighton-Marquette and then likely Villanova or UConn in the title game. But if you’re holding a 19-1 ticket on the X-Men and they reach the semifinals, you could hedge off or even sell your ticket at PropSwap.

The Outmatched: Georgetown +40000
Lol. Don’t even think about.

The Pick: UConn +300
I’m a big fan of the Huskies this year and clearly bookmakers feel the same way by giving them the second-best odds to win the Big East tournament. Sure-handed senior guard R.J. Cole is a special player and per usual, UConn has a group of grown men under the basket who clean the glass better than most frontcourts. Danny Hurley’s Huskies rank third in the nation in offensive rebound percentage, sixth in 2-point defense and it’s never easy to score on them in the painted area either.

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