Big East Tournament Betting Preview: Can St. John’s Repeat at MSG?

Unfortunately, the Big East Tournament isn’t as special as it used to be, but it will still be an exciting event. One of the biggest talking points this weekend will be St. John’s. The Johnnies won their conference title for the first time since 2000 last year and are looking to defend their title on their home court once again.

Hosting the tournament at MSG wasn’t an issue at all when St John’s were underperforming, but now under Rick Pitino it’s a huge advantage for the Red Storm. Not only that, but with how bad things are in the Big East this year, being at the top of the bracket feels like a free ride to the conference championship.

They begin the tournament with a bye and will face the winner of Seton Hall and Creighton, two teams that will need to win the entire tournament to qualify for the dance. St John’s at +200 is realistically the best bet to win the Big East tournament, a three-team race.

In the other half of the bracket, Dan Hurley’s Huskies are still the favorite at -115. This isn’t the best UCONN team we’ve seen, but they have a full starting lineup comprised of players with Big East tournament experience. Solo Ball, Tarris Reed Jr., Silas Demary Jr. and Alex Karaban make up a veteran core that ranks 11th in defense, according to KenPom.

When they’re rolling, they’re the best team in the Big East, but I don’t trust their offense to cool off under the bright lights of MSG.

Villanova is the last team in this third team race, and even they still feel like a distant third team. Kevin Willard has done a phenomenal job turning the reins at Nova in his first season, but I don’t think this team is much of a threat in the Big East or the NCAA Tournament. They’ve played UCONN tight in both matchups this season, but the matchups against the top of the Big East don’t seem to be enough.

If you’re looking for a bit of a longshot bet, Seton Hall at +1600 is a decent bet. Their small ball line-up could be a bit of a fit for St John’s and I would never count them out as Shaheen Holloway is a great coach. Xavier is a huge underdog at +20000, but they have one of the best players in the conference with Tre Carroll, who finished First Team All-Big East. I wouldn’t pick them to win the conference, but if their shooters heat up around him, they could be a potential cash-in team.

The Big East Player of the Year will be announced later this week, but it will likely be St John’s’ Zuby Ejiofor. Behind him and Bryce Hopkins, St John’s would love to repeat as Big East champions and compete for a three seed in the NCAA Tournament.