When comparing this season's basketball landscape and pitting conferences against one another, it's tough to compete with the new-look Big 12. The league boasts three teams in the top seven of the AP Poll and a fourth in the top 10.
However, the Big 12 is messy this year. It's the first dance for four schools (Houston, BYU, UCF, Cincinnati) and the last gasp for Oklahoma and Texas. It all feels temporary and artificial.
Meanwhile, the Big East isn't far behind competitively, and it has three legitimate championship contenders, alongside some of the sport's fiercest rivalries.
If you're only going to watch one conference this year, the Big East feels like the best bang for your buck.
Let's discuss each Big East team with postseason dreams and how they look in the futures odds markets in our Big East betting guide.
Connecticut Huskies (+170)
The reigning national champions haven't skipped a beat, starting 10-1.
The lone loss is about as forgivable as a loss in college basketball, a close game on the road in Lawrence, Kansas, against the Jayhawks.
Meanwhile, Danny Hurley's club has notched notable wins over Gonzaga, North Carolina and Texas.
These Huskies are on the short list of title contenders, and the biggest reason why is the growth of point guard Tristen Newton.
He was a secondary scorer for last year's team, sometimes seen as a player prone to bad shot selection or turnovers. But this season, he's playing like a superstar, scoring at every level and creating for his teammates.
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Marquette Golden Eagles (+220)
Marquette has been in lockstep with UConn this year.
While the Golden Eagles have an extra loss, Marquette can stack wins with any team in the nation, boasting victories over Kansas, Illinois, Texas and UCLA.
Tyler Kolek remains the key cog for Marquette offensively, but this team of veterans can beat you in many different ways.
Mark your calendar for the two meetings between UConn and Marquette on February 17 and March 6.
If you're looking to bet on someone to win the conference right now, these are the two distinct favorites, but they offer little value.
If you didn't catch one or both when they were priced at +300 or higher, you'll likely need to wait for one of them to drop a game to juice the odds a bit.
Creighton Bluejays (+550)
Some people would put Creighton in the same class as the teams above, though I'd argue there's a clear delineation between the two co-favorites and the Bluejays.
Greg McDermott preaches a modern, potent brand of basketball. The Bluejays are among the national leaders in shooting and preventing 3-pointers. They look to drive high-value shots on their offensive end and force tough 2-pointers defensively.
It's a safe bet to assume that a strong shooting Creighton team will outscore their opponent by answering 2-point jumpers with 3-pointers.
That bet isn't a guarantee, though.
Colorado State caught Creighton on a 6-for-29 outside shooting night and hammered the Bluejays. UNLV slowed down Creighton and forced an 8-of-29 shooting night.
Creighton is built to force 2s, but it also struggles to force turnovers, so you can find ways to beat the Bluejays when they run cold.
It's reasonable for Creighton to ride the numbers to a conference title and big wins over their top competition, yet don't be shocked if the regression sometimes bites them and forces a bad loss to a lesser opponent.
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Villanova Wildcats (+1000)
There may not be a team in the sport stranger than Villanova.
The Wildcats boast great wins, including a Battle 4 Atlantis tournament title.
They also lost every intra-city matchup to finish sixth place in the Philadelphia Big 5 city championship.
The most significant issue is on offense, where head coach Kyle Neptune relies heavily on perimeter shots. The Wildcats rank third nationally in 3-point rate (51%), and that'd be great if they could shoot competently, as they rank just 213th nationally in 3-point shooting (32%).
Villanova's five most frequent 3-point takers are all shooting 34% or worse from deep.
That said, these guys are historically decent shooters and should see positive regression in the season's second half. But if the shots are forced or guarded, the offense could continue slumping.
St. John's, Butler, Providence (Each +5000)
There's a considerable drop-off from the top tiers of the Big East to the middle of the pack.
However, I think the conference title won't be decided by head-to-head matchups at the top of the league but by how the conference favorites fare against the middle tier.
Each of these three squads offers a unique personality and an exciting challenge to any opponent.
St. John's is one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country, bailing out an offense that can be stagnant around the perimeter.
Providence is great defensively but needs to find ways to create spacing and scoring around Bryce Hopkins.
Butler is a surprise in this group, with some reason to believe it's been punching above its weight class. Two overtime wins — including a home double-overtime scare over Cal — have inflated the Bulldogs' record and metrics.
The Red Storm, Bulldogs and Friars will each have a path to the Big Dance this spring and will be competitive in Big East play, especially on their home floors. Each should have a puncher's chance when they host the league's best teams.
First up? Marquette's trip to Providence on Tuesday.
Xavier Musketeers (+8000)
Though they boast a KenPom ranking higher than any of the three teams listed above, the Musketeers don't engender much faith moving forward.
The plan to mesh a returning roster with veterans from the transfer portal made sense. Still, they haven't put the pieces together during non-conference play.
More importantly, the injury bug hit Xavier hard, hampering its postseason chances. Injuries played a big role in the Musketeers' two bad home losses against Oakland and Delaware.
Sean Miller can usually scheme defensive stops, but allowing Delaware to drop 87 points doesn't bode well for Big East play.
Desmond Claude has carried the load offensively and looks to be a star in the making, but it won't happen this year without any help around him.
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