The Big East Conference is filled with excitement. It's not just the back-to-back champs from Storrs, but this league might garner six or seven NCAA Tournament bids this year.
Plus, I see some value in some of the projected middling teams in the preseason. So, let's dive into it for my 2024-25 Big East betting preview.
2024-25 Big East Regular Season Conference Title Future Odds
| Team Name | Odds (Via BetMGM) |
| UConn | +125 |
| Creighton | +360 |
| St. John's | +1000 |
| Marquette | +1500 |
| Xavier | +1500 |
| Villanova | +1800 |
| Providence | +2000 |
| Butler | +2500 |
| Seton Hall | +3500 |
| Georgetown | +3500 |
| DePaul | +4000 |
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Big East Contenders
UConn Huskies
This is the new big, bad, blue blood of college hoops. The Huskies aren't only the favorite to win the Big East at +130, but the favorites to win the National Championship (again) at +900.
I like the roster, particularly the three/four spots with Alex Karaban and Liam McNeeley, but I’m much more weary on the guards and the interior.
I mean, would UConn win either title without a big like Donovan Clingan or Adama Sanogo? Maybe, but the offenses wouldn't have flowed as easily without the reliable scoring from Clingan and Sanogo.
The absolute best-case scenario for the Tarris Reed Jr./Samson Johnson duo is both providing strong interior defense and rim running ability. That’s about all the Huskies will get — if things break right.
The interior is no longer an advantage for UConn.
Would it surprise me if UConn won the league? No, but it’ll need big performances from Aidan Mahaney and Hassan Diarra — among others — so it’s a lot more complicated than it was last year.
I’ll fade the Huskies at their current price.
Creighton Bluejays
The Bluejays made the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive season last year, but it’ll have a new cast of characters this season.
Gone are the Jays' top two scorers — Trey Alexander and Baylor Scheierman.
The good news is 7-foot-1 center Ryan Kalkbrenner is as dominant of a big as you'll find in the sport. Kalkbrenner is a force on the defensive end (blocking 3.1 shots per game), and he posted a career-high 17 points per game last year.
Creighton might need a little extra offense from Kalkbrenner to remain an elite offensive team.
I'm also not entirely sold on the backcourt. Pop Isaacs could develop nicely in Greg McDermott's offense, but he and Steven Ashworth are 6-foot-2 or shorter.
Not only might Ashworth and Isaacs struggle defensively, but another concern is their inefficient scoring. Both can pop off for 20+ any night, but most of their scoring centers around the 3-point shot, since they shot below 40% from the field last year.
That's much different than Alexander, who opened up the offense with an elite mid-range presence.
To put it in perspective, how does the tandem of Isaacs and Ashworth contain big, imposing guards like Marquette and St. John's have? I don't think they can, which puts Creighton in the boom-or-bust category.
When the Jays hit 13+ 3's, they have a great chance to win. On other nights, it'll be a struggle.
Jamiya Neal is the difference maker here, though, as he averaged 11 points per game on just 41% shooting with Arizona State.
Also, the calculus changes if Fedor Zugic — a 6-foot-6 international recruit — becomes eligible. The NCAA hasn't ruled on Zugic's eligibility yet, and the NCAA tends to drag its toes on eligibility situations, so it could be a while until Zugic hears anything.
I'd imagine Zugic finds a way on the court eventually, but it's anybody's guess as to when.
As of now, I can't justify taking Creighton at +300 when I see two or three teams better in the Big East.
Marquette Golden Eagles
Shaka Smart is one of the few coaches in college hoops who will live or die based on his in-house talent developing. He won't bring in players that don't play hard and don't want to be coached, so it's safer to rely on those with experience in his system.
He'll add an occasional transfer like Tyler Kolek and Olivier-Maxence Prosper, but rarely will Smart pursue a grad transfer.
The main reason I'm buying Marquette is point guard Kam Jones. He's have a tougher role than ever — since he replaced Kolek at the point guard spot — but he got a taste of the position when Kolek got hurt last year. I’ll gladly take Jones as my pick for Big East preseason Player of the Year.
You can't talk about a team coached by Shaka without giving a nod to the defense. This team could be elite on the defensive end, with a trio of Chase Ross, David Joplin and Stevie Mitchell — plus Sean Jones when he's healthy — leading the way.
The key to unlocking the Big East Tournament-winning ceiling is a sophomore duo, Tre Norman and Zaide Lowery. Both saw sporadic playing time last season behind experienced options in Marquette’s rotation. Now the two have a year under their belt in Shaka’s system and can leap into a larger role.
My favorite pick in the Big East is Marquette to win the league at +800.
St. John's Red Storm
I’ll make a strong declaration here: St. John’s might have the most talented team in the Big East.
On the contrary, the fit of the pieces is highly questionable.
The season hinges on the highly paid, prized guard transfer duo of Deivon Smith and Kadary Richmond. Separately, Smith and Richmond dominated at Utah and Seton Hall, respectively. Richmond is imposing with his 6-foot-6 frame and ability to see over smaller defenders to find scorers.
The only issue is Richmond isn’t a shooter.
Smith uses running back-like speed to make up for his diminutive frame, and his lightning quickness leads to inside scoring or dishes to teammates. In 28 games, he recorded a jaw-dropping six triple-doubles in his lone year at Utah. He does a bit of everything, except Smith isn’t a shooting threat.
You see the problem? Richmond and Smith are low-volume shooters who both want to drive. How will defenses react to a pair of guards that want to do the same thing? I’d guess packing the paint and daring the Johnnies to shoot it.
However, Pitino can make St. John's an outstanding team if it focuses on scoring in transition more than the half-court. That's where the Red Storm's size and athleticism can stand out.
The good thing is St. John’s has enough talent to be one of the sport’s most suffocating defensive teams. It’s not just Richmond and Smith — it’s RJ Luis Jr. and Aaron Scott. Those two provide length and athleticism, allowing them to defend guards and forwards.
The interior also flashes defensive upside with Vincent Iwuchukwu and Zuby Ejiofor.
If the defense lives up to its potential, I’ll fully believe in St. John’s contending for a conference title.
I’m OK with taking +500 on St. John’s to win the Big East. It’s not my favorite play, but I’m fully in on the Pitino factor leading to an outstanding season in Queens.
Big East Long Shots
Xavier Musketeers
Can Xavier bounce back from a rough season in which it finished 16-18? I think it can, and I'll take a shot on X to win the league at 10/1.
The Musketeers have the ideal facilitator in Dayvion McKnight and a great trio of transfers shooters, Ryan Conwell, Dante Maddox Jr. and Marcus Foster. All three of those newcomers played on really good mid-major teams, so they already know what winning looks like.
The key is the interior, which suffered injuries to Zach Freemantle and Jerome Hunter last year and one to Lassina Traore already this year.
If Freemantle can re-gain his pre injury form, then Xavier becomes an even better value.
Xavier could be a turnstile defensively, but I love betting on teams with good guards and a bunch of players who can average double-digit points.
It's worth a swing at 10-1.
Providence Friars
Last year was the year of the injury in FriarTown, as numerous players suffered big injuries, including Bryce Hopkins.
The good news is Hopkins returns as the centerpiece of this year's team, and he's healthy. Hopkins averaged 15.5 points and 8.6 rebounds in 14 games before his 2023-24 campaign ended.
Those numbers are nearly identical to the prior year, so it wasn't a small sample size for Hopkins. He's just a great player that belongs in the conference's Player of the Year discussion.
Pairing with Hopkins on the interior is 7-foot-0, 290-pound Christ Essandoko, who averaged 8.2 points and 5.7 rebounds in his freshman year at Saint Joe's. Essandoko oozes star potential with his Big East-ready body, a smooth shooting stroke and shot-blocking prowess.
I wouldn't want to face Providence solely based on the upside of its two frontcourt players.
We'll see how the guard trio of Wesley Cardet Jr., Jayden Pierre and Bensley Joseph performs. Joseph and Pierre are both solid, but neither have the "it factor" that the departed Devin Carter did.
The one guy who could be a Carter-type player is Cardet, who averaged 18 points at Chicago State and scored 30 points in a huge upset win over Northwestern.
If Cardet is a reliable second option next to Hopkins, then I'll feel great about snagging Providence at the lengthy 40-1 odds.
Bottom of the Big East
Villanova Wildcats
The team I'm fading the most in the Big East is Villanova.
After two tough years to begin the Kyle Neptune era, I don’t know how anyone feels optimistic about the Wildcats being more than a top-45-ish bubble team in year three.
KenPom expects a ton from the Cats, placing them 20th.
The offseason would've been a complete failure if Eric Dixon had stayed in the draft or transferred. Instead, he's back and could easily lead the Big East in scoring; I just don't know how many wins it'll lead to.
Besides Dixon, Villanova can rely on Miami transfer Wooga Poplar. The Nova success under Jay Wright largely centered around elite guard play, which I don't think this Villanova team has unless Jhamir Brickus and Tyler Perkins surprise me.
There's no reason to consider Villanova's Big East title number here.
Butler Bulldogs
Last season, the Bulldogs were 15-7 with a real shot to battle for an NCAA Tournament bid in the final two months, barring an epic collapse.
Then the epic collapse became reality, and Butler was left settling for an NIT bid.
Thad Matta is lucky to get his two best players — Pierre Brooks II and Jahmyl Telfort — back. That pair combined for about 30 points per game, and Brooks looks the part of a budding star with two seasons of eligibility left.
What Butler did lose is DJ Davis and Posh Alexander, its two starting guards from last year. I'm not sure it's a bad thing, though.
Adding Kolby King is a clear upgrade over Alexander, since opponents can respect King's shooting instead of the non-shooting Alexander. Also, sophomore Finley Bizjack could replicate Davis' numbers.
Butler is the type of team that will pull off some upsets at home in conference play, but I don't see it pushing for a tournament bid.
Georgetown Hoyas
After a rough first season that consisted of just two Big East wins, Ed Cooley still is looking to undo the mess that Patrick Ewing created.
The veteran head coach, who has plenty of winning experience in the Big East, has the tools to get the Hoyas back to a respectable level this year.
As always, it begins with the portal. Georgetown brought in just four transfers, but each should contribute.
The biggest fish are Malik Mack (Harvard), who could be a top-tier Big East guard, and a winning player in Micah Peavy, who started 76 games in the Big 12 over four seasons.
Jordan Burks and Curtis Williams haven't done much in college, but they add some interesting potential to the wing corps.
Although the Hoyas have an unquestioned improved talent base, I can’t see them outperforming their current KenPom ranking of 88, thus a future bet isn't a good play.
Seton Hall Pirates
I think Seton Hall is underrated from an analytics perspective, as KenPom places it three spots behind Georgetown at No. 91.
Seton Hall's upside is a top-50 team with bubble potential if the pieces of Scotty Middleton and Garwey Dual both hit. The two transferred in after uneven seasons at Ohio State and Providence, respectively, but Shaheen Holloway made a wise choice on betting on their upside.
The guard/wing corps are fairly strong with Middleton, Dual, Isaiah Coleman, Dylan Addae-Wusu, Chaunce Jenkins and Zion Harmon. There's much to complain about if the two aforementioned sophomores — and Coleman develop.
I'd monitor single-game lines on Seton Hall because you can probably find some value. I don't see much from a futures standpoint, though.
DePaul Blue Demons
I’m very encouraged by DePaul adding a coach with a winning pedigree in Chris Holtmann, instead of another retread like Dave Leitao or a first-timer like Tony Stubblefield.
DePaul needed someone who knows what winning looks like, and Holtmann has proven his winning ability in multiple locations.
Will it translate right away in ChiTown? Probably not, as the roster is clearly the worst in the conference.
Keep an eye on the guard duo of Arkansas transfer Layden Blocker and Mercer transfer David Thomas.
Those two could be building blocks for Holtmann this year and moving forward.
