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

When you think of conference tournaments, you probably think of Cardiac Kemba and some Madison Square Garden magic.

Unfortunately, the Big East tournament isn’t as special as it once was, but it should still be an exciting event. One of the biggest talking points of the weekend will be St. John's. The Johnnies took home their first conference championship since 2000 last year and will be looking to defend their title on their home court once more.

It was never a problem to have the tournament at MSG when St John’s stunk, but now under Rick Pitino, it’s become a massive advantage for the Red Storm. Not only that, but with how bad the Big East is this year, being in the top half of the bracket feels like a free ride to the conference championship.

They’ll start the tournament with a bye and face the winner of Seton Hall and Creighton, two teams that might need to win the whole tournament to make it into the dance. St John’s at +200 is my favorite bet to win the Big East tournament, in what is realistically a three-team race.

On 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’ve got a full starting lineup of guys with experience in the Big East tournament. Solo Ball, Tarris Reed Jr., Silas Demary Jr., and Alex Karaban make up a veteran core that ranks 11th-best 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 not to go cold under the bright lights of MSG.

Villanova is the final team in this third-team race, and even they still feel like a distant third. Kevin Willard has done a phenomenal job turning around Nova in his first season at the helm, but I don’t think this team is much of a threat in the Big East or the NCAA tournament. They played UCONN tight in both matchups this season, but I don’t think they have enough match-up with the top of the Big East.

If you were looking for some long-shot bets, Seton Hall at +1600 is a decent bet. Their small-ball lineups can give St John’s some fits, and Shaheen Holloway is a great coach, so I’ll never count them out. Xavier is a massive underdog at +20000, but has one of the best players in the conference with Tre Carroll, who finished First Team All-Big East. I’d never pick them to win the conference, but they could be a potential cashout team if their shooters get hot around him.

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, I love St John’s to repeat as Big East Champions, and put themselves in contention for a three seed in the NCAA Tournament.