Syracuse Orange top seed in Big East
Syracuse, left out of the preseason top-25 in the AP poll, draws the top seed and +185 favorites line for this year's Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden. The season closed on a losing note for Wesley Johnson and Orange when Louisville upset Syracuse on Saturday amidst the pomp and circumstance surrounding the final game at Freedom Hall. Conference action begins on Tuesday.
There’s nothing like a little last-minute drama to liven up Championship Week. All 16 teams in the Big East qualify for their conference tournament, so their final game of the college basketball regular season tends to be a bit anticlimactic.
But some very interesting things happened on Saturday. The Syracuse Orange (-1) lost to Louisville, perhaps yielding the No. 1 overall seed at the Tournament to Kansas, and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (+6½) beat Marquette in overtime to solidify their chances at getting a March Madness invitation.
We’ll know for sure who gets to dance after the NCAA Selection Committee delivers its verdict next Sunday. First, the Big East tournament starts Tuesday at Madison Square Garden with four first-round matchups featuring the lower half of the bracket. Here are the seedings:
1. Syracuse Orange (28-3 SU, 19-8 ATS)
2. Pittsburgh Panthers (24-7 SU, 16-10-2 ATS)
3. West Virginia Mountaineers (24-6 SU, 13-16 ATS)
4. Villanova Wildcats (24-6 SU, 18-11 ATS)
5. Marquette Golden Eagles (20-10 SU, 15-8-1 ATS)
6. Louisville Cardinals (20-11 SU, 10-16 ATS)
7. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (21-10 SU, 14-10-1 ATS)
8. Georgetown Hoyas (20-9 SU, 13-12 ATS)
9. South Florida Bulls (19-11 SU, 18-9-2 ATS)
10. Seton Hall Pirates (18-11 SU, 8-15 ATS)
11. Cincinnati Bearcats (16-14 SU, 7-18 ATS)
12. Connecticut Huskies (17-14 SU, 12-17 ATS)
13. St. John’s Red Storm (16-14 SU, 13-13-1 ATS)
14. Rutgers Scarlet Knights (15-16 SU, 12-14 ATS)
15. Providence Friars (12-18 SU, 10-15-1 ATS)
16. DePaul Blue Demons (8-22 SU, 14-11-1 ATS)
Syracuse is drawing the +185 favorites tag at TheGreek. West Virginia (+300), Pittsburgh (+300 and Villanova (+350) follow the Orange on the tote board.
USF vs. DePaul
Tuesday, Mar. 9 - 12 p.m. (ET) ESPN2
It’s been an awful year for DePaul, but handicappers were able to pounce on this team in late January and ride a 9-1 ATS streak before the Demons dropped the dough in their last three games. Those were close results, though, and the conditions on the ground are still good for cashing in. DePaul weathered some early-season injuries and the firing of coach Jerry Wainwright to set the tone for a profitable second half.
The Bulls have made money all season long, including a 63-59 victory at DePaul (+3) last week. The 'under' paid off that day and might be a safer choice (depending on the opening betting odds) for these two incredibly slow-moving teams. The winner gets to take on Georgetown in the second round of conference action on Wednesday. The Hoyas, +800 to win the tourney, were upset at home by South Florida on Feb. 3, and whipped DePaul on the road in early January.
UConn vs. St. John’s
Tuesday, Mar. 9 - 2 p.m. (ET) ESPN2
And you thought DePaul’s year was bad. The Demons didn’t have the same expectations as the Huskies, who lost 75-68 to the Bulls (+1½) to end the regular season on a 4-8 SU and ATS slide. The UConn offense hasn’t cut the mustard this year, especially in the backcourt. But the Huskies had no problem quelling the Red Storm 75-59 as nine-point home faves back in January. St. John’s has an even worse offense – considerably worse – and the Storm (-3 road faves) needed overtime to beat DePaul 90-82 in the regular season finale. They’re 4-9 SU and 4-8-1 ATS in their last 13 contests.
Marquette (+1500 to win tournament) awaits the winner of this 13/12 matchup. The Golden Eagles beat both the Huskies and Storm on the road this season, cashing at UConn as road dogs and just eking out the cover at St. John's in overtime.
Seton Hall vs. Providence
Tuesday, Mar. 9 - 7 p.m. (ET)
No problems on offense for the Friars. They’re fast, they rarely turn over the ball, and they grab 41 percent of their misses – No. 5 in Division I in offensive rebounding. But Providence couldn’t defend a wet paper bag. The Friars have lost 10 in a row (3-6-1 ATS) with the OVER at 6-4, making it 17-8 on the season. The Pirates beat Providence 92-80 as one-point road faves on Saturday and skimmed 'over' the total by a half-point. They have similar issues on defense, but not to the same extent as the Friars. The 'over' is 6-3 in Seton Hall’s last nine games.
The victor will go on to meet Notre Dame (+800) in Round 2. The Irish split the regular season matchups with these two, winning at covering at home vs. Providence, and dropping a 90-87 decision at Seton Hall as 5 ½-point road dogs.
Cincinnati vs. Rutgers
Tuesday, Mar. 9 - 9 p.m. (ET)
This would be a nice football game. Instead, we’ll see the basketball Bearcats (1-5 SU and ATS in their last six games) try to duplicate their January 2 victory over the Scarlet Knights, who have gone a respectable 6-5 SU (7-3 ATS) since starting the Big East with eight straight losses. And it all began with that 65-58 loss at home to Cincinnati (-5). But there is at least one trend in favor of Rutgers: The Bearcats are 0-12 SU and 2-10 ATS in March since coach Mick Cronin took over the program four years ago.
Louisville (+650) will take on the winner in the next round. The Cardinals failed to cover 20-point home chalk in a Feb. 6 win over Rutgers, 76-60, and also just missed a nine-point cover at home Jan. 24 vs. Cincinnati, 68-60.
Syracuse, left out of the preseason top-25 in the AP poll, draws the top seed and +185 favorites line for this year's Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden. The season closed on a losing note for Wesley Johnson and Orange when Louisville upset Syracuse on Saturday amidst the pomp and circumstance surrounding the final game at Freedom Hall. Conference action begins on Tuesday.
There’s nothing like a little last-minute drama to liven up Championship Week. All 16 teams in the Big East qualify for their conference tournament, so their final game of the college basketball regular season tends to be a bit anticlimactic.
But some very interesting things happened on Saturday. The Syracuse Orange (-1) lost to Louisville, perhaps yielding the No. 1 overall seed at the Tournament to Kansas, and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (+6½) beat Marquette in overtime to solidify their chances at getting a March Madness invitation.
We’ll know for sure who gets to dance after the NCAA Selection Committee delivers its verdict next Sunday. First, the Big East tournament starts Tuesday at Madison Square Garden with four first-round matchups featuring the lower half of the bracket. Here are the seedings:
1. Syracuse Orange (28-3 SU, 19-8 ATS)
2. Pittsburgh Panthers (24-7 SU, 16-10-2 ATS)
3. West Virginia Mountaineers (24-6 SU, 13-16 ATS)
4. Villanova Wildcats (24-6 SU, 18-11 ATS)
5. Marquette Golden Eagles (20-10 SU, 15-8-1 ATS)
6. Louisville Cardinals (20-11 SU, 10-16 ATS)
7. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (21-10 SU, 14-10-1 ATS)
8. Georgetown Hoyas (20-9 SU, 13-12 ATS)
9. South Florida Bulls (19-11 SU, 18-9-2 ATS)
10. Seton Hall Pirates (18-11 SU, 8-15 ATS)
11. Cincinnati Bearcats (16-14 SU, 7-18 ATS)
12. Connecticut Huskies (17-14 SU, 12-17 ATS)
13. St. John’s Red Storm (16-14 SU, 13-13-1 ATS)
14. Rutgers Scarlet Knights (15-16 SU, 12-14 ATS)
15. Providence Friars (12-18 SU, 10-15-1 ATS)
16. DePaul Blue Demons (8-22 SU, 14-11-1 ATS)
Syracuse is drawing the +185 favorites tag at TheGreek. West Virginia (+300), Pittsburgh (+300 and Villanova (+350) follow the Orange on the tote board.
USF vs. DePaul
Tuesday, Mar. 9 - 12 p.m. (ET) ESPN2
It’s been an awful year for DePaul, but handicappers were able to pounce on this team in late January and ride a 9-1 ATS streak before the Demons dropped the dough in their last three games. Those were close results, though, and the conditions on the ground are still good for cashing in. DePaul weathered some early-season injuries and the firing of coach Jerry Wainwright to set the tone for a profitable second half.
The Bulls have made money all season long, including a 63-59 victory at DePaul (+3) last week. The 'under' paid off that day and might be a safer choice (depending on the opening betting odds) for these two incredibly slow-moving teams. The winner gets to take on Georgetown in the second round of conference action on Wednesday. The Hoyas, +800 to win the tourney, were upset at home by South Florida on Feb. 3, and whipped DePaul on the road in early January.
UConn vs. St. John’s
Tuesday, Mar. 9 - 2 p.m. (ET) ESPN2
And you thought DePaul’s year was bad. The Demons didn’t have the same expectations as the Huskies, who lost 75-68 to the Bulls (+1½) to end the regular season on a 4-8 SU and ATS slide. The UConn offense hasn’t cut the mustard this year, especially in the backcourt. But the Huskies had no problem quelling the Red Storm 75-59 as nine-point home faves back in January. St. John’s has an even worse offense – considerably worse – and the Storm (-3 road faves) needed overtime to beat DePaul 90-82 in the regular season finale. They’re 4-9 SU and 4-8-1 ATS in their last 13 contests.
Marquette (+1500 to win tournament) awaits the winner of this 13/12 matchup. The Golden Eagles beat both the Huskies and Storm on the road this season, cashing at UConn as road dogs and just eking out the cover at St. John's in overtime.
Seton Hall vs. Providence
Tuesday, Mar. 9 - 7 p.m. (ET)
No problems on offense for the Friars. They’re fast, they rarely turn over the ball, and they grab 41 percent of their misses – No. 5 in Division I in offensive rebounding. But Providence couldn’t defend a wet paper bag. The Friars have lost 10 in a row (3-6-1 ATS) with the OVER at 6-4, making it 17-8 on the season. The Pirates beat Providence 92-80 as one-point road faves on Saturday and skimmed 'over' the total by a half-point. They have similar issues on defense, but not to the same extent as the Friars. The 'over' is 6-3 in Seton Hall’s last nine games.
The victor will go on to meet Notre Dame (+800) in Round 2. The Irish split the regular season matchups with these two, winning at covering at home vs. Providence, and dropping a 90-87 decision at Seton Hall as 5 ½-point road dogs.
Cincinnati vs. Rutgers
Tuesday, Mar. 9 - 9 p.m. (ET)
This would be a nice football game. Instead, we’ll see the basketball Bearcats (1-5 SU and ATS in their last six games) try to duplicate their January 2 victory over the Scarlet Knights, who have gone a respectable 6-5 SU (7-3 ATS) since starting the Big East with eight straight losses. And it all began with that 65-58 loss at home to Cincinnati (-5). But there is at least one trend in favor of Rutgers: The Bearcats are 0-12 SU and 2-10 ATS in March since coach Mick Cronin took over the program four years ago.
Louisville (+650) will take on the winner in the next round. The Cardinals failed to cover 20-point home chalk in a Feb. 6 win over Rutgers, 76-60, and also just missed a nine-point cover at home Jan. 24 vs. Cincinnati, 68-60.
