College Basketball – Big East, March Madness

There is no doubt that The Big East is “the” conference this year in men’s college basketball. Top to bottom, the conference may be the strongest it’s ever been.

Eash of the top four teams are looking at having high seeds and playing somewhere close to home during March Madness. That is a big advantage, and one that will be appreciated coming off a murderous conference schedule.

The Syracuse Orange are well-coached and loaded with talent, and the Pittsburgh Panthers can throw a scare into anyone. The West Virginia Mountaineers under Bob Huggins could go deep in the tournament, and the Georgetown Hoyas already have beaten some giants this season and are looking for more.

What separates The Big East from all the other major conferences is the next group of teams, all of whom are NCAA Tournament worthy so don’t forget to check out the NCAAB Odds.

This group includes the Villanova Wildcats, Louisville Cardinals, Cincinnati Bearcats, Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Marquette Golden Eagles. Chances are at least one of these teams may not be in the field of 65.

Notre Dame currently has a losing record in the conference and is on the bubble. Marquette could be on the bubble as well, or possibly the last team in, but as long as they maintain a winning record in The Big East and don’t have any bad losses, they should be in.

Teams needing help fast include the UConn Huskies and the Seton Hall Pirates.

NCAA Basketball Conference Championship Odds

NCAA Basketball season is almost upon us and the conference championship odds out now.

This season’s favorite pick to win it all is the Kansas Jayhawks so it’s no surprise that they’re also the heavy favorites to win the SEC East at -875. Jayhawks fans are already clearing their schedule for the Final Four, but the Tennessee Volunteers at +400 might prove to be more than a road-bump along the way.

The ACC features last year’s championship team, the North Carolina Tar Heels. The Tar Heels have another strong team and are the favorites to take the ACC at +122 while the Duke Blue Devils (+150) and Georgia Tech (+400) have the best chances for an upset.

The Big 10 and the Big East promise to have the closest battles for top spot.

In the Big 10 Michigan State (+125) and the Purdue Boilermakers (+150) are both strong teams with a legitimate chance to take the division.

The real dog-fight is in the Big East. The Villanova Wildcats (+205) are favored to take the conference, but the Connecticut Huskies, Louisville Cardinals, and West Virginia Mountaineers are all pegged at +250 to win the conference.

The Pac-10 looks to be a fight between the UCLA Bruins at +175, the California Golden Bears at +200, and the Washington Huskies at +225.

Bettors like Bulls over Bearcats in Big East battle

The No. 23 South Florida Bulls visit the Cincinnati Bearcats in a Big East conference battle Thursday night (7:30 pm ET, ESPN).

Cincinnati has the edge head-to-head, going 3-2 SU over the past five meetings, but has dominated against the spread, going 4-1 in that span. The teams last squared off on Nov. 3 last season, when the Bearcats upset the Bulls 38-33 as 5-point road dogs.

South Florida is a 2.5-point favorite at Sportsbooks. Bettors really like the Bulls in this one, with nearly 72 per cent of wagers on this game on South Florida.

Last week, South Florida (6-2 SU, 2-5 ATS) was upset 24-20 by the Louisville Cardinals. The Bulls had been 5.5-point favorite. The score went under the total of 52. Cincinnati (5-2 SU, 2-4 ATS) also lost in Week 9, falling 40-16 to the Connecticut Huskies. The Bearcats failed as 3-point favorites and the score went over the total of 42.5.

South Florida is 5-1 SU in its past six on the road, 3-6 ATS in its past nine on the road, and 6-2 SU in its past eight overall. Cincinnati is 14-2 SU in its last 16 at home, and is 4-1 ATS in its last five against South Florida.