Back Creighton to take down UConn, St. John’s

There's nothing more romantic about the sport than Madison Square Garden's Big East Tournament.

Things become even more fun when St. John's pervades as an up-and-coming Final Four contender.

Rick Pitino's group is +155 favorites to win the Big East title on the Draftkings Sportsbook, followed by Creighton at +370.

Top seed Johnny is the apple of everyone's eyes that enters the tournament. Their powerful defensive chops and rebound abilities (sixth) are the best in the college hoops.

They are legitimate favorites entering the tournament and boast solid scores around the rim. It boasts Pitino's typical hard nose style play and a strong 15th place rating at Kenpom.

It's their shooting that makes things hairy for Johnny. They can score around the rim, but their ceiling is covered with a 3-point percentage (29.9 percent) of the 340th rating.

The last team to win the 3-point shooting and the NCAA Tournament was Pitino's Louisville team (Vacated and later) in 2013, earning 32.9% from Deep.

St. John's can easily win here, but the possibility of doing so is a bit short given the dangerous field that includes solid Marquette teams, including Clayton, Villanova and Dun Harley's battle-tested and back-to-back defending national champion UConn teams.

Here are some Big East Tournament bets to consider making.

Big East Tournament Odds

Long shot: Villanova (15/1, Caesars)

Wildcats are struggling to close the game led by double-digit margins.

Their 18-13 records should really look like 23-8, but alas, we're making a long shot bet here to win.

With forward Eric Dixon leading with 23.6 points per game, the Wildcats will play a style that can give a St. John's fit if the team meets in the final.

Villanova ranks 20th in offensive efficiency, and its defensive rating is slightly better than the average (120).

Kenpom's rankings match the odds, making the Wildcats the sixth best team on the field, but they're good enough odds to stab, considering that 15/1 blew the eight leads that the odds maker should score 80%.

The Wildcats lead UConn by 14 points and don't forget before losing 66-59 with 12 minutes left in a mid-February matchup in Storps, Connecticut. Talk about getting cold at the wrong time.

The Wildcats need to calm down more under pressure.

To be fair, that pressure will be amplified in the tournament, but if you have enough ability to beat Xavier and St. John's in a back-to-back game in February, it's enough to bet on the odds of these long shots.

The Wildcats are good enough to speak themselves.

If St. John's falls early: Clayton (+450, betmgm)

UConn certainly plays better, but that's not the team I trust on that side of the bracket.

Clayton has been playing tough this season, covering the spread at 62.1% of this year's game, one of the NCAA's best marks.

The Blue Jays are neck and neck in terms of ratings at Kenpom using UCONN, but they usually dominate that matchup 8-3 in the last 11 games against the Husky.

Second-seeded Clayton and third-seeded UConn met in the semi-finals, both winning the quarter-finals.

The Blue Jays lost their latest meeting between the teams, but the game looked more like an outlier than anything else.

The Blue Jays have allowed star freshman guard Liam McNely to score more than half of Connecticut's 70 points (38).

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Assuming that kind of performance is a one-off game, Clayton has a deeper roster, so if that matchup comes into play in the semi-finals, he should be able to get a win.

Even if they face St. John's in the final, Clayton's chances would like to draw upset.

Why trust New York Post Beds?

Erich Richter is a blue belt from Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, but he has a black belt for his MMA betting. During the football season, he has shown off massive profits in Player Prop Market posts over the past two seasons. While always betting on long shots, his return on investment is 30.15% since 2022.