{"id":112932,"date":"2024-12-18T13:00:27","date_gmt":"2024-12-18T18:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=112932"},"modified":"2024-12-18T20:45:00","modified_gmt":"2024-12-19T01:45:00","slug":"uconn-continues-to-lead-the-way-in-big-east-odds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/12\/18\/uconn-continues-to-lead-the-way-in-big-east-odds\/","title":{"rendered":"UConn Continues To Lead The Way In Big East Odds"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Big East season is about to kick into high gear. St. John&#8217;s and Villanova both won their conference openers on Tuesday. Preseason favorite <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/uconnhuskies.com\/news\/2024\/12\/17\/mens-basketball-no-11-huskies-open-big-east-play-vs-xavier-at-xl.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UConn will face Xavier<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in one of three Big East games on Wednesday. This is a perfect time to see how the Big East odds have moved since the start of the season. UConn\u2019s starting center <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/samson-johnson-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Samson Johnson<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is in concussion protocol and he will miss the game as a result.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">UConn will miss its \u2018heart and soul\u2019 with Samson Johnson unavailable for Big East opener vs. Xavier <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/4HyThnHHTv\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/4HyThnHHTv<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Connecticut Post (@connpost) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/connpost\/status\/1869175668937801892?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">December 18, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Seton Hall is the only Big East team to have a losing non-conference record. Big East teams are 81-36 in non-conference play this season.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No. 9 Marquette and No. 11 UConn are the only Big East teams in the top 25 in the latest <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Associated Press poll<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. St. John&#8217;s and Creighton are among the other teams receiving votes.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>UConn Continues To Lead The Way In Big East Odds<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.bigeast.com\/tournaments\/?id=177\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Big East Tournament<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is still a few months away, but why not look at the Big East odds and see which teams are rising and which ones are falling? UConn, Marquette and Villanova are a combined 5-1 against teams in the top 25 in The Associated Press poll. The rest of the conference has lost seven of its nine games against ranked teams. UConn remains on top in the Big East odds according to the <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Vegas Insider odds<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When looking at the Big East odds, St. John\u2019s is the best team against the spread. The Red Storm have covered in eight of 11 games. Marquette is 7-3-1 against the spread. Villanova leads the way with eight games landing over the total.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UConn and Creighton, who were picked to finish first and second in the <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.bigeast.com\/news\/2024\/10\/23\/mens-basketball-uconn-selected-for-first-place-in-preseason-coaches-poll.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Big East preseason poll<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, are among six Big East teams in action on Wednesday.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>UConn Remains The Team To Beat In The Big East<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The UConn Huskies began the season priced at +150 to win the Big East title and those odds have moved to +120 as the Huskies prepare to face Xavier in its Big East opener. Keep in mind that the Huskies are tied for third at +1200 in the odds of winning the national championship.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After losing all three of its games in the Maui Invitational, the Huskies bounced back by beating Baylor, Texas and Gonzaga to move from No. 25 to No. 11 in The Associated Press poll in two weeks. The Huskies don&#8217;t play another ranked team until February.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/alex-karaban-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Alex Karaban<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is the only returning starter for the Huskies. He leads UConn in scoring and blocked shots. Freshman <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/liam-mcneeley-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Liam McNeeley<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> came up big with 17 points against Baylor and 26 in the <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/uconn-gonzaga-basketball-score-0158bfdc37f47faf1587272d755337ac\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">win over Gonzaga<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Marquette Near The Top In The Big East Odds<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even with a recent <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/marquette-dayton-score-t25-e2e816fcbdec0fab702f7372dd8b4ce3\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">loss to Dayton<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Marquette has made a move in the Big East odds. The Golden Eagles have gone from +800 to +220 in the odds of winning the Big East title.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/kam-jones-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kam Jones<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> has played his way into the national player of the year conversation. His scoring average has jumped from 17.2 points as a junior to 20.1 this season. <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.jsonline.com\/story\/sports\/college\/marquette\/2024\/12\/07\/kam-jones-32-points-marquette-vs-wisconsin-social-media-reacts\/76840228007\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jones had 32 points<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in a win over Wisconsin as Marquette snapped a three-game losing streak to the Badgers.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Red Storm Impressive In Big East Opener<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">St. John&#8217;s is holding steady as the No. 3 favorite in the Big East odds. The Red Storm had +500 to win the conference title at the start of the season and now sit at +350 in the Big East championship odds. <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/rj-luis-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">RJ Luis Jr.<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> had 19 points off the bench as <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2024\/12\/17\/sports\/st-johns-crushes-improved-depaul-for-impressive-win-in-big-east-opener\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">St. John\u2019s rolled past DePaul<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 89-61 in its Big East opener on Tuesday.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">&#8211; RJ Luis&#39; 19 points off of the bench helped St. John&#39;s to an 89-61 victory against DePaul on Tuesday night. <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/x6DCj1bAZy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/x6DCj1bAZy<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; ABC 7 Chicago (@ABC7Chicago) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ABC7Chicago\/status\/1869233642356039932?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">December 18, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3><b>The Loss Of Isaac Could Hurt Creighton\u2019s Big East Odds<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Creighton has the most impressive non-conference win among the Big East teams with a <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/mens-college-basketball\/game\/_\/gameId\/401706967\/kansas-creighton\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">76-63 win<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> over top-ranked Kansas. <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/pop-isaacs-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pop Isaacs<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> led the way with 27 points. It was the final game of the season for the Texas Tech transfer as he will <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.cbssports.com\/college-basketball\/news\/creighton-loses-second-leading-scorer-pop-isaacs-to-hip-issue-texas-tech-transfer-will-take-medical-redshirt\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">miss the rest of the season<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with a hip injury.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/10\/27\/creighton-big-man-eager-to-save-his-best-for-last\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Big East Preseason Player of the Year<\/span><\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/ryan-kalkbrenner-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ryan Kalkbrenner<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> leads the Bluejays with averages of 17.4 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/steven-ashworth-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Steven Ashworth<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is putting up 16.3 points and 6.2 assists per game.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Creighton&#8217;s Big East odds have gone from +350 to +400 since the season began. The Bluejays begin Big East play at Georgetown on Wednesday.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Butler\u2019s Odds Going In The Wrong Direction<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Butler Bulldogs are trending in the wrong direction when it comes to the Big East odds. Butler began the season priced at +4000 to win the Big East and now sits at +15000.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Bulldogs returned their top two scorers from last season. <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/jahmyl-telfort-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jahmyl Telfort<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/pierre-brooks-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pierre Brooks<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are both averaging more than 15 points per game. Iowa transfer <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/patrick-mccaffery-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Patrick McCaffery<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> adds 12.9 points per game. However, a lack of scoring depth could be an issue for Butler.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Big East season is about to kick into high gear. St. John&#8217;s and Villanova both won their conference openers on Tuesday. Preseason favorite UConn will face Xavier in one of three Big East games on Wednesday. This is a perfect time to see how the Big East odds have moved since the start of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5287,"featured_media":112982,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,49087,773],"tags":[4447,879,2960,1451,1450,1744],"class_list":["post-112932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-basketball-betting","category-college-basketball","tag-big-east-basketball","tag-butler-bulldogs","tag-creighton-bluejays","tag-marquette-golden-eagles","tag-st-johns-red-storm","tag-uconn-huskies"],"modified_by":"Michael Kovacs, ADMIN","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5287"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112932"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112932\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":113094,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112932\/revisions\/113094"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/112982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}