Big East Tournament Predictions, Betting Odds & Favorites to Win 2025

• UConn became the first team to win back-to-back National Championships since Florida in 2006 and 2007. 

• UConn, Creighton, and Marquette will be among the favorites to win the 2025 Big East Tournament.

• The Big East has won seven of the past 13 National Championships, solidifying its status as one of the premier conferences in America.

As alluded to above, the Big East has dominated college basketball in the past 13 seasons (not including COVID year, when March Madness was canceled), with seven of those national champions representing the conference.

Most recently, the UConn Huskies have been the last team standing, winning back-to-back National Championships in 2023 and 2024. While UConn is losing a lot of talent, it will still return plenty of contributors and bring in a boatload of win-now players.

Additionally, the Marquette Golden Eagles and Creighton Bluejays will still have top-tier teams and will be competitive in the Big East. But which of these teams will bring home the Big East Tournament title in 2025? 

Look below at our list of favorites heading into the 2024-25 regular season. While there are not any odds out for the Big East Tournament yet, we will still speculate on which teams could go all the way!

Big East Tournament Odds

The Big East Tournament odds have not dropped yet. Once the odds are made available, we will post them here.

Favorites to Win the 2025 Big East Tournament

UConn Huskies 

Head coach Dan Hurley and the UConn Huskies have found the winning recipe, easily winning back-to-back National Championships. That is not nearly an exaggeration, either. The Huskies have won their past 12 NCAA Tournament games by double-digits, not allowing opponents a remote chance of staying within striking distance. 

Further, they beat every team in last season’s tournament by at least 15 points. Never has a team been more dominant in a tournament setting for two years.

UConn finished the 2023-24 campaign ranked first in KenPom’s adjusted offensive efficiency metric, boasting the highest score in that category since the 2017-18 Villanova Wildcats, a team that featured Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo, Eric Paschall, Mikal Bridges, Omari Spellman, Collin Gillespie, and Phil Booth. The Wildcats had seven players on that team log NBA minutes.

Unsurprisingly, the Huskies are losing their entire starting lineup, including Donovan Clingan (NBA Draft), Cam Spencer (eligibility, NBA Draft), Stephon Castle (NBA Draft), Tristen Newton (eligibility, NBA Draft), and, most likely, Alex Karaban (testing NBA Draft waters). While Karaban could return if significant NBA interest is still one year away, the Huskies will have a complete overhaul.

But that has not stopped Hurley before. After the Huskies’ championship in 2023, they lost Adama Sanogo, Andre Jackson Jr., and Jordan Hawkins to the NBA. This change will be more significant, but Hurley has brought in two colossal transfer portal additions in Saint Mary’s star Aidan Mahaney and Michigan big man Tarris Reed.

Reed and Mahaney join returners Samson Johnson, Hassan Diarra, Solomon Ball, Jaylin Stewart, and five-star freshman Liam McNeeley. 

The roster construction of this new-look Huskies team is very similar to that of their past two championship squads. Mahaney is a highly talented guard from a program (Saint Mary’s) that prioritizes defense. 

Does that sound familiar? 

Before the start of last season, Cam Spencer transferred from Rutgers, a team that was one of the best defensive units nationally. While Spencer had more experience and shot at a higher percentage before transferring, Mahaney should be a beneficiary of the UConn bump; Spencer’s field goal percentage leaped four percent year over year.

McNeeley just wrapped up his senior season in high school and shot the absolute lights out of the ball from 3-point land. He also displayed competence as a movement shooter so he could fit into a similar role as Jordan Hawkins had during the 2022-23 campaign. Regardless, he will fit flawlessly into Hurley’s half-court sets.

Rim protection will be the only potential area of concern for this Huskies team entering the 2024-25 season. The Huskies relied heavily on Donovan Clingan’s rim protection to deter teams from taking shots in the paint; they will likely be without a player who can bring that presence this year.

Still, this team has plenty of talent and championship DNA. They will be a frontrunner in winning the Big East Conference Tournament.

Bet on UConn Huskies at FanDuel

Creighton Bluejays 

Creighton never has to worry too much about depth. As long as the top end of its roster is filled with talent and fits head coach Greg McDermott’s style of play, the Bluejays will always be in conference (and national) tournament contention.

Once again, the Bluejays will have plenty of talent, with senior center Ryan Kalkbrenner’s return headlining their projected starting lineup. Kalkbrenner will be one of the nation’s best big men, along with Hunter Dickinson; he finished last season with 17.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 3.1 blocks per game on just shy of 65% shooting from the field. 

Steven Ashworth and Mason Miller will join Kalkbrenner in returning to the team next season. During his sophomore campaign, Miller led the Big East in 3-point shooting percentage, knocking down 45.4% of his attempts from deep. Mason, the son of former NBA player Mike Miller, is a 6-foot-9 stretch forward who will undoubtedly be leaned on to provide more minutes and scoring this upcoming season.

Additionally, Ashworth is a terrific shooter, although last season’s shooting split does not do his talent justice. After putting together a split of 46/43/88 in his junior season at Utah State, Ashworth took a pretty sizable step back in efficiency this past year. With a year of Big East play under his belt, Ashworth should be much more adjusted to the increase in speed and physicality.

Creighton would be in solid shape with Kalkbrenner, Ashworth, and Miller leading the way, but McDermott hit the transfer portal hard to ensure the Bluejays would again be a Big East contender. In fact, they snagged microwave scoring guard Pop Isaacs (Texas Tech) and Jamiya Neal (Arizona State) to round out their starting lineup and, hopefully, replace Baylor Scheierman and Trey Alexander’s electric scoring ability.

Isaacs averaged just shy of 16 points, four rebounds, and four assists per game, but he was wildly inefficient in his shooting. In a more stable offensive attack at Creighton that has more talent, shooting, and floor spacing, Isaacs should improve his efficiency.

Additionally, Neal posted a double-digit scoring average (11.0 PPG) at Arizona State last season and should be in store for another leap between his junior and senior seasons. At 6-foot-6, Neal has the size and length McDermott covets on the wing. Alongside Mason Miller, the Bluejays will be in great shape at both forward positions.

Losing Scheierman and Alexander does hurt, considering they averaged roughly 36 points, 15 rebounds, and nine assists per game on efficient shooting; however, Creighton will still be a contender on a conference level. Don’t expect the Bluejays to win a National Championship, but they should be competitive in the Big East Conference Tournament.

Bet on Creighton Bluejays at FanDuel

Marquette Golden Eagles

After bringing back nearly everyone from their 2022-23 squad, save first-rounder Olivier Maxence-Prosper, the Marquette Golden Eagles had lofty expectations heading into last season. The Golden Eagles put together a 27-win season but had a rough 6-5 stretch from November 22nd to January 10th, which included losses to Butler, Seton Hall, Purdue, Wisconsin, and Providence. 

From that point until the Big East Conference Tournament championship, they held a 14-4 record. Three of those losses came against UConn, the eventual national champions, and the other went on the road against an uber-efficient Creighton team. None of those qualify as bad losses by any stretch of the imagination.

Unfortunately, the transition from the end of last season to next season will not be as seamless as the previous one. Tyler Kolek and Oso Ighodaro are heading to the NBA, which means two of the team’s top three scorers will be gone. Both players were focal points in head coach Shaka Smart’s high-octane offense. 

Kolek was just shy of a 50/40/90 shooter last season; he also had one of the highest assist-to-turnover ratios of any guard in the nation. Meanwhile, Ighodaro served in a Draymond Green-like role, operating in designated hand-offs and as the roll guy in pick-and-rolls. His ability to penetrate and finish at and around the rim was huge for floor spacing and keeping defenses honest.

Still, Smart and the Golden Eagles have enough talent returning to compete with the other top teams in the Big East. In fact, they have Sean Jones, Kam Jones, Stevie Mitchell, David Joplin, and Ben Gold returning for another season. Those five players equated to close to 50 points per game last year!

Four-star newcomers Damarius Owens and Royce Parham could also help add depth to this Marquette squad. Smart and the rest of the staff feel confident that they don’t need to dig into the transfer portal this year to be competitive, which makes sense. 

They have a handful of players who have winning DNA and share a ton of chemistry. While this team likely won’t be a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament like it has been the past two years, it can compete in the Big East Tournament.

Bet on Golden Eagles at FanDuel

St. John’s Red Storm

As expected, Rick Pitino’s first season at the helm for St John’s had some ups and downs; however, the Red Storm were not too far away from being an NCAA Tournament team and, potentially, making a real run in March. 

They played the UConn Huskies to five points in a tight semifinal game in the Big East Tournament, despite the Huskies bulldozing the Xavier Musketeers in the quarterfinals and the Marquette Golden Eagles in the championship game. UConn even beat every NCAA Tournament team it faced by 15 or more points, including the No. 1 seed Purdue Boilermakers in the title game. 

St. John’s could have folded after Pitino publicly criticized his players in late February, but instead, they rallied, winning six consecutive games before falling to the Huskies in the Big East Tournament. The Red Storm will look slightly different this season, with four big-time players transferring in, including Vincent Iwuchukwu, Aaron Scott, Deivon Smith, and Kadary Richmond.

Iwuchukwu was a former five-star recruit who played his first two seasons at USC. In his sophomore campaign, he averaged just shy of six points and four rebounds per game. At 7-foot-1, Iwuchukwu has the size and length that Pitino would love to have in the paint. 

Scott is a physical small forward with solid positional size and a stat sheet stuffer; he impacts the game in several ways on both ends of the floor, giving Pitino confidence that he can still contribute during poor shooting nights. However, there won’t be many of those, as Scott shot a rock-solid 37% from behind the arc last year.

Pitino also secured his backcourt with Deivon Smith and Kadary Richmond, two highly talented guards who should lead the way for the Johnnies this season. Last season, Smith averaged 13.3 points, 7.1 assists, and 6.3 rebounds while shooting 40.8% from behind the arc. Further, he finished last season with an astonishing five triple-doubles! Pitino recently compared Smith to Terry Rozier, a talented do-it-all scoring guard in the NBA.

The former Seton Hall Pirate, Richmond, was also an exceptional addition to a talented core of players. Standing at 6-foot-6, Richmond has fantastic size at the combo guard position. His rebounding prowess, combined with his size and length, resulted in him averaging seven rebounds per game last season. Further, he posted just shy of 16 points per game on 44.1% shooting from the field while also dishing out 5.1 assists.

I expect the Johnnies to be similar to last season on the offensive end of the floor, when they ranked 19th in adjusted offensive efficiency and 78th in adjusted tempo, per KenPom. However, the most significant changes will be on the defensive end and the glass.

It would not shock me to see the Johnnies finish in the top ten in total rebounding rate and the top 20 in adjusted defensive efficiency. Look for this team to surprise some people in 2024-25!

Bet on Red Storm at FanDuel

My Pick: UConn Huskies

Once March hits, anything can happen. Still, we expect the UConn Huskies to come away with their second consecutive Big East Tournament title and make a legitimate run at a third straight National Championship.

UConn lost a boatload of talent from its impossibly dominant 2023-24 squad, including Tristen Newton, Donovan Clingan, Stephon Castle, Cam Spencer, and (likely) Alex Karaban. However, the Huskies have a few players ready to step into more prominent roles, like Hassan Diarra, Samson Johnson, Jaylin Stewart, and Solomon Ball. 

They could also bridge the talent gap further by hitting the transfer portal hard and bringing in Saint Mary’s star Aidan Mahaney and Michigan’s big man Tarris Reed. Between their returning role players, transfer stars, and five-star freshman forward Liam McNeeley, the Huskies will again be nearly unstoppable.

Bet on UConn Huskies at FanDuel

Who Won the Big East Tournament in 2024?

To no one’s surprise, the UConn Huskies won the Big East Tournament in 2024. The Huskies have won the past two Big East regular season titles but lost during the 2023 Big East Tournament. Marquette ended up winning the conference tournament in 2023. UConn became the first team since the Florida Gators to win back-to-back National Championships, winning every single tournament game in that stretch by double-digits; it was one of the most dominant two-year stretches in the history of college basketball, led by head coach Dan Hurley.

Big East Tournament History

The Big East tournament began in 1980 in the glory days of the Big East. Georgetown clinched the first tournament victory against Syracuse with a score of 87-81. Initially, the Hoyas dominated the conference, securing four out of the first six championships. Their latest title came in 2021, with a decisive victory over Creighton, winning 73-48. Although Villanova has been dominant lately, claiming four wins since 2017, Georgetown still holds the record for the most championships with eight overall.

How to Choose the Best Sportsbook for Betting on the Big East Tournament 

There are a variety of factors that can help you choose the best sportsbook for you. If you are a beginning or passive bettor, you might stick with one sportsbook; however, more advanced bettors will have a ton of sportsbooks to ensure they are getting all of the promotions they can and the best odds available.

To choose a primary sportsbook, look at the table below, which compares BetMGM, Caesars, and FanDuel in multiple categories, including welcome bonuses, payment methods, and withdrawal time.

Still, factors like user interface, navigation difficulty (or ease), ongoing promotions, and more can be reasons why a bettor might choose one sportsbook over another. 

How to Read Big East Tournament Odds

While American odds might seem challenging to understand initially, it is all quite simple. 

If Big East Tournament betting odds have a minus (-) in front of them, then that indicates that you have to bet that number to win $100. For instance, if the UConn Huskies are -120 to win the Big East Tournament, you would have to bet $120 to win $100.

This is inversed when a team is an underdog and has a plus (+) sign in front of their odds. If the Creighton Bluejays have +300 odds to win the Big East Tournament, then you have to bet $100 to win $300.

A minus (-) sign indicates that a team is a favorite or has an implied probability of over 50% of winning. A plus (+) sign indicates that a team is an underdog, or has an implied probability of less than 50%. The higher the number (odds) for an underdog (i.e., +750), the bigger the longshot they are, while the higher the number (odds) for a favorite, the more likely they are to win.