March 11, 2013

2013 Big East Conference Tournament Preview Odds and Pick

This week the college basketball conference tournaments will begin and the Big East will steal the headlines as they play the last tournament before several teams depart for different conferences.

The first round of the event will begin on Tuesday, March 12th and will tip-off in New York City at the famed Madison Square Garden. The second round will take place on March 13th, and the quarterfinals will be on March 14th. This leads up to the Semifinals on March 15th and the championship game on March 16th.

Last year it was the Syracuse Orange (+350) who won the regular season title. They fell short in the conference tournament as the Louisville Cardinals (+140) won and nabbed the automatic bid to the big dance.

This season both the Orange and the Cardinals are favorites to cut down the nets along with the Georgetown Hoyas (+200). The Hoyas hammered the Orange to end the season and look to carry that momentum over in the regular season. Despite these three juggernauts, there are several other teams that can be considered sleepers.

Pittsburgh (+700) and Marquette (+700) have the ability to surprise in this tournament. The Pitt Panthers destroyed Georgetown earlier in the season, giving the Hoyas their worse loss of the season. The Golden Eagles of Marquette were ranked in the Top 20 in the rankings, and although they barely survived a finale at St. John’s they can still make noise in this tournament. However the sleeper of this tournament to keep an eye on is the Villanova Wildcats (+800).

The Wildcats beat Georgetown, Louisville and Syracuse and if not for bad losses against Columbia and Seton Hall, they would also be a favorite. Villanova’s big win over Georgetown may not be enough to get them in the NCAA tournament so they will need to make an impact in the Big East tourney.

Our pick to win the Big East tournament is the Syracuse Orange. After this season the Orange will relocate to the ACC and that will be plenty of motivation to win one last conference tournament.

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Cole Ryan

Cole started off as a part time handicapper and a full time computer programmer. After developing a computer program that consistently provided winners in NFL, NBA, MLB, and college sports Cole went into full time handicapping. The computer program and his knack for winners made him a rising star in the handicapping world. His complex computer program based on algorithms and analytical calculations have led to a 60% ATS rate.