Big East Finals Best Bets

The 2023-24 college basketball season is winding down, and we are in thick of conference tournaments. We have loads of great matchups across the country. Below is my favorite bet of Conference Tournament Saturday. 

Big East Championship Game

Marquette vs. UConn 

(UConn -9.5, DraftKings Sportsbook)

We get a treat in the Big East Final at Madison Square Garden, as the two best teams in the conference square off to bring home the silverware. UConn will be looking for revenge against the defending Big East Tournament champion Golden Eagles, who knocked them out of the semifinals last season. Of course, the Huskies got the last laugh by winning the ultimate prize of the NCAA Tournament and cutting down the nets in Houston. I was in attendance Friday for the semifinals and the atmosphere at the Garden was absolutely electric (as it always is). I will certainly be expecting a pro-UConn crowd for this one. The main story in this matchup is the health of Tyler Kolek, who has been out for Marquette with an oblique injury, but there are rumors swirling that Kolek may suit up for this conference championship bout against the defending national champs.

Facing UConn without Kolek at full strength won’t be new for the Golden Eagles, as they gave UConn a pretty competitive game (in a seven-point loss) a few weeks ago in Milwaukee. UConn’s strength this season has been their flawless continuity motion offense that is almost impossible to guard when it’s clicking. The Golden Eagles do have the elite individual defenders and switching capabilities in order to at least slow the Husky attack down a bit behind Stevie Mitchell and Chase Ross. Marquette also punts offensive rebounds in order to get back in transition which is key against the high powered Husky attack. Where the Huskies do have a massive advantage is with their size, especially with 7-footer in the paint Donovan Clingan, yet the big man is a huge foul risk, and it’s hard to imagine UConn consistently feeding him all night. This matchup will come down to the battle of the backcourts and even without Kolek, Marquette’s backcourt is still elite behind sharpshooter and maestro Kam Jones. Tristen Newton facing off against Kam Jones is appointment TV and I do think Shaka Smart can craft up enough tricks defensively to keep this a competitive game. The rumored status of Kolek makes me lean the Golden Eagle side even more.

The Pick

Marquette +9.5