Leading into the 2023 Big East Tournament, the No. 6 Marquette Golden Eagles possess the best odds to win the Big East Championship. Of course, the winner will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Golden Eagles are 24-6 overall and 16-3 against Big East opponents this season under head coach Shake Smart.
To conclude the regular-season schedule, Marquette plays St. John’s this Saturday, March 4. In the 2021-22 season, the No. 5 Golden Eagles finished 19-13, 11-8 in the Big East. They went on to lose in the quarterfinals against Creighton. Skim through the BetOnline odds below for this year’s championship.
2023 Big East Tournament Odds — Marquette is the betting favorite
Moreover, the top five teams will receive first-round byes for the Big East Tournament. Marquette is projected to play against either Butler or St John’s for the quarterfinals at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The quarterfinals will air live via FS1 on Thursday, March 9 at 12 p.m. ET.
Marquette is 15-2 in its past 17 matchups versus Big East opponents. After defeating Butler 72-56 on Tuesday night, the Golden Eagles are now 9-1 in their last 10 games. More importantly, the team is 20-1 this season as a selected favorite.
Additionally, BetOnline oddsmakers are giving Creighton (+375), Xavier (+450), and Providence (+600) the next-best odds to win the conference title. While Marquette is 15-1 at home this season, the team’s only 8-4 on the road. If the Golden Eagles can play as well at a neutral site as they have at home, the Big East Tournament is theirs to lose.
Big East Championship is Saturday, March 11 at 6:30 p.m. ET
Sophomore guard Kam Jones leads the Golden Eagles in scoring this season, averaging 15 points per contest. Second-year forward Oso Ighodaro is notching 11.9 points and a team-high 5.9 rebounds per game as well.
Not to mention, sophomore guard Tyler Kolek is the assists (7.9) and steals (1.7) leader. It should go without saying that Kolek is a top candidate to win Big East Player of the Year.
In No. 6 Marquette’s 72-56 victory over Butler on Tuesday, Kolek finished with 21 points and 10 assists. The 6-foot-3 guard from Cumberland, Rhode Island, has averaged 18.2 points over the last nine games. This was the Golden Eagles’ fifth straight win.
“To me, he’s the MVP of the Big East. He makes that team go,” Butler coach Thad Matta said of Kolek. “He’s such an intelligent basketball player. He’s got a great pulse on that team. It looks like they really feed off him, and he embraces that leadership.”
Can Marquette win the Big East Tournament? For those wondering, the Golden Eagles have not been named conference tournament champions since 1997. The first round begins Wednesday, March 8. On Opening Day, Seton Hall will face off against DePaul at 5:30 p.m. ET on FS1. Villanova will then play Georgetown at 8 p.m. ET.
