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Big East Tournament Odds, Picks & Predictions: Thursday (3/13)

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After the Big East Tournament got underway with three first round games from teams seeded No. 6 through No. 11 on Wednesday, the conference’s heavyweights join the party on Thursday for a full slate of four quarterfinal matchups.

Madison Square Garden will be buzzing right from the noon tip-off as St. John’s takes its home floor as the top seed. The day comes to a close with another marquee matchup involving the two-time defending national champion UConn.

After going 2-1 with our Big East Tournament picks yesterday, we are back to continue that momentum today.

Keep reading for a detailed breakdown of our Big East Tournament college basketball best bets and top picks for Thursday, March 13th.

Go premium to view top prop bets based on Cover Probability, Expected Value & Star Rating >>

    Thursday's Best Big East Tournament College Basketball Bets

    (Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)

    Butler (+12.5) vs. St. John’s (-12.5) | O/U 145.5 (-115/-105) 

    Many will be quick to back the Red Storm in their own building, but oddsmakers have inflated this line too much, especially since neither regular season meeting with Butler was decided by more than eight points.

    St. John's has covered just one of its last five games with a double-digit spread. Meanwhile, Butler is 2-0 ATS playing on no rest since Thad Matta took over as head coach in 2023, and is 8-7-1 ATS against ranked opponents in his tenure.

    The Red Storm have an advantage over most teams on the glass, but the Bulldogs outrebounded them in each of the regular season meetings.

    Butler also had six players score between eight and 13 points in the last regular season meeting, which means Rick Pitino cannot use elite defenders like Kadary Richmond and RJ Luis to key in on any one or two players.

    Butler committed just six turnovers in its win over Providence yesterday, which bodes well for its chances of staying close with the Red Storm. That is why I'm predicting the Bulldogs to cover for the second day in a row.

    Pick: Butler +12.5 (-112)

    Marquette (-2.5) vs. Xavier (+2.5) | O/U 144.5 (-105/-115) 

    Xavier is playing its best basketball of the season, entering the Big East Tournament on a season-high seven-game winning streak. The Musketeers clearly have more to play for in this matchup, as they sit squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble, while the Golden Eagles are considered a lock at this point.

    Skeptics will point out that only one of Xavier’s seven wins during its winning streak were against a top-seven seed in the league. However, the Musketeers were a thorn in Marquette’s side all season, as the two teams split their regular season meetings, with each team winning by two points.

    I am siding with Xavier because of its top-11 D-I ranking in 3-point and free throw shooting percentages, as well as the fact that it assists at the fifth-highest rate on its made field goals in the country (64.3%). The Musketeers also shot more free throws in both matchups against the Golden Eagles, which means Marquette’s depth which ranks 300th in bench minutes should be tested.

    Pick: Xavier +2.5 (-118)

    DePaul (+11.5) vs. Creighton (-11.5) | O/U 144.5 (-115/-105) 

    DePaul scored just 49 and 65 points in its two regular season losses against Creighton. But the Blue Demons ended the regular season scoring 80-plus points in consecutive games for the first time in conference play, and will look to use their athleticism to upset the Bluejays in a more up-tempo third meeting.
    Creighton has four-time Big East DPOY Ryan Kalkbrenner manning the middle, which means DePaul will likely need to hit perimeter shots consistently in this game.
    DePaul made 10 threes and shot 41.7% from beyond the arc against Providence and bettered that with an 8-for-15 performance against Georgetown to end the regular season. I look for the Blue Demons to shoot it with enough confidence to do their part in scoring, while Creighton once again exposes a DePaul defense that ranked dead-last in league play in adjusted defensive efficiency.

    Pick: Over 144.5 Total Points (-115)

    Villanova (+5.5) vs. UConn (-5.5) | O/U 135.5 (-112/-108) 

    Surprisingly, these two teams split their two regular season meetings, and UConn could have easily been swept by Villanova if the Wildcats did not blow a 14-point lead with 11 minutes to play in Storrs.
    But a lot changed over the course of the two meetings, like UConn standout freshman Liam McNeeley getting healthy for the second meeting after missing the first. As it was, the Huskies still scored 1.12 points per possession in the first matchup despite generating their lowest unguarded catch-and-shoot rate of the season to that point, because of their dominance at the rim.
    UConn should be able to take away what it did to end the second meeting against Villanova on a 27-6 run, and finally prove why there is a big talent gap between these teams, even if the Huskies are not the same squad that won the last two national championships.
    Pick: UConn -5.5 (-115)

    Mike Spector is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeSpector01.

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