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NCAA Tournament odds: Historical Big East trends

How has your favorite Big East team done against the spread, straight up or in over/under since 2000?

Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports

Courtesy of the folks at OddsShark, we've got our hands on some intriguing information about how the Big East Conference, and its participants, have fared in the #gamblin realm of the world since the turn of the 21st Century.

The Big East, and its peers

It goes without saying that for a better part of this century, the Big East was the standard bearer for college basketball conferences. Its dominance was unheralded, and although it may not have the depth it used to it is, in our (biased) opinion, still a premier hoops conference. The numbers below likely indicate that as well.

Record ATS Record SU Record O/U
Big East Conference 113-120-3 142-94 114-117-5

How do these numbers shake out to much of its peers? Let's take a look.

Record ATS Record SU Record O/U
Atlantic Coast Conference 89-97-4 121-69 82-106-1
Atlantic 10 Conference 47-34-5 40-46 44-39-3
Big East Conference 113-120-3 142-94 114-117-5
Big Ten Conference 116-94-4 132-82 105-107-2
Big 12 Conference 100-99-3 120-82 97-101-4
Mountain West Conference 18-39-2 19-40 32-26
Pac 12 Conference 79-79-2 92-68 84-74-1
Southeastern Conference 90-85-5 107-71 90-84-4
West Coast Conference 20-28 22-26 29-19

The Big East definitely hasn't fared all that well ATS since 2000. Credit goes to the Big Ten who has been vastly superior over their peers ATS, with a W% of 54.2 percent, with the SEC surprisingly putting up a W% of exactly 50.0 percent. The A-10 has a positive 54.7 W% ATS since 2000, but they certainly don't have the sample size that the B1G and SEC have, with just 86 games played in The Big Dance in this time period.

Straight up, the Big East is right there in the thick of it with their 142-94 record. The ACC has fared very well, with a 121-69 record straight up in March Madness play, as have just about all the high major conferences. The Mountain West has, unfortunately, fared the worst in the 21st Century from this perspective with their 19-40 record.

If you want to find the conference that's fared best in the O/U, you'll have to venture out to the west coast. The West Coast and Pac 12 Conferences have combined for a mark of 113-103-4 with the WCC's 60.4 W% leading the way. The Mountain West, too, has done well in this category. Their 32-26 record in the O/U would be second-best amongst these conferences.

The teams

How have the Big East teams, who are in the 2015 NCAA Tournament, done ATS and straight up since 2000? Let's take a look:

Team Record ATS Record SU
Butler Bulldogs 19-7 17-9
Georgetown Hoyas 8-10 10-8
Providence Friars 1-2 0-3
St. John's Red Storm 0-4 1-3
Villanova Wildcats 9-13 13-9
Xavier Musketeers 19-6-2 15-12

How 'bout those Bulldogs and Musketeers? Butler and Xavier have combined for a 38-13-2 record ATS since the turn of the century. If we're to believe trends are to continue, you might be best served throwing money down on the 'Dawgs and Muskies on their respective spreads if you want to be successful.

Straight up? Butler succeeds again. Their 17-9 record blows the rest of the competition out of the water, with the next closest being the Wildcats' 13-9 record. Providence and St. John's have fared all that well in their limited outings, but that, of course, isn't to say that it could change in the upcoming tourney.