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Bovada updated their 2018 NCAA Tournament odds on Thursday. The Big East has quite a few teams who could contend to cut down the nets next spring. However, Vegas doesn’t seem to think too highly of the crop that’s currently on the board.
To no surprise, the Villanova Wildcats are out in front among all Big East teams. Speaking nationally though, ‘Nova has seen a drop from their 14-1 odds they had in April. They maintain their 28-1 mark that they had back on August 22, the last time these odds were updated.
That puts them behind many of the NCAA’s heavyweights, including Duke, Michigan State, Kentucky, Arizona and Kansas. Defending National Champion North Carolina is also ahead of the ‘Cats, standing with 16-1 odds, the same as Kansas and Mizzou (Oh the wonders of having the possible #1 pick on your roster). Wichita State, Louisville, Texas and USC are the others ahead of the ‘Cats as we’re in the middle of October.
28-1 is probably pretty good value for a team that’s probably going to win the Big East again and have another high seed in the tourney again. And one that still has a collection of talent that won the whole dang thing two years ago.
To find the next Big East team, you have to go down the ladder a bit. Butler is currently the second team to be featured, standing with 66-1 odds. This is down from the 50-1 mark they had back on August 22. That’s not too much of a surprise, considering that the ‘Dawgs lost their head coach (though apparently Chris Holtmann’s departure to Columbus hasn’t helped Ohio State’s odds. They’re at 300-1 right now). Though maybe it’s a surprise that they’re the second-highest team from the conference.
The Xavier Musketeers are the next team from the conference to be on the board, standing with 75-1 odds. I’m not much of a betting man myself, but there’s some pretty good value here. Especially when you consider X’s success, the fact that this team went to the Elite Eight last year, and returns much of that group plus a terrific recruiting class.
Seton Hall has 100-1 odds to win it all, as does Creighton. And Georgetown has the same odds (150-1) as Marquette to win it all for... some reason. And the longest shot is Providence at 250-1 for... ... ... some reason.