Since Jay Wright took over the reins at Villanova back in 2001, he’s marched competitive teams onto the hardwood. Over the last decade, they’ve been nothing short of dominant! As such, the Big East has been nothing if not Nova’s stomping grounds with it capturing regular season titles seven of the last eight years. As it stands right now, it’s on the precipice of winning a fourth straight even though it sits a half-game in back of the Providence Friars with only three games remaining on the regular season docket. Even so, the folks at SugarHouse Sportsbook currently have them installed the favorite to end up on top of the conference standings when it’s all said and done. The only other teams with a puncher’s chance of taking home the regular season title are UConn and Creighton, but it would take an unbelievable turn of events to occur for either to cash in those lottery ticket pay-offs. Along with Villanova, here’s a look at my underdog and longshot selections to win the Big East’s regular season championship.

Big East Title Odds at SugarHouse Sportsbook

Villanova -230

Providence +120

UConn +15000

Creighton +15000

Marquette OTB

Xavier OTB

Seton Hall OTB

St. John’s OTB

Butler OTB

DePaul OTB

Georgetown OTB

Favorite to Bet: Villanova Wildcats -230

The master class of the Big East, it makes no sense to not have a piece of the Wildcats to win the regular season title and/or conference tournament every passing season so long as Wright remains at the controls. If not already a part of your portfolio, there is no value to be had with the Wildcats now the running favorites regardless of sitting a half–game out with what looks to be a pretty hellacious end of season schedule ahead of them. It’ll likely be the decided chalk to win the Big East tourney as well. Still, they must travel to Storrs to oppose the revenge-minded UConn Huskies on Tuesday and follow that up a week later with a huge home clash against Providence. They already own a pair of wins and covers which serve as the only two times the team produced point spread victories over their last seven games. And then to close it out, they’ll travel to Hinkle to battle what’s been a gritty Butler Bulldogs outfit of late. To make matters even tougher, team anchor Collin Gillespie is battling an ankle injury. Even so, to be the best you have to beat the best and the Wildcats have proven every passing season that they’re the crème de la crème in the Big East. Until someone rises up and steals bragging rights like Xavier did in 2017-18, you have little choice but to side with the current side championed by oddsmakers.

Underdog to Bet: Providence Friars +120

The Friars have been an unbelievable story under Ed Cooley’s watch. One only has to look at how the team just battled back from a 19 point deficit to defeat Butler on the road in overtime this past Sunday. It was one of numerous one possession wins for Providence who currently sits atop the Big East standings with a 22-3 overall record. The three defeats have come against Villanova at home, Marquette on the road, and Virginia on a neutral floor around Thanksgiving. Even so, you can’t help but think the regression monster pays this outfit a visit, and it won’t be of the positive variety. Nothing statistically about this team jumps off the page, but the one thing that can’t be tracked stat wise is the size of this team’s heart. If it was graded on a 10 point scale, it would be a 10 every day of the week and twice on Sunday! Seriously, just look at the output yourself for confirmation. This team ranks No. 42 and No. 66 respectively in offensive and defensive efficiency per the Pomeroy Ratings, doesn’t rank out highly on the glass (No. 128), and doesn’t force turnovers (No. 296). It’s been great at taking fouls and converting at the stripe (No. 10), but is that going to lead it to championship glory? I think not! Even so, the opportunity to win the title is there for the taking with two at home before the finale at Nova. Win all three, and the Friars will be your 2021-22 Big East regular season champs. Keep an eye on the availability of Aljami Durham who was held out of Sunday’s game due to a sports hernia.

Longshot to Bet: UConn Huskies +15000

Of the final two Big East teams with odds attached to them, it’s the Huskies that come in ranked amongst the top-25. While that means absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things, I personally believe UConn has failed to live up to expectations and are only now finally living up to them. It just got done avenging an earlier season loss to Xavier to earn a third straight win, and will get a second crack at Nova on Tuesday night. Should it come out of that matchup in the win column and improve upon its 14-2 overall record as a host, it will at least leave the backdoor open for the Huskies to sneak into and possibly steal the regular season title. It’s got the corpse of the Georgetown Hoyas immediately after and then a big showdown with a young Creighton team it already lost to as double-digit favorites back on February 1. Win that game, and they’ll get DePaul at home with a possible share of the title on the line. Unlike other books, Sugarhouse pays out on all teams that share the regular season title. As such, I’ll lean towards the Huskies over the Bluejays for the long odds dart throw due to how their respective schedules close out the regular season. That being said, it’s highly likely Villanova or Providence ultimately seals the deal.