Big East Tournament 2015: Final Odds, Predictions Before Day 1

On Wednesday, Mar. 11, the Big East tournament begins at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The best teams in the conference won't take the floor until Thursday, but the action on Day 1 should provide some thrills for hoops fans.

Here's a look at the schedule for the entire tournament. It runs until Saturday, Mar. 14.

Wednesday, March 11 (All times ET)
Thursday, March 12
Friday, Mar 13
Saturday, Mar 14
Matchups	Time	Coverage
No. 9 Marquette vs. No. 8 Seton Hall	7 p.m.	FOX Sports 1
No. 10 Creighton vs. No. 7 DePaul	9:30 p.m.	FOX Sports 1
Matchups	Time	Coverage
No. 1 Villanova vs. Winner No. 8/9	12 p.m.	FOX Sports 1
No. 5 St. John's vs. No. 4 Providence	2:30 p.m.	FOX Sports 1
No. 2 Georgetown vs. Winner No. 7/10	7 p.m.	FOX Sports 1
No. 6 Xavier vs. No. 3 Butler	9:30 p.m.	FOX Sports 1
Matchups	Time	Coverage
Semifinals	7 p.m.	FOX Sports 1
Semifinals	9:30 p.m.	FOX Sports 1
Matchups	Time	Coverage
Tournament Championship	8 p.m.	FOX Sports 1

According to Odds Shark, both of Wednesday's games should be close affairs. The Seton Hall Pirates are slight favorites over the Marquette Golden Eagles, as are the Creighton Bluejays over the DePaul Blue Demons. 

Here's a closer look at Wednesday's games and predictions for both.

Marquette vs. Seton Hall (-1)

Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

Both of these teams are struggling mightily. The Pirates have dropped two games in a row and eight of their last nine. The Golden Eagles aren't playing much better. While they won their last game over the Blue Demons on Mar. 7, the win snapped a six-game losing streak.

The two teams split the regular-season series, which explains why the odds are so close for this matchup. Ultimately this game is going to come down to three-point shooting and rebounding. During the regular season, Seton Hall was the better team in both areas.

Led by Sterling Gibbs, Seton Hall should push past Marquette into a meeting with the top-seeded Villanova Wildcats on Thursday.

That should be an interesting game, considering the last time the two teams met things got chippy. Gibbs elbowed the Wildcats' Ryan Arcidiacono while going for a loose ball. 

After the incident, Seton Hall head coach Kevin Willard made this statement, per Nicole Auerbach of USA Today:

"This was out of Sterling's character, and I believe this incident does not define the type of person he is or will become. Sterling will learn and grow from this unfortunate event."

Afterward, Gibbs seemed legitimately bothered and apologized to Arcidiacono. The apology was accepted and the two will likely move on. That's what ballers do.

Gibbs paid the cost for his infraction with a two-game suspension. Since returning, he's played well. He's scored 16.5 points per game and has shot 7-of-14 from three-point range. Hopefully he can continue to make basketball plays and leave the dirty stuff off the court.

Creighton (-2.5) vs. DePaul

Laurence Kesterson/Associated Press

Just like the early matchup, these two teams are limping into the conference tournament. Perennial Big East doormat DePaul is the worst off, having lost seven in a row and 10 of its last 11. 

Compared to DePaul, Creighton looks almost like the 1972-73 Los Angeles Lakers. The Bluejays have only lost three in a row and their most recent victory came over DePaul on the road. The Blue Demons did defeat Creighton earlier in the season, but when it comes to predicting contests in postseason tournaments, recency is important.

The Bluejays battered DePaul on the inside in the teams' most recent matchup on Feb. 24. Creighton won the rebounding battle 38-22 and shot 28 free throws, compared to just 12 for DePaul. Creighton guard James Milliken spearheaded his team's effort. He scored 18 points and had four rebounds.

You can bet Creighton will look to punish DePaul on the inside again in this one. That approach and DePaul's depleted confidence should be enough to give Creighton the win and a Thursday date with the No. 2-seeded Georgetown Hoyas.

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