Sports

Big East is Syracuse’s to lose

Picking the Big East Conference Tournament champion has never been easy, what with 16 teams, a history of players (see: Gerry McNamara and Kemba Walker) who pop out like a butterfly bursting from its cocoon and the fact that the way a team finished play in the regular season has no bearing on how it will play in March.

Having said that, Syracuse, the No. 1 seed, seems too good to bet against, even if the Orange have become disgustingly ubiquitous.

The Orange have blown millions of dollars on that “Syracuse is New York’s College Team.” It seems as if every cab in the city that doesn’t have a strip joint advertisement has a Syracuse one.

Lord knows the Garden will have so much Orange in it you’d think there’s a Tropicana convention in town. The truth is no college team owns this town, which is what makes the Big Apple the best place to hold this five-day college basketball orgy.

And the truth is the Orange did have a season for the ages: 30-1, undefeated at home, so much depth coach Jim Boeheim can split the squad, play 10 games of 5-on-5 and each side would win five times.

So we’re picking the Orange, even though Boeheim hates the double-bye format. What did he call it, stupid? Yes, stupid.

Oh, there are some sexy subplots, though. For the second straight year Connecticut comes in as the No. 9 seed and opens against DePaul, the No. 16 seed. Remember how that turned out last time. Eleven games, 11 wins, one Big East Tournament title, one NCAA Title — one shining month for the Huskies.

We like the Orange, setting up another juicy subplot. Syracuse won the 2003 NCAA title followed by Connecticut in 2004. Last year the Huskies won for a third time. Maybe Syracuse will follow UConn’s lead. Tournament on!

The Post handicaps the field.

FAVORITES

Syracuse (30-1). Coach: Jim Boeheim (886-302). Star: SF Kris Joseph. Opponent: TBD, double bye. POSTscript: Orange can get beat on the boards but they’re deeper than a nuclear sub. Odds: 2-to-1.

Marquette (25-6). Coach: Buzz Williams (94-42). Star: F Jae Crowder. Opponent: TBD, double bye. POSTscript: Golden Eagles create more mismatches than eHarmony. Odds: 5-to-1.

Cincinnati (22-9). Coach: Mick Cronin (105-81). Star: None. Opponent: TBD, double bye. POSTscript: Bearcats are more physical than an NFL defense coached by Gregg Williams. Odds: 10-to-1.

Georgetown (22-7). Coach: John Thompson III (182-80). Star: SG Hollis Thompson. Opponent: Winner of Pitt-St. John’s. POSTscript. More patient than a Buddhist monk. Odds: 25-to-1.

South Florida (19-12). Coach: Stan Heath (70-89). Star: PF Gus Gilchrist. Opponent: Winner of Villanova-Rutgers. POSTscript: Bulls grind more than a Meatpacking District butcher. Odds: 99-to-1.

FIELD

Louisville (22-9). Coach: Rick Pitino (263-104). Star: SF Kyle Kuric. Opponent: Winner of Providence-Seton Hall. POSTscript: 3-ball, corner pocket. Odds: 100-to-1.

Connecticut (18-12). Coach: Jim Calhoun (625-243). Star: SG Jeremy Lamb. Opponent: DePaul, won 80-54. POSTscript: Huskies petitioning NCAA to borrow Kemba Walker’s will to win. Odds: 125-to-1.

Notre Dame (21-10). Coach: Mike Brey (258-129). Star: PF Jack Cooley. Opponent, TBD, double bye. POSTscript: We now turn our attention to QB Gunner Kiel and ND football. Odds: 135-to-1.

West Virginia (19-12). Coach: Bob Huggins (118-47). Star: PF Kevin Jones. Opponent: Winner of DePaul-UConn. POSTscript: Thanks for the league trophy; we’ll pack it for the trip to the Big 12. Odds: 150-to-1.

Pittsburgh (16-15). Coach: Jamie Dixon. (232-75). Star: SG Ashton Gibbs. Opponent: St. John’s, won 89-69. POSTscript: Can pink Panthers return to form as black Panthers and claw, claw, claw? Odds: 200-to-1.

LONGSHOTS

St. John’s (13-18). Coach: Steve Lavin (34-30)/Mike Dunlap. Star: F Moe Harkless. Opponent: Pitt, lost 89-69. POSTscript: Quiet, don’t wake the kids; they think they can win it all on their home court. Odds: 300-to-1.

Seton Hall (19-11). Coach: Kevin Willard (32-28). Star: PG Jordan Theodore. Opponent: Providence, won 66-57. POSTscript: Doctors say sufferers of PTSD are unpredictably vulnerable. Odds: 350-to-1.

Villanova (12-18). Coach: Jay Wright (232-119). Star: PG Maalik Wayns. Opponent: Rutgers, won 77-71. POSTscript: More Mildcats than Wildcats this year: Beware of 2012-13 Cats. Odds: 500-to-1.

Rutgers (14-17). Coach: Mike Rice (29-34). Star: SG Eli Carter. Opponent: Villanova, lost 77-71. POSTscript: Over/under on coach Rice’s jacket coming off is 26 seconds; take the under. Odds: 1,000-to-1.

Providence (15-16). Coach: Ed Cooley (15-16). Star: PG Vincent Council. Opponent: Seton Hall, lost 66-57. POSTscript: Best bet for first-round upset after Hall’s 28-point loss at DePaul. Odds: Off the board.

DePaul (12-18). Coach: Oliver Purnell (19-42). Star: F Cleveland Melvin. Opponent: Connecticut, lost 80-54. POSTscript: The Fat Lady sang and danced after the 86-58 win over Seton Hall. Odds: Off the board.