March Madness is here and it starts with conference tournaments.
That includes the Big East Tournament, which returns to Madison Square Garden, its home since 1983.
2024 Big East Men’s Basketball Tournament schedule
First Round – March 13:
The fun begins Wednesday with the first round.
The top five seeds in the tournament get a bye to the quarterfinals, so Wednesday’s games will feature the bottom half of the conference.
The first game of the day, tipping off at 4 p.m., will be between the eighth-seeded Butler Bulldogs and the ninth-seeded Xavier Musketeers.
Both teams have fallen off the NCAA Tournament bubble and likely would need a deep run to get back into consideration. That won’t be easy with top-seeded UConn, who’s won four straight and 14 of its last 15, awaiting the winner in the quarterfinals.
Following that game, Providence takes on Georgetown. The Friars had a chance to stamp themselves firmly in the NCAA Tournament with a win last Saturday against Saturday, but after a 15-2 run to start the game, Providence fell flat, losing, 74-60.
The Friars and the Hoyas played Tuesday in Washington D.C., with Providence cruising to a 71-58 win. The winner will play the No. 2 seed Creighton.
Other than getting back on the right side of the bubble, the Friars have some added incentive to win.
Their former head coach, Ed Cooley, left Providence after last season to coach Georgetown. Cooley has become public enemy No. 1 in Providence. The Friars would love to go 3-0 against Cooley.
The final game of the first round features Villanova and DePaul.
Villanova is among the first four teams out of the NCAA Tournament, as of Tuesday morning, according to ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi.
A loss against DePaul, a team that went 0-20 in Big East play and 3-28 overall this season, would be a death knell for its tournament hopes.
The winner will play thrird-seeded Marquette, last year’s Big East Tournament winners.
Quarterfinals – March 14:
Only one quarterfinal game is set; the four-five matchup between St. John’s and Seton Hall. Lunardi currently projects Seton Hall as a No. 10 seed and St. John’s among the last four teams in.
Needless to say, it’s a huge game for both teams’ NCAA Tournament hopes.
A win for the Johnnies could secure a bid and propel them out of the First Four play-in games. St. John’s may have to sweat out Selection Sunday with a loss.
The Pirates are better equipped to handle a loss, although there would be some uncertainty, while they should have no concerns about their status if they win.
The first game of the day will be at noon between UConn and the winner of Butler-Xavier. The Huskies went a combined 4-0 against those teams this season.
Creighton will take on the winner of Providence-Georgetown at 7 p.m.
Providence beat the Bluejays in overtime in February, while Georgetown has had no such luck, losing both times to Creighton by 17 and 22, respectively.
For the final game of the day, Marquette will play the winner of Villanova-DePaul.
The Golden Eagles swept both Villanova and DePaul this season and will look to go a combined 5-0 against those teams Thursday night.
Semifinals – March 15:
The semifinals are Friday with the winner of Seton Hall-St. John’s likely getting UConn.
The other matchup will feature the winner of Creighton’s game and Marquette’s game.
The semifinal matchups are slated to begin at 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Final – March 16:
The final will be played on Saturday at 6:30 p.m., and the winner will receive an automatic bid to the 2024 NCAA Tournament
Last year, Marquette beat Xavier, 65-51.
There hasn’t been a repeat champ since 2019 when Villanova finished off a three-peat.
Big East Tournament Bracket:
Here’s the bracket in all its glory.
How to watch:
The Big East Tournament will be broadcast on Fox’s family of networks.
The first-round, all quarterfinal matchups and the second semifinal game will all be on FS1, while the first semifinal game and final will be broadcast on Fox. You can also stream the game on foxsportsgo.com.
Betting odds, predictions:
According to BetMGM, UConn has the best odds to win the tournament at -165.
Creighton and Marquette follow at +325 and +550, respectively.
Georgetown and DePaul are both 250/1 to win the tournament respectively, the lowest odds of any team.
As for predictions, it would be difficult to go against UConn.
The Huskies have been the best team in the conference — maybe even the country. They stumbled twice in conference play, losing to Seton Hall by 15 in December and to Creighton by 19 in February.
Their 18-2 conference record is the best in Big East history; those two losses are the fewest a Big East team has had since Villanova went 16-2 in conference play in 2016.
Betting on College Basketball?
The Wildcats actually lost to Seton Hall in that tournament on a buzzer-beater, but they’d use a buzzer-beater of their own to win the national championship over North Carolina.
Creighton has won seven of their last eight games, including wins over UConn, Marquette and Villanova.
The Bluejays’ win over Marquette secured them the No. 2 seed.