Big East Tournament 2024: TV Schedule and Early Men's Bracket Predictions
The Big East tournament is shaping up to be the consequential conference tournament for the NCAA men's basketball tournament bubble.
As many as six teams could be fighting to get into the field of 68 when the conference hits New York City on March 13.
The reigning national champion UConn Huskies will be the headliner of the event and they will be the favorite to claim their first Big East tournament title since 2011.
The drama will begin well before the March 16 title game because the Seton Hall Pirates, Providence Friars, Villanova Wildcats, St. John's Red Storm, Xavier Musketeers and Butler Bulldogs could all be involved in de-facto NCAA tournament elimination games.
Big East Tournament Schedule
Wednesday, March 13
No. 8 seed vs. No. 9 seed (4 p.m. ET, FS1)
No. 7 seed vs. No. 10 seed (6:30 p.m. ET, FS1)
No. 6 seed vs. No. 11 seed (9 p.m. ET, FS1)
Thursday, March 14
No. 8 vs. No. 9 winner vs. No. 1 seed (Noon ET, FS1)
No. 5 seed vs. No. 4 seed (2:30 p.m. ET, FS1)
No. 7 vs. No. 10 winner vs. No. 2 seed (7 p.m. ET, FS1)
No. 6 vs. No. 11 winner vs. No. 3 seed (9:30 p.m. ET, FS1)
Friday, March 15
Semifinal No. 1 (5:30 p.m. ET, Fox)
Semifinal No. 2 (8 p.m. ET, FS1)
Saturday, March 16
Championship Game (6:30 p.m. ET, Fox)
Bracket Predictions
1. UConn
2. Marquette
3. Creighton
4. Seton Hall
5. Providence
6. St. John's
7. Villanova
8. Xavier
9. Butler
10. Georgetown
11. DePaul
The top and bottom seeds in the Big East tournament will be easy to figure out.
UConn is two games ahead of the Marquette Golden Eagles with three regular-season games remaining.
The Huskies already own the head-to-head tiebreaker over Marquette and can clinch the No. 1 seed with a Wednesday win in Milwaukee. That could happen sooner if Marquette falls to the Creighton Bluejays on Saturday.
Marquette beat Creighton once and owns a 1.5-game edge on the Bluejays. A win on Saturday would solidify the Golden Eagles as the No. 2 seed. Creighton would likely be the No. 3 seed in that scenario.
The Georgetown Hoyas and DePaul Blue Demons will serve as confidence builders for the No. 6 and No. 7 seeds on the first day of the Big East tournament. Neither team is expected to be in New York past March 13.
Who the two bottom feeders play in the first round will probably be determined on the final day of the regular season.
Villanova, Providence, St. John's and Xavier are separated by one game in the league standings. Butler is right beneath that group at 7-11.
Seton Hall has a two-game buffer to the rest of the pack and should hold on to the No. 4 seed, which comes with the opportunity to play another NCAA tournament contender in the quarterfinals and then UConn.
Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller had Seton Hall and Providence in the field of 68 in his latest bracket projection, while Villanova, Butler, St. John's and Xavier were under consideration.
ESPN's Joe Lunardi listed Seton Hall and Providence on the "Last Four In" line in his Thursday night bracket update. Villanova and St. John's were on the "First Four Out" column. Xavier and Butler have work to do to get to the bubble.
St. John's is the only team with two guaranteed wins left on its slate because it plays Georgetown and DePaul.
Villanova visits Providence and Seton Hall and then hosts Creighton in the toughest remaining path to the Big East tournament. That could drop the Wildcats from their current fifth-place spot in the standings.
Seton Hall and Providence each have to play UConn, Villanova and one of the bottom feeders. A 2-1 record in those three-game stretches would put them each in decent positions going into New York.
The inconsistencies of all the Big East bubble teams makes it difficult to predict who will land where in the tournament bracket, but it also sets up for some dramatic quarterfinal matchups that could determine who makes the field of 68.