Big East Tournament 2012 Schedule: Bubble Teams That Must Win in 2nd Round

The Big East already has six teams that appear to be NCAA tournament locks. 

Syracuse is guaranteed a No. 1 seed while Marquette and Georgetown should be nothing lower than a No. 5 seed.

Louisville, Notre Dame and Cincinnati will all make the tournament as well. But there are 16 teams in the Big East and at least four more deserve consideration.

All four happen to be in action today and a win in the second round could be the difference between joining the Big Dance, or sitting idly by and watching it happen.

UConn Huskies

Last year the Huskies had to win five games in five days before even considering making a run in the NCAA tournament.

Well, lo and behold, they're in virtually the same spot again only without the talismanic Kemba Walker. A win today will push them firmly off the bubble and into the tournament.

A loss won't eliminate them, but will leave them hanging until Sunday.

West Virginia Mountaineers

The team playing UConn today happens to be West Virginia. Like the Huskies, a win will cement them into the tourney, but a loss won't entirely eliminate them.

Still, wouldn't you rather give the committee one more game to not worry about and possibly even get excited over?

South Florida Bulls

Although the No. 6 seed in the Big East tournament, USF needs to advance to at least day three against Notre Dame.

After Villanova's thrashing of Rutgers in the first round, a loss here to the Wildcats will be devastating to the Bulls' chances. After all, the only way 'Nova goes dancing this year is if they win out.

South Florida cannot let that happen.

Seton Hall Pirates 

Louisville is already going dancing, but the Hall needs one more win to give them enough of an edge for an at-large bid come Sunday. We know the Cardinals, the Pirates' opponent today, are streaky and can either explode or implode, so this second-round matchup is extremely important.

If the Hall loses, they're a complete toss-up for the committee.

Second Round - Wednesday, March 7

12 p.m. ET	No. 9 UConn	vs.	No. 8 West Virginia (G5)	ESPN
2 p.m. ET	No. 13 Pittsburgh	vs.	No. 5 Georgetown (G6)	ESPN
7 p.m. ET	No. 10 Seton Hall	vs.	No. 7 Louisville (G7)	ESPN
9 p.m. ET	No. 14 Villanova	vs.	No. 6 USF (G8)	ESPN

Games streamed live on ESPN 3.

Quarterfinals - Thursday, March 8

12 p.m. ET	G5 Winner	vs	No. 1 Syracuse (G9)	ESPN
2 p.m. ET	G6 Winner	vs	No. 4 Cincinnati (G10)	ESPN
7 p.m. ET	G7 Winner	vs	No. 2 Marquette (G11)	ESPN
9 p.m. ET	G8 Winner	vs	No. 3 Notre Dame (G12)	ESPN