Big East Tournament 2013: Bracket, Dates, Start Time and TV Schedule

The Big East as we know it is coming to an end. Fortunately, the last full conference tournament should be something to remember.

After this season, the "Catholic 7" group of DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, Seton Hall, St. John's and Villanova will all leave the conference and form a new league, according to Jeff Goodman of CBS Sports.

In addition, Syracuse, Pittsburgh and possibly Notre Dame will join the ACC next season, according to ESPN's Brett McMurphy.

This weekend will be the last chance for fans to see all of these schools in the same place competing for one of the most prestigious trophies in the sport. 

Although Connecticut will not compete because the team is ineligible for the postseason, the rest of the tournament should be great to watch. Here is everything you need to know about the five-day tournament.

Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, N.Y.

When: March 12-16

Watch: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU

Schedule (via BigEast.org)

First Round - Tuesday, March 12

Game No.	Matchup	Time (ET)	TV
1	No. 13 seed vs. No. 12 seed	7 p.m.	ESPNU
2	No. 14 seed vs. No. 11 seed	9 p.m.	ESPNU

Second Round - Wednesday, March 13

Game No.	Matchup	Time (ET)	TV
3	No. 9 seed vs. No. 8 seed	12 p.m.	ESPN
4	Game 1 winner vs. No. 5 seed	2 p.m.	ESPN
5	No. 10 seed vs. No. 7 seed	7 p.m.	ESPN2
6	Game 2 winner vs. No. 6 seed	9 p.m.	ESPN2

Quarterfinals - Thursday, March 14

Game No.	Matchup	Time (ET)	TV
7	Game 3 winner vs. No. 1 seed	12 p.m.	ESPN
8	Game 4 winner vs. No. 4 seed	2 p.m.	ESPN
9	Game 5 winner vs. No. 2 seed	7 p.m.	ESPN
10	Game 6 winner vs. No. 3 seed	9 p.m.	ESPN

Semifinals - Friday, March 15

Game No.	Matchup	Time (ET)	TV
11	Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner	7 p.m.	ESPN
12	Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner	9 p.m.	ESPN

Championship

Game No.	Matchup	Time (ET)	TV
13	Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner	8:30 p.m.	ESPN

Current Standings via ESPN (as of Thursday, March 7)

No.	Team	Conference Record	Overall Record
1	Louisville	13-4	25-5
2	Georgetown	13-4	23-5
3	Marquette	13-4	22-7
4	Notre Dame	11-6	23-7
5	Pittsburgh	11-6	23-7
6	Syracuse	11-6	23-7
7	Villanova	10-8	19-12
8	Connecticut	9-8	19-10
9	Providence	9-8	17-12
10	Cincinnati	8-9	20-10
11	St. John's	8-9	16-13
12	Rutgers	4-13	13-15
13	Seton Hall	3-14	14-16
14	South Florida	3-14	12-17
15	DePaul	2-15	11-19

Teams to Watch

Georgetown

Although Villanova ended Georgetown's 11-game winning streak, there is little reason for the Hoyas to be concerned with the loss.

Otto Porter shot poorly, but that will not happen too often. He is still one of the top all-around players in the country and should get National Player of the Year consideration. 

Still, it would be nice if some other player could step up on offense to help make the offense as strong as the defense. Then again, the defense is consistent enough to believe that the Hoyas can make a run through this tournament and possibly deep into the NCAA tournament.

Louisville

This team was considered one of the best in the nation when the season began. After some struggles in the middle of the season, Louisville is back to that level.

Peyton Siva and Russ Smith make an excellent backcourt that has already experienced winning the Big East title a year ago. This should bring a great deal of confidence to make a run again.

In addition, Gorgui Dieng is one of the best defensive big men in the nation and will be able to stop almost anyone from scoring inside.

Notre Dame is the only team that has been able to beat the Cardinals since the end of January, and the overall balance is certain to make this team tough to knockout.

Villanova

There are certainly better teams in this field than Villanova. However, the Wildcats are going to be a team that is interesting to watch in the postseason.

So far this season, they have shown they can beat Louisville, Syracuse, Marquette and Georgetown. Then again, they have also lost to Seton Hall and Providence in conference, plus Columbia and La Salle out of conference. 

It might be tougher for them to get out of the first round then it is to win the semifinals and championship rounds.

In recent years, the Big East tournament is rarely won by the best teams from the regular season. From Louisville last year to Connecticut in 2011 and Syracuse in 2005 and 2006, there are always surprises at Madison Square Garden.

Villanova could be this year's sleeper team ready to compete for a title.

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