Big East Conference Tournament Preview and Predictions

TV Schedule

Big East Tournament TV Schedule (ET)

Wednesday, March 12
7 p.m. No. 8 Seton Hall, No. 9 Butler, Fox Sports 1
9:30 p.m. No. 7 Georgetown, No. 10 DePaul, Fox Sports 1

Thursday, March 13
Noon, No. 1 Villanova, Game 1 Winner, Fox Sports 1
2:30 p.m. No. 4 Providence, No. 5 St. John's, Fox Sports 1
7 p.m. No. 2 Creighton, Game 2 Winner, Fox Sports 1
9:30 p.m. No. 3 Xavier, No. 6 Marquette, Fox Sports 1

Friday, March 14
7 p.m. Game 3 Winner, Game 4 Winner, Fox Sports 1
9:30 p.m. Game 5 Winner, Game 6 Winner, Fox Sports 1

Saturday, March 15
8:30 p.m. Game 7 Winner, Game 8 Winner, Fox Sports 1

The Favorite

Creighton

Villanova won the Big East Conference this year, but in two head-to-head meetings with Creighton, the Wildcats lost by a combined 49 points. Creighton has proved that it can beat any team in this conference, especially Villanova. With Doug McDermott leading the way with over 3,000 career points, the Blue Jays have to be considered the favorite, even over regular-season champion Villanova.

The Dark Horse

Georgetown

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The Hoyas come into the tournament as the No. 7 seed out of a 10-team league, but with a tough schedule all season, Georgetown has been incredibly battle-tested. A strong weekend will result in an NCAA tournament berth, but it will be a tough fight to get there. If anyone in this conference can make a run out of the first round though, Georgetown is the team to look for.

The Bubble

Xavier

Xavier is practically playing in a tournament play-in game on Thursday for its quarterfinal showdown against Marquette. If the Musketeers win, they are pretty much in. If they lose, then they really do not deserve a spot in the field.

Providence and St. John's

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Possibly the most interesting game of this tournament could be the showdown between Providence and St. John's on Thursday afternoon in the quarterfinals. The winner is probably dancing, the loser is definitely out of the tournament picture. Regardless of who wins though, a win in the semifinals would make their tournament spot a little more certain.

Georgetown

The Hoyas need to make a run. If they win their opening-round game, they will get a chance for a huge resume builder against Creighton in the quarterfinals. They will need to win at least that game, and maybe even one more, to get a spot in the tournament.

The Champion

Creighton

Creighton has not been the class of the conference all year, but Doug McDermott is on fire right now and is ready to take this team to a Big East title. The Blue Jays have proved that in big games this season they bring their best game, and the tournament this weekend should be no different.