Big East Tournament 2015: TV Schedule and Early Bracket Predictions

March is finally here, college basketball fans. While the NCAA tournament is weeks away, conference tournaments will be firing up soon.

The Big East tournament isn't what it used to be after losing teams such as Syracuse and Notre Dame, but it is one of the most intriguing brackets in March. No. 4 Villanova seems like the lone lock to make a charge through the field, but upsets are always possible.

Leading up to the 10-team tournament starting next Wednesday, March 11, here's a look at the full TV schedule and seeding predictions.

Big East Tournament Information

First round: Wednesday, March 11

No. 8 seed vs. No. 9 seed: 7 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1

No. 7 seed vs. No. 10 seed: 9:30 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1

Quarterfinals: Thursday, March 12

No. 1 seed vs. No. 8/9 seed: 12 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1

No. 4 seed vs. No. 5 seed: 2:30 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1

No. 2 seed vs. No. 7/10 seed: 7 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1

No. 3 seed vs. No. 6 seed: 9:30 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1

Semifinals: Friday, March 13

Semifinal No. 1: 7 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1

Semifinal No. 2: 9:30 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1

Championship game: Saturday, March 14, 8:30 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1

Seed	Team
1	Villanova
2	Butler
3	Georgetown
4	Providence
5	St. John's
6	Xavier
7	Seton Hall
8	DePaul
9	Creighton
10	Marquette

Preview

Outside of Villanova, who else has a chance of competing for the Big East crown?

Villanova is the lone team from the conference currently inside the Top 20 in the latest Associated Press poll and the only program with more than 25 wins. The Wildcats have been so strong this season that ESPN's Joe Lunardi has them as a No. 1 seed, via ESPN College Basketball:

"

With Gonzaga falling to BYU, Joe Lunardi moves Villanova up to a No. 1 seed. pic.twitter.com/padGMegDMY

— ESPN College BBall (@ESPNCBB) March 1, 2015"

Jay Wright's squad hasn't made it through the Big East unscathed, though.

Villanova was throttled 78-58 by Georgetown earlier in the season when Isaac Copeland came off the bench to score 17 points. That loss was preceded by an overtime win for Seton Hall over the Wildcats thanks to Sterling Gibbs' 20-point performance.

Gibbs was ejected during the February contest against Villanova after striking Ryan Arcidiacono. Following that low moment for the Pirates, Gibbs apologized for the incident on Twitter:

Georgetown and Seton Hall will be looking to pull off upsets over the No. 4 program once again. Several other teams, including St. John's, Providence and Butler, will be hoping to improve their NCAA resumes as well.

The Wildcats swept the Friars and the Bulldogs, but both teams have the talent to shock the field. Who takes over the No. 2 seed behind Nova will be decided by how Butler plays down the stretch.

Playing both the Hoyas and the Friars, the Bulldogs will be battle-tested heading into the conference tournament. If they sweep those teams and make it to the championship game, they might get an opportunity to finally take down the Wildcats.

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