Big East Tournament 2015: Basketball Bracket and Championship Picks

If you haven't been paying attention to the Big East this season, you better tune in for the conference tournament. 

While the former college basketball juggernaut became an afterthought last season, the league is back in a big way this year as one of the deepest in the nation. According to KenPom.com, the Big East ranks behind just the Big 12 in overall efficiency, while ESPN's Joe Lunardi predicts six teams will make the NCAA tournament.

This is certain to create an exciting atmosphere throughout the four days in Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Here is a look at the full schedule and bracket to help you follow the action as well as predictions for the exciting event.

Date	Game	Matchup	Time (ET)
March 11	1	No. 8 Seton Hall vs. No. 9 Marquette	7 p.m.
March 11	2	No. 7 DePaul vs. No. 10 Creighton	9:30 p.m.
March 12	3	No. 1 Villanova vs. Game 1 winner	12 p.m.
March 12	4	No. 4 Providence vs. No. 5 St. John's	2:30 p.m.
March 12	5	No. 2 Georgetown vs. Game 2 winner	7 p.m.
March 12	6	No. 3 Butler vs. No. 6 Xavier	9:30 p.m.
March 13	7	Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner	7 p.m.
March 13	8	Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner	9:30 p.m.
March 14	9	Championship Game	8 p.m.

Bracket

Teams to Watch

Georgetown

Nati Harnik/Associated Press

Not only did Georgetown finish the season in second place in the Big East, it was one of only two teams to beat Villanova this year. This came in a 78-58 blowout in January.

The Hoyas have used a variety of different lineups this year, but one constant has been the play of D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera. The guard has been a star for this team, consistently making big shots and leading the team with 16 points, 3.3 assists and 1.6 steals per game.

Although he missed the regular-season finale against Seton Hall, he is expected to return for the conference tournament, according to Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post.

Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports believes this group can go far in March:

If the frontcourt rotation of Josh Smith, L.J. Peak, Isaac Copeland and others can do its job, the Hoyas can beat anyone in this conference.

St. John's

Nate Shron/Getty Images

Teams like Butler, Providence and Xavier all have a chance to make a run, but a sleeper to watch out for is St. John's. The Red Storm were embarrassed Saturday with a 105-68 loss to Villanova, though the talent on the roster is nothing to overlook.

D'Angelo Harrison was named first-team All-Big East after leading the team with 17.8 points per game, although more were upset about Sir'Dominic Pointer not getting the same recognition:

Between Harrison, Pointer, Rysheed Jordan and Phil Greene IV, there is a lot of scoring ability in this lineup. The defense is also much better when Chris Obekpa and his 3.2 blocks per game are on the floor, unlike Saturday.

This team has had its rough patches this season, but it is certainly a team you do not want to play in March.

Predicted Winner: Villanova

Nati Harnik/Associated Press

The obvious pick is that for a reason. Villanova might not get a ton of respect nationally, but this is clearly one of the top teams in college basketball.

After losing in the first weekend of the NCAA tournament to Connecticut a year ago, the Wildcats are looking to improve upon their performance this year. Head coach Jay Wright discussed his thoughts on how last season ended, via John Feinstein of The Washington Post:

"

It hurt less when they won the national championship. I think we understood that we lost to a really good team that got on an amazing run. That made it a little bit easier to take. I think that’s something like the fifth time [dating from 2005] that we’ve lost to the team that won the championship. I’d just like to turn it around and have teams say they lost to us on the way to the championship.

"

The good news is some of the changes should really make a difference this time around.

Daniel Ochefu is one of the more improved players in the country and has positively impacted the interior defense. Additionally, there is more depth offensively thanks to Ryan Arcidiacono, Dylan Ennis and others stepping up around Darrun Hilliard. 

After 12 wins in a row, Villanova should be able to keep the momentum with a Big East title.

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