Big East Tournament 2015: Bracket, Schedule and Championship Odds

The 2015 Big East tournament has the potential to become an instant classic.

Led by the 29-2 Villanova Wildcats, the conference boasts seven teams with overall winning records, and while the other three are sub-.500 squads, they certainly aren't pushovers. Considering the Big East is only a couple years removed from a major overhaul, that's not too shabby.

Not only is a conference title at stake here, but Villanova is vying for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, and the likes of Providence, Georgetown, Butler, St. John's and Xavier will be aiming to improve their positions before the Big Dance commences. Although, they must all go through each other.

Before the Big East's postseason showdown gets underway, here's a look at the tournament bracket, full schedule, projected odds and predicted winner.

Bracket

Schedule

Game	Time (ET)	Date	Matchup	Television
1	7:00 p.m.	March 11	No. 8 Seton Hall vs. No. 9 Marquette	Fox Sports 1
2	9:30 p.m.	March 11	No. 7 DePaul vs. No. 10 Creighton	Fox Sports 1
3	12:00 p.m.	March 12	No. 1 Villanova vs. Winner of Game 1	Fox Sports 1
4	2:30 p.m.	March 12	No. 4 Providence vs. No. 5 St. John's	Fox Sports 1
5	7:00 p.m.	March 12	No. 2 Georgetown vs. Winner of Game 2	Fox Sports 1
6	9:30 p.m.	March 12	No. 3 Butler vs. No. 6 Xavier	Fox Sports 1
7	7:00 p.m.	March 13	Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4	Fox Sports 1
8	9:30 p.m.	March 13	Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6	Fox Sports 1
9	8:30 p.m.	March 14	Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 8	Fox Sports 1

Full tournament schedule courtesy of BigEast.com.

Projected Odds

Team	Odds
Villanova	2-1
Georgetown	4-1
Butler	5-1
Providence	10-1
St. John's	15-1
Xavier	20-1
Seton Hall	25-1
DePaul	50-1
Marquette	100-1
Creighton	100-1

Prediction

Nate Shron/Getty Images

This tournament revolves around Villanova. The Wildcats are currently riding an impressive 12-game winning streak and have only dropped two contests this season. They finished the regular season with a flourish, dropping 105 points on St. John's in a blowout victory.

After the drubbing, coach Jay Wright expressed his confidence in his squad during a press conference with The Associated Press, via ESPN.com: "I think we're playing as well as anybody in the country. I think we can beat anybody in the country."

That's a bold statement, but it just may be true.

Villanova is a well-rounded team on both ends of the court, ranking 21st in the nation in scoring offense, 13th in assists, 54th in points allowed and 35th in steals. One of the biggest reasons for the team's success is its experience and chemistry, as guard Josh Hart is the lone starter who isn't a junior or senior.

Still, the Wildcats aren't unbeatable, and their two losses this season came from teams within the Big East—Seton Hall and Georgetown.

The Pirates were rolling in the early portion of the season and upset Villanova in overtime thanks to a solid 20-point effort from Sterling Gibbs. Unfortunately, Seton Hall wasn't able to keep its strong start going, as youth and inexperience began to show. The next time the Pirates faced the Wildcats, they were crushed by a 26-point margin.

Mel Evans/Associated Press

Georgetown bested Villanova by 20 points back in January, as the Hoyas received good performances from both their starting five and bench players. Although, the Wildcats did play one of their sloppiest games of the season, shooting a mere 34.1 percent from the floor as a team and looking lost on defense. When these teams faced off in a rematch, it was a completely different story.

Just four games later, the Wildcats avenged their loss, defeating Georgetown 69-53 after bucketing shots from all over the floor and holding the Hoyas to just 30.0 percent from the floor and 1-of-17 from downtown. Still, Georgetown did rebound nicely, winning five of its last six games, and it could be a factor in the Big East tournament if it gets hot.

While Butler and Providence certainly have what it takes to make noise in the postseason, the dark horse to watch here is Xavier. The Musketeers are capable of lighting up the scoreboard in the blink of an eye and have put up strong showings this season against the conference's better teams. If Xavier can build some early momentum, it may bust some brackets.

Each aforementioned team has a legitimate chance of winning the conference tournament outright; however, it's simply too difficult to bet against Villanova at this juncture. They are playing just as well as anyone in the country right now and may not lose again this season.

Tournament pick: Villanova