Big East Tournament 2025: TV Schedule and Early Men's Bracketology Predictions
The top-heavy Big East shows a clear split between the few haves and the rest of the have-nots.
Will the conference tournament play out the same?
If it does, this conference won't be super represented at the NCAA Tournament. The few elites that play in this league have already secured their spots, but everyone else needs help—if not a tournament title—to make it to the Big Dance.
With the regular season schedule already in the final stretch, let's look ahead by laying out the tournament broadcast schedule and breaking down the NCAA Tournament chances of those still in the chase.
Broadcast Schedule
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Wednesday, March 12 | First round
Game 1: No. 8 seed vs. No. 9 seed at 4 p.m. ET on Peacock
Game 2: No. 7 seed vs. No. 10 seed at 6:30 p.m. ET on Peacock
Game 3: No. 6 seed vs. No. 11 seed at 9 p.m. ET on Peacock
Thursday, March 13 | Quarterfinals
Game 4: Game 1 winner vs. No. 1 seed at noon ET on Peacock
Game 5: No. 4 seed vs. No. 5 seed at 2:30 p.m. ET on Peacock
Game 6: Game 2 winner vs. No. 2 seed at 7 p.m. ET on FS1
Game 7: Game 3 winner vs. No. 3 seed at 9:30 p.m. ET on FS1
Friday, March 14 | Semifinals
Game 8: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner at 6:30 p.m. ET on Fox
Game 9: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner at 9 p.m. ET on Fox
Saturday, March 15 | Championship
Game 10: Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner at 6:30 p.m. ET on Fox
Tournament Locks
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The way ESPN's Neil Paine sees it—or really, how the BPI forecast sees it—there are only three tournament locks in this field.
And it's not the team that won this event last year, then went on to win a national championship and finally came into this campaign as the third-ranked team in the AP's preseason poll.
That team is UConn, which might have a tiny bit of work still to do in order to enjoy a relaxing Selection Sunday. As for the locks, both St. John's and Marquette have 100 percent chances of getting in, per BPI, while Creighton sits just behind at 98 percent.
The Red Storm have already authored one of their best seasons to date (25-4 overall, 16-2 in the conference) during coach Rick Pitino's second year at the helm. The Golden Eagles, the only other ranked team in the Big East, have a chance to put the perfect punctation on an already productive season as they'll close the campaign by hosting St. John's.
Creighton, meanwhile, handed St. John's one of its two losses in the conference and has won 11 of its last 13. It could pad its record down the stretch, too, with Butler and Seton Hall still on the schedule.
Bubble Watch
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The Huskies might be miffed to be considered less than locks. And they might have a point. The BPI forecast gives them a 93 percent chance of getting in, and their body of work feels tournament-quality.
UConn hasn't had the season many imagined it might, but it is 4-2 against ranked opponents and has three wins against clubs who were ranked inside the top 15. The Huskies also have that national championship on their resume, and it's hard to imagine coach Dan Hurley's not having the chance to defend its throne.
Things get a lot trickier for the rest of the teams in this conference, the majority of which would need to win this tournament to get into the big one.
The only ones who might play their way into selections are Xavier and Villanova, but both have more work ahead (and will almost certainly sweat through Selection Sunday if they don't win the conference tourney). The Musketeers would get a nice boost by beating Creighton on Saturday, but they might still need a conference tournament triumph or two to cement their spot. The Wildcats face even longer odds and won't boost themselves ahead of the tournament with only Butler and Georgetown left on the schedule, but Villanova is 4-1 against ranked opponents and has claimed wins over St. John's, Marquette and UConn.
