Big East Tournament 2016: Quarterfinals Scores, Semifinals Bracket and Schedule

After Wednesday's opening day saw both lower seeds win, the 2016 Big East tournament moved to the quarterfinals Thursday looking to provide drama as the conference's top four teams took the court at Madison Square Garden for the first time.   

Weird things often happen in the Big East tournament. The conference's No. 1 seed has only won twice since 2010, though Villanova did hold serve last year and owns the top seed this year after posting a 16-2 record in Big East play during the regular season.

Given the Big East's history of chaos, an upset or two in the quarterfinals would not surprise anyone. Here's how things played out for teams in the quarterfinals, as well as how the matchups line up for Friday's semifinals.

Tournament Schedule

Game	Matchup	Result/Start Time (ET)
Game	Matchup	Start Time (ET)
3	No. 1 Villanova vs. No. 8 Georgetown	Villanova, 81-67
4	No. 4 Providence vs. No. 5 Butler	Providence, 74-60
5	No. 2 Xavier vs. No. 7 Marquette	Xavier, 90-72
6	No. 3 Seton Hall vs. No. 6 Creighton	Seton Hall, 81-73
7	No. 1 Villanova vs. No. 4 Providence	6:30 p.m.
8	No. 2 Xavier vs. No. 3 Seton Hall	9 p.m.

Big East Semifinals Bracket

Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Championship
No. 1 Villanova 81
No. 8 Georgetown 67
	No. 1 Villanova
	No. 4 Providence
No. 4 Providence 74		TBD
No. 5 Butler 60

No. 2 Xavier
No. 7 Marquette		TBD
	No. 2 Xavier
	No. 3 Seton Hall
No. 3 Seton Hall
No. 6 Creighton

Providence def. Butler, 74-60

Providence advanced to the Big East tournament semifinals for the third straight season, defeating Butler 74-60 thanks to a record-setting effort from Ben Bentil. 

Bentil, who led the Friars in scoring during the regular season with 21.2 points per game, scored 38 points against the Bulldogs. Per ESPN's Jeff Borzello, the star sophomore tied the second-best scoring output in a Big East tournament game, trailing only Donyell Marshall's 42 points for Connecticut in 1994. 

The Bulldogs had no answer for Bentil, who made more than half of Providence's field goals (16 out of 31) and three-pointers (five out of nine) in the victory. 

After the win, Providence head coach Ed Cooley said on Fox Sports 1 (h/t Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv) the goal was to get the ball in Bentil's hands every offensive possession:

Considering how dominant Bentil was, Providence had no need for anyone else to stand out. Kris Dunn certainly wasn't contained, as the two-time Big East Player of the Year had 15 points and seven assists in the win. 

Butler struggled to execute on offense, shooting just 36.2 percent overall. The Bulldogs were much better from beyond the arc, going 10-of-21, but poor shooting from the inside with just nine free throw attempts made it difficult to mount a comeback. 

Despite the loss, Butler doesn't have anything to worry about on selection Sunday. ESPN's Joe Lunardi had the Bulldogs as an eight seed in his latest projection, comfortably in the field with a 21-10 record. 

Providence gets the matchup it wants. The Friars split the regular-season series against Villanova, with both teams winning on the road. Bentil and Dunn were the difference in the Friars' win over the Wildcats, combining for 44 points, 18 rebounds and Dunn had 14 assists. 

If that duo can duplicate those numbers on Friday, Providence will be playing for its second Big East tournament title in three years. 

Villanova def. Georgetown, 81-67

Matt Slocum/Associated Press

Villanova's quest for a second straight Big East tournament title got off to an excellent start, as the Wildcats defeated Georgetown, 81-67. 

The Hoyas were able to keep things close for most of the game, even taking a 40-39 lead less than six minutes into the second half. It was all Wildcats after that point, as they went on a 33-20 run over the final 10 minutes for a comfortable victory. 

Josh Hart led Villanova's offense. The junior finished with 25 points, four rebounds and three assists in the win. He also provided one of the key buckets during the Wildcats' second-half surge, via FS1:

Hart had plenty of help from his teammates, with Ryan Arcidiacono having his best scoring day since January 24 with 19 points, going 5-of-7 from three-point range. 

SB Nation's Rodger Sherman also pointed out that Arcidiacono was all over the court, sacrificing his body for the Wildcats' good:

Georgetown had no offensive rhythm, shooting 38.8 percent overall and making just seven of its 12 free-throw attempts. L.J. Peak did all he could for the Hoyas, dropping 18 points off the bench.

Bradley Hayes was the only other player to score in double figures for Georgetown in the defeat, scoring 13 points in his second game back following hand surgery in February. 

With a 15-18 record, Georgetown's loss ends a disappointing season. This will mark the second time in three years the Hoyas won't make the NCAA tournament. Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv pointed out how frustrating this season has been for John Thompson III's bunch:

Villanova continues its dominance over the Big East, though it will be paying close attention the Providence-Butler game. The Friars were one of only two teams in the conference to knock off the Wildcats this season. 

Even though Jay Wright's team did get revenge for that loss in February, Villanova knows it cannot afford to underestimate any opponent on this stage, especially with a possible No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament on the line. 

Xavier def. Marquette, 90-72

No. 5 Xavier raced out to an 11-2 lead over Marquette, pushed the lead to 16 at halftime and never looked back in the convincing victory.

Trevon Bluiett had a game-high 24 points to lead five Xavier players in double-figures. Edmond Sumner had 10 points, seven assists and four rebounds while James Farr and J.P. Macura each scored 12 points off the bench.

While the offense was impressive, Xavier coach Chris Mack liked what he saw from his team's defense, per ESPN.com.

"

I thought our team was a little different than we've been the last couple of weeks defensively, and we've been making a big point of it in practice. The message seemed to be heeded. I thought our guys from the very beginning of the game played really hard defensively. ... I was really, really pleased with how hard we defended in the first half.

"

Marquette hit just 38.1 percent of its shot from the field and struggled mightily from three-point range, connecting on just three of 18 attempts. Big East freshman of the year Henry Ellenson was in foul trouble all night after picking up his second just three minutes into the game. He was held to 14 points and three rebounds after coming in averaging 17.1 and 9.9.

Xavier was playing its first game of the tournament and was well rested, while the Golden Eagles were playing their second game following a late first-round contest.

Marquette head coach Steve Wojociechowski said that might have played a factor in the outcome, per ESPN.com.

"

I don't want to make excuses. We did finish after midnight last night. Our best player was in foul trouble for a lot (of the game). We could have done a better job than we did.

I didn't feel like we played as hard as we could and that's the most disappointing thing to me in regards to our team because I feel we could have made it harder on them.

"

He also gave props to his opponent, per Zagoria:

Even Bluiett, who tied his career high for points in a game, was proud of how his team played defense, per ESPN.com.

"We know the way we've been defending those past three games, those won't win us any championships," Bluiett said. "So we realized that and we know that every game we come out we have to play our best."

While Marquette is most likely heading to the NIT, the Musketeers want to keep winning to help their NCAA tournament seed. Lunardi had Xavier pegged as a No. 2 seed in the Midwest prior to the game. If they can win two more, which could include a victory over potential No. 1 seed Villanova, it's possible the 27-4 Musketeers will slide onto the top seed line.

For now, Bluiett and Co. are just focusing on the next goal of winning on Friday, per ESPN.com.

"It's satisfying. But it really doesn't mean anything now," he said. "Just because we've got another game in 24 hours. So I mean to be able to get this win, it's great. We're turning the page to the next game."

Seton Hall def. Creighton, 81-73

Khadeen Carrington had 27 points and Isaiah Whitehead scored 24 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead third-seeded Seton Hall to a victory over sixth-seeded Creighton.

The Pirates carried a nine-point lead into halftime, but the Blue Jays trailed by just two with a little more than two minutes left in the game. Seton Hall's Derrick Gordon then hit one of the bigger shots on the night, a three-pointer in the corner that pushed the lead to 71-66, per FS1:

Gordon is shooting just 24.4 percent from behind the arc, but Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard might not mind him shooting from there from now on, per Chris McManus of SHUHoops.com.

"I think he's three for his last three. We might throw a party for him when we get back to the hotel," Willard said.

Creighton's Cole Huff had a career-high 35 points and nine rebounds, but it wasn't enough to take down the NCAA tournament-bound Pirates. It was the fifth loss in six games for the Blue Jays. It will be the second consecutive season they miss the NCAA tournament after three straight appearances previous to that.

Seton Hall looks to keep piling up the victories to help its NCAA tournament seed. The 23 wins are the most for the Pirates since the 1992-93 season. Lunardi rewarded the Pirates with a projected seventh seed prior to the victory, and that could improve with another win or two in the Big East tournament.

Sam Vecenie of CBS Sports credited Whitehead, who has averaged 26.2 points per game over his last five, with the Pirates' resurgence:

Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com said Pirates fans should appreciate this season, the first that will include the NCAA tournament since 2005-06:

Seton Hall will face No. 2 Xavier on Friday in the semifinals in its quest to earn an automatic bid to the Big Dance.