Big East Tournament 2017: Round 1 Scores, Quarterfinals Bracket and Schedule

The Big East tournament returns to Madison Square Garden with a number of teams looking to cement their case for the NCAA tournament committee.

Villanova is the defending national champion and the cream of the crop in this conference, but as many as seven teams are fighting for both a trip to March Madness and a high seed once they are in the bracket. While the first day of action features the bottom portion of the conference, these teams are also capable of going dancing if they can just win four games in a row.

In a deep conference like this, fans shouldn't count anything out in the Mecca of Basketball in New York City.

Here is a breakdown of what you need to know from Day 1 of the exciting tournament.

Matchup	Score
No. 8 St. John's def. No. 9 Georgetown	74-73
No. 7 Xavier def. No. 10 DePaul	75-64

Matchup	Time (ET)	TV
No. 1 Villanova vs. No. 8 St. John's	12 p.m.	FS1
No. 4 Marquette vs. No. 5 Seton Hall	2:30 p.m.	FS1
No. 2 Butler vs. No. 7 Xavier	7 p.m.	FS1
No. 3 Providence vs. No. 6 Creighton	9:30 p.m.	FS1

Full bracket available at CBSSports.com.

St. John's 74, Georgetown 73

Georgetown had multiple attempts at the rim to win the game, but a blocked shot and a missed layup helped St. John's survive with a win in its home arena.

There was some drama midway through the second half that featured a scuffle and both coaching staffs on the court yelling at each other. St. John's head coach Chris Mullin and Georgetown assistant Patrick Ewing Jr. were assessed technical fouls, creating a tense atmosphere the rest of the way.

The Red Storm built up a 74-68 lead with three minutes left, and while they couldn't get another point, the defense was enough to pull off the victory.

Malik Ellison filled up the stat sheet with 11 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three steals for St. John's, while L.J. Peak's 24 points weren't enough to help Georgetown come away with the win.

Xavier 75, DePaul 64

DePaul might be the one team that helps Xavier into the NCAA tournament.

The Musketeers earned a 75-64 win over the last-place team in the Big East, the third victory over the Demons in their last nine games. They are 0-6 against all other teams in that span.

While DePaul provided tough competition through the first half and into the second, Xavier used a 10-1 run to go up 58-44 with 10 minutes remaining. The margin didn't drop below eight the rest of the night.

Trevon Bluiett struggled with his shot while finishing 5-of-17, including 1-of-8 from three. However, he ended with 17 points, all in the second half, to lead Xavier to the win. The rest of the squad also shot 57.1 percent from the floor.

Tre'Darius McCallum earned his fifth double-double of the year with 12 points and 11 rebounds for DePaul.