Big East Tournament 2019: Quarterfinals Scores, Semifinals Bracket and Schedule

The Big East men's basketball tournament quarterfinals present a chance for the top teams in the conference to finally get their postseason started.

Villanova, Marquette and others entered the day looking to build off their strong regular seasons while improving their NCAA tournament profile. However, every team went to Madison Square Garden in New York with a chance to bring home a conference championship and won't go away without a fight.

Crazy things seem to happen every year at the Big East tournament, which always makes it a must-watch event.

Follow along for the latest from Thursday's action.

Thursday's Schedule/Results

No. 1 Villanova def. No. 8 Providence 73-62

No. 4 Xavier def. No. 5 Creighton 63-61

No. 2 Marquette def. No. 7 St. John's 86-54

No. 3 Seton Hall def. No. 6 Georgetown 73-57

Semifinal Schedule

No. 1 Villanova vs. No. 4 Xavier; 6:30 p.m. ET (FS1)

No. 2 Marquette vs. No. 3 Seton Hall; 9 p.m. ET (FS1)

Updated bracket available at NCAA.com.

Villanova 73, Providence 62

Villanova faced plenty of resistance in the first quarterfinal, but the defending champions kept its dream of another conference title alive with a hard-fought win.

Eric Paschall was a dominant force on both ends, finishing with 20 points and 10 rebounds in the win.

Although the final score might not show it, it was a back-and-forth battle throughout, with each team getting hot at different times.

While Villanova built a seven-point lead at halftime, Providence continued to fight back to keep the game close:

The Friars tied the game at 44-44 with under 10 minutes left in regulation and seemed to have a lot of momentum, but the Wildcats showed they can't be kept down for too long.

Collin Gillespie made big shots throughout, finishing 5-of-10 from three-point range on his way to 19 points to go with his six assists.

Providence simply couldn't keep up with its 25 percent shooting from three-point range. Alpha Diallo ended the day with 14 points, but he was also responsible for five of the team's 19 turnovers in the loss.

The Friars will likely now hope for an NIT bid or some other tournament, because they are not going dancing.

Villanova will hope the strong second half will fuel the team to a deep run in this event, starting with the semifinals against Xavier.    

Xavier 63, Creighton 61

A Zach Hankins tip-in with 27 seconds left was the difference as Xavier escaped with a narrow win over Creighton.

Hankins ended the game with a dominant 22 points, nine rebounds and two blocks in the win. It was just his third 20-point effort of the season.

Ty-Shon Alexander, who had 21 points on the day, had one final chance to win it for the Blue Jays but great defense from Kyle Castin saved the game.

Each team had big runs in this one, but it was Xavier who came out on top at the final buzzer.

The Musketeers overcame a bad start to trail 22-13 before taking over with a dominant end to the half:

This was enough to grab a seven-point lead at halftime, which was extended to double digits in the second half, although Creighton fought back to take the 53-52 lead with six minutes left.

The Blue Jays then answered an 8-0 run with their own 8-1 run to tie the game at 61 in the final minute. 

In the end, though, it was Hankins who decided the game with his work on the boards.

The No. 4 seed finished shooting just 4-of-18 from three-point range but did enough to earn the victory. They will now try to keep it going against Villanova while hoping to improve their tournament resume.

Marquette 86, St. John's 54

Markus Howard did what he does best, scoring 30 points to lead Marquette to what became an easy win over St. John's.

He also added seven rebounds and four assists. 

After trailing by 12 at halftime, the Red Storm appeared ready to make it a game in the second half. Justin Simon got the home crowd to its feet with this dunk to cut the deficit to six:

However, Marquette called a timeout and regrouped in a big way, following that dunk with a 23-2 run.

It was never a game after that, as Howard lived up to expectations, and the rest of the Golden Eagles seemingly couldn't miss.

The No. 2 seed finished 11-of-23 from three-point range and shot 50.9 percent from the field. St. John's which ended up just 3-of-20 from beyond the arc.

The Red Storm could have solidified their spot in the NCAA tournament with a win, but this result hurts the squad's bubble hopes:

After being eliminated from the conference tournament, all St. John's can do is wait until Selection Sunday.

Marquette will face Seton Hall in the semifinals Friday.

No. 3 Seton Hall 73, No. 6 Georgetown 57

After the two teams split the series during the regular season, it was Seton Hall who took the rubber match with the stakes raised.

The Hoyas appeared to be ready for another battle following their double-overtime victory over the Pirates earlier this month, but this matchup would quickly get out of hand, thanks to a dominant performance by Myles Powell.

Georgetown kept it close early on, trailing by only two shortly after the first television timeout. But a 23-5 run by Seton Hall opened the floodgates, with Powell doubling the Hoyas 10-5 during eight-plus minute stretch.

The Pirates never looked back after that.

Seton Hall's lead swelled to 28 just before the break, as Powell ultimately put up a Big East tournament-record 29 points in the first half:

Through the opening 20 minutes: Myles Powell 29, Georgetown 28.

With the Pirates holding a 25-point lead at halftime, Powell did not have to do much in the second half. He finished the game with 31 points, though the bigger storyline may be the fact that he left the game late with an apparent ankle injury, per Fox Sports 1's John Fanta.

It marked Powell's third 30-point performance in his last four appearances and his eighth of the season. He dropped a season-high 40 back on Nov. 22 against Grand Canyon.

As Seton Hall awaits an update on Powell's status moving forward, a semifinal showdown against Marquette on Friday night looms.