Big East Tournament 2020: Bracket, TV Schedule, Dates and Predictions

Seton Hall seemed to have an outright Big East championship and No. 1 seed in the conference tournament all wrapped up.

Things fell apart rather quickly, though, as the Pirates lost to No. 14 Villanova at home Wednesday. It was by no means a horrible defeat in isolation, but Seton Hall was roundly thumped 77-60 by No. 11 Creighton on Saturday, creating a three-way tie for the Big East regular-season title and dropping the Pirates to the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament. 

The Bluejays, who have been a trendy Final Four pick of recent, did nothing to stop those prognostications with its dominant performance. But Jay Wright's Villanova squad will undoubtedly have something to say about who walks out of Madison Square Garden with the title Saturday night. 

The full tournament bracket is available on the NCAA website.

2020 Big East Tournament seeding

1. Creighton

2. Villanova

3. Seton Hall

4. Providence

5. Butler

6. Marquette

7. Xavier

8. Georgetown

9. St. John's

10. DePaul

2020 Big East Tournament Schedule

1st Round: Wed., March 11

Game 1: No. 8 Georgetown vs. No. 9 St. John's | 7 p.m. | FS1

Game 2: No. 7 Xavier vs. No. 10 DePaul | 9:30 p.m. | FS1

Quarterfinals: Thurs., March 12

Game 3: No. 1 seed vs. Game 1 winner | Noon | FS1

Game 4: No. 4 seed vs. No. 5 seed | 2:30 p.m. | FS1

Game 5: No. 2 seed vs. Game 2 winner | 7 p.m. | FS1

Game 6: No. 3 seed vs. No. 6 seed | 9:30 p.m. | FS1

Semifinals: Fri., March 13

Game 7: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner | 6:30 p.m. | FS1

Game 8: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner | 9 p.m. | FS1

Championship: Sat., March 14

Game 9: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner | 6:30 p.m. | FOX

Note: All times ET.

Predictions

Seton Hall Regains Its Form at MSG

If there's any Big East team that gets a home-court advantage at Madison Square Garden on par with St. John's, it's Seton Hall.

Combine that with All-American Myles Powell and a team motivated to right its ship after a bad week, and the Pirates make for a scary matchup, especially for Villanova and Creighton, the two teams they most recently lost to.

A Bottom-5 Seed Will Make the Semifinals

While most eyes will be on the top seeds—and their NCAA men's basketball tournament resumes—danger awaits with teams like Marquette, Xavier and Georgetown, who are either attempting to strengthen their cases or win the tournament to get an automatic bid.

For the Hoyas, the Big Dance seemed a likelihood until a six-game losing streak to end the regular season derailed any chances of an at-large bid. They won at Creighton in mid-January and Butler in mid-February and have been very competitive with Xavier and Seton Hall. Don't expect Georgetown to become Cinderella anytime soon, but it's not unthinkable that Patrick Ewing's squad could steal a few wins in the Big Apple.

Marquette seems to be a lock for the NCAA tournament despite its sub-.500 conference record, while most bracket analysts have Xavier squarely on the bubble. A surprise trip deep into the weekend would undoubtedly lock them in, but a first-round exit would spell doom for the Musketeers.

Follow Keegan on Twitter, @ByKeeganPope.