Big East Tournament 2022: Bracket, TV Schedule, Dates and Predictions

The 2022 Big East tournament has the potential to live up to the high standard set inside Madison Square Garden in previous years.

The return of the Connecticut Huskies to a Big East tournament with a full crowd could energize the World's Most Famous Arena to the levels it reached during the program's first era of Big East basketball. UConn returned to the Big East in 2021, but there were still restrictions in place on crowds.

UConn won seven Big East tournaments in the first version of the Big East, but since it left, the Villanova Wildcats have been the dominant program.

Villanova owns four Big East tournament titles since 2015, and the two squads are expected to meet in the semifinal round.

The Providence Friars, who won the regular-season crown, reside on the opposite end of the bracket. Providence went 14-3 in league play, but two of those losses came to Villanova. Ed Cooley's team could use the Big East tournament as a vehicle to prove it can win an event featuring the conference's two powerhouses.

The top three teams will try to restore some order to the competition after the Georgetown Hoyas won four games in four days as the No. 8 seed in 2021. Georgetown has not won a league game since the 2021 Big East tournament final.

The Seton Hall Pirates, Xavier Musketeers and St. John's Red Storm are the best candidates to replicate Georgetown's run from a year ago, but it may be tough to manage with three strong teams at the top of the conference.

Big East Tournament Bracket

Wednesday, March 9

No. 8 Xavier vs. No. 9 Butler (4:30 p.m. ET, FS1)

No. 7 St. John's vs. No. 10 DePaul (7 p.m. ET, FS1)

No. 6 Seton Hall vs. No. 11 Georgetown (9:30 p.m. ET, FS1)

Thursday, March 10

No. 1 Providence vs. Xavier/Butler winner (noon ET, FS1)

No. 4 Creighton vs. No. 5 Marquette (2:30 p.m. ET, FS1)

No. 2 Villanova vs. St. John's/DePaul winner (7 p.m. ET, FS1)

No. 3 UConn vs. Seton Hall/Georgetown winner (9:30 p.m. ET, FS1)

Friday, March 11

Semifinal No. 1 (6:30 p.m. ET, FS1)

Semifinal No. 2 (9 p.m. ET, FS1)

Saturday, March 12

Championship Game (6:30 p.m. ET, Fox)

Predictions

UConn Reclaims Big East Tournament Throne

UConn has found its form at the perfect time. The Huskies won six of their last seven regular-season games, including a home win over Villanova.

Dan Hurley's team should enter the semifinal round with a ton of confidence from its current play and that home victory February 22.

UConn has a long history of winning the Big East tournament, but none of its players have experienced a packed Madison Square Garden for the event. Huskies fans should fill MSG and give it one of the biggest home-court advantages in the competition.

UConn has a star guard in RJ Cole and a big man in Adama Sanogo who can take advantage of Villanova's lack of size in the paint.

Sanogo led all scorers with 20 points in the win over Villanova, and if he is as effective in the semifinal, he could power the Huskies into the final.

UConn's assumed opponent in that situation would be Providence, but the top part of the bracket carries a few dangerous programs that could spring upsets.

Providence Stumbles Before Final

Providence picked up critics throughout the season because it was not dominant across the Big East.

The Friars picked up seven of their last eight victories in games decided by seven or fewer points. Providence also went into overtime in three of those contests. It navigated close games as well as anyone in the country, but it may run into some difficulties in New York.

Providence is also dealing with the longest layoff in the Big East and will have gone nine days without playing a game by the time it takes the court Thursday.

The Friars could run into a desperate Xavier team that needs one or two wins to feel 100 percent safe of its NCAA men's basketball tournament status.

Xavier will have revenge on its mind in the quarterfinal round since it was close to beating Providence at the Dunkin' Donuts Center on February 23 before a weird set of circumstances occurred. The roof started leaking after Xavier took a three-point lead, Providence completed the comeback in regulation and then won in triple overtime.

Xavier entered Saturday as one of the "Last Four In" teams on ESPN's Joe Lunardi's bracket. A win over Providence would improve the Musketeers' resume and could be enough to push them away from the bubble and safely into the field of 68.

If Providence loses before the final, the winner of the potential UConn-Villanova semifinal would be viewed as the favorite to cut down the nets at MSG.