Big East Tournament 2022: Basketball Bracket and Championship Picks

The Big East tournament final is expected to feature two of the league's top three teams.

The Providence Friars enter Madison Square Garden as the top seed after winning their first Big East regular-season crown. Providence had a fantastic season, but it displayed some flaws in February, contesting a handful of one-score games and losing twice to the Villanova Wildcats.

Villanova is aligned with the Connecticut Huskies on the bottom half of the bracket. The potential semifinal clash between those sides could produce one of the best power-conference tournament games this year.

The three ranked sides controlled Big East play for the past two months, but there is one variable that needs to be mentioned ahead of Wednesday's start.

The Xavier Musketeers are teetering on the NCAA men's basketball tournament bubble and could use one more quality win to ensure the Big East sends seven teams to the Big Dance.

Big East Tournament Bracket and Schedule

Laurence Kesterson/Associated Press

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)

Xavier Upsets Providence to Leap off Bubble

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Motivation differs for every team entering a conference tournament.

In the Big East, Xavier is on a mission to steer away from the NCAA men's basketball tournament bubble after a five-game losing streak.

We might not be talking about Xavier's bubble situation if it closed out a win over Providence at Dunkin' Donuts Center on February 23. Providence won that game in triple overtime and clinched the Big East regular-season title in its next game. 

Xavier ended its losing skid with a 22-point over the Georgetown Hoyas on Saturday. That is not much of an accomplishment this season, but it did wonders for the team's mentality going into Madison Square Garden.

Providence has been known to make slow starts and contest tight games. Three of its past four wins came in overtime.

The Friars have the disadvantage of not having played for more than a week because they were off on the final Saturday of the regular season in the 11-team league.

Xavier will have a game under its legs at MSG against the Butler Bulldogs on Wednesday, and that could help shake off whatever jitters the team may have.

The Musketeers should enter their quarterfinal clash with Providence with some confidence from the teams' previous meeting.

A win over Providence would likely boost the Musketeers off the "Last Four In" line, which is where ESPN's Joe Lunardi has them entering Tuesday.

Xavier might not go on to win the tournament, but it will do enough to avoid a sweat on Selection Sunday.

UConn Beats Marquette in Championship Game

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If Xavier knocks out Providence, the Marquette Golden Eagles will have an easier path to the Big East tournament final.

Marquette holds an advantage over the Creighton Bluejays, who are playing without injured guard Ryan Nembhard.

The Golden Eagles defeated Xavier by 11 points January 23, and their defense could be the key to winning that potential semifinal.

Marquette ranks in the top 65 in four defensive metrics on KenPom.com, including adjusted efficiency and two-point defense. Xavier sits beneath Marquette in all of those categories.

UConn should emerge from the bottom half of the bracket after a battle with Villanova. The Huskies defeated the Wildcats on February 22 by two points.

Adama Sanogo gives the Huskies a size advantage down low, and the guard duo of R.J. Cole and Tyrese Martin could cancel out Villanova's tremendous pairing of Collin Gillespie and Justin Moore.

Sanogo had 20 points, six rebounds and two blocks in the aforementioned win over Villanova, and the Huskies limited Villanova center Eric Dixon to four points.

UConn should have the advantage over Marquette in a championship matchup. The Huskies won both regular-season meetings by eight points, and they have better defensive numbers.

The Huskies rank sixth in two-point defense, 21st in defensive effective field-goal percentage and 35th in defensive adjusted efficiency, per KenPom. They held four of their six opponents to 65 points or fewer.

A Big East tournament victory could boost UConn on the NCAA tournament seed lines. The Huskies enter New York as a No. 5 seed, per Lunardi.