Villanova manhandled St. John’s in the regular season finale to run its win streak to 12. (Getty)
It’s not the Big East we’re used to. There’s no more Syracuse or UConn or Boston College or Pitt. They’ve all moved on to the ACC.
But some of the usual suspects are still there – Villanova, Georgetown, St. John’s and Providence. And they’ll be gathering at the famous Madison Square Garden this week for the annual Big East Tournament.
‘Nova is ranked 4th in the country, while Butler (22) and Georgetown (23) are both in the top 25, so all three teams should be in the NCAA Tournament. Providence and St. John’s have been competitive and have solid RPI numbers, and are much closer to being in the Big Dance than out of it.
For the Big East regular season final standings, click here.
Here’s what you need to know about the Big East Tournament:
The Basics
What:
When:
Wednesday, March 11 through Saturday, March 14
Where:
Madison Square Garden – New York City
Channel:
FOX Sports 1
Last Year’s Winner
Providence
Big East Tournament Schedule
D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera leads Georgetown with 16 points per game. (Getty)
All times Eastern
First Round – Wednesday, March 11
Game 1: No. 8 Seton Hall vs. No. 9 Marquette, 7 p.m., FS1
Game 2: No. 7 DePaul vs. No. 10 Creighton, 9:30 p.m., FS1
Quarterfinals – Thursday, March 12
Game 3: No. 1 Villanova vs. Game 1 winner, Noon, FS1
Game 4: No. 4 Providence vs. No. 5 St. John’s, 2:30 p.m., FS1
Game 5: No. 2 Georgetown vs. Game 2 winner, 7 p.m., FS1
Game 6: No. 3 Butler vs. No. 6 Xavier, 9:30 p.m., FS1
Semifinals – Friday, March 13
Game 7: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 7 p.m., FS1
Game 8: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 9:30 p.m., FS1
Championship – Saturday, March 14
Semifinal Winners, TBD, 8 p.m., FS1
Check out the bracket here.
Big East Tournament Odds
Kelan Martin, left, and the Butler Bulldogs are the No. 3 seed. (Getty)
Villanova is the class of the conference and are heavy favorites. The Big East Tournament has shown in the past anybody can get knocked out at any time, but the Wildcats’ only losses have come against Seton Hall and Georgetown and they avenged them both in a big way later in the rematches.
Per sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com:
Villanova … -140
Georgetown … +500
Butler … +550
Xavier … +800
St. John’s … +850
Providence … +1150
Seton Hall … +5000
Creighton … +5200
Marquette … +9000
DePaul … +25000
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Big East Tournament 2015: Schedule, Channel, Times & Odds