The University of South Florida begins Big East Conference Tournament play Tuesday night at 7 p.m. when the 15th seeded Bulls face 10th seed Villanova at Madison Square Garden in a game that will be televised on ESPNU.
The USF-Villanova contest will be followed by 11th seed Marquette facing 14th seed Providence to cap off the last of four opening round games.
The tournament kickoffs at Noon Tuesday with 9th seed Connecticut taking on 16th seed DePaul followed by 12th seed Seton Hall facing 13th seed Rutgers at 2 p.m. to complete the afternoon session.
Pittsburgh wrapped up its sixth BIG EAST regular-season title Saturday with a 60-50 win against Villanova, giving the Panthers a one-game edge on second-place Notre Dame in the final standings. The Panthers will enter The BIG EAST Championship as the No. 1 overall seed for the third time and look to win their third BIG EAST tournament title.
Pittsburgh joins Notre Dame, Louisville and Syracuse as the top four seeds. Those four schools receive byes through two rounds of the tournament and won’t play until Thursday’s quarterfinals.
No. 8-seed Georgetown will await the Connecticut/DePaul winner Wednesday at noon in the first of four second-round games. No. 5 St. John’s has the Seton Hall/Rutgers winner at 2 p.m., while No. 7 Cincinnati takes on the Villanova /USF winner at 7 p.m. No. 6 West Virginia – the 2010 BIG EAST champion – closes Wednesday’s action against the Marquette/Providence winner.
Friday’s semifinals are scheduled for 7 and 9 p.m., while the championship game tips at 9 p.m. Saturday.
Wednesday’s second-round games, Thursday’s quarterfinals, Friday’s semifinals and the championship game Saturday will be televised on ESPN.
Georgetown has won a conference-record seven BIG EAST Championships. Connecticut has won six tournament titles, while Syracuse has won five.
Tuesday, March 8 – First Round (ESPN2/ESPN 3D)
No. 9 Connecticut (21-9) vs. No. 16 DePaul (7-23)................................................ Noon
No. 12 Seton Hall (13-17) vs. No. 13 Rutgers (14-16)............................................ 2 p.m.
Tuesday, March 8 – First Round (ESPNU/ESPN 3D)
No. 10 Villanova (21-10) vs. No. 15 USF (9-22)..................................................... 7 p.m.
No. 11 Marquette (18-13) vs. No. 14 Providence (15-16)..................................... 9 p.m.
Wednesday, March 9 – Second Round (ESPN/ESPN 3D)
No. 8 Georgetown (21-9) vs. Connecticut/DePaul winner..................................... Noon
No. 5 St. John’s (20-10) vs. Seton Hall/Rutgers winner........................................... 2 p.m.
No. 7 Cincinnati (24-7) vs. Villanova/USF winner.................................................. 7 p.m.
No. 6 West Virginia (20-10) vs. Marquette/Providence winner............................ 9 p.m.
Thursday, March 10 – Quarterfinals (ESPN/ESPN 3D)
No. 1 Pittsburgh (27-4) vs. 8/9/16 winner................................................................ Noon
No. 4 Syracuse (25-6) vs. 5/12/13 winner............................................................... 2 p.m.
No. 2 Notre Dame (25-5) vs. 7/10/15 winner......................................................... 7 p.m.
No. 3 Louisville (23-8) vs. 6/11/14 winner.............................................................. 9 p.m.
Friday, March 11 – Semifinals (ESPN/ESPN 3D)
Thursday afternoon winners..................................................................................... 7 p.m.
Thursday evening winners........................................................................................ 9 p.m.
Saturday, March 12 – Championship (ESPN/ESPN 3D)
Semifinal winners....................................................................................................... 9 p.m.
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