The opening round of the Big East Tournament is in the books. Consider it the appetizer, and Quarterfinal Thursday — ala the highly-anticipated entree — is on deck with Villanova, DePaul and Butler earning a seat at the table. This tournament is expected to go through top-seeded St. John’s, but surging Xavier has been the best team in the league since Feb. 1, per Bart Torvik. Sean Miller’s crew is squarely on the bubble entering the Big East Tournament, but a quarterfinals win over fourth-seeded Marquette would go a long way in solidifying Xavier’s at-large bid.
UConn, Creighton and Marquette join St. John’s as programs safely in the Big Dance field, but there’s plenty to play for across the board, including with Villanova — which looks every bit the part of a club that could pull a 2024 NC State and try to earn the automatic bid. Eric Dixon and Wooga Poplar certainly have a lot in common with DJ Burns and DJ Horne, who led the Wolfpack on an insane five-wins-in-five-days path to the ACC Tournament crown and eventual Final Four run last year.
Can Villanova continue that blueprint? It checked off the first box with a win over Seton Hall. A date with UConn looms next.
Below is the full schedule and tip times for the rest of the tournament.
2025 Big East Tournament schedule, scores
Location: Madison Square Garden — New York City, New York
Live stream: fuboTV (Try for free) | Follow live: CBS Sports App
All times Eastern; some start times approximated
First round — Wednesday, March 12
Game 1: No. 9 Butler 75, No. 8 Providence 69 | Recap
Game 2: No. 10 DePaul 71, No. 7 Georgetown 67 | Recap
Game 3: No. 6 Villanova 67 vs. No. 11 Seton Hall 55 | Recap
Quarterfinals — Thursday, March 13
Game 4: No. 1 St. John’s vs. Game 1 winner | Noon on Peacock
Game 5: No. 4 Marquette vs. No. 5 Xavier | 2:30 p.m. on Peacock
Game 6: No. 2 Creighton vs. Game 2 winner | 7 p.m. on FS1
Game 7: No. 3 UConn vs. Game 3 winner | 9:30 p.m. on FS1
Semifinals — Friday, March 14
Game 8: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner | 6:30 p.m. on Fox
Game 9: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner | 9 p.m. on Fox
Championship — Saturday, March 15
Game 10: Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner | 6:30 p.m. on Fox
Follow below for updates, analysis and highlights throughout the event.
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