- Men's College Basketball
Can someone steal a bid in the Big East?
by Ricky O'DonnellUpdated Mar 11, 2026, 10:17 PM UTC
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - MARCH 07: Alex Karaban #11 of the Connecticut Huskies dribbles the ball against the Marquette Golden Eagles during the second half at Fiserv Forum on March 07, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) Getty Images
Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.The Big East was a big disappointment last season without a single team reaching the second weekend of the NCAA tournament. This was another down year for the conference, but there’s two very good teams still sitting at the top of the league heading into the 2026 Big East men’s tournament at Madison Square Garden.
The UConn Huskies were in contention for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament all year, but some stumbles down the stretch mean they’re likely a No. 2 seed in the big dance. The Huskies aren’t even a top seed in their own conference tournament, because St. John’s went 18-2 to win the league by a game. The Johnnies are the reigning Big East tournament champions, but they enter the postseason seeking redemption for their round of 32 upset loss in the NCAAs last year. It feels like Villanova is only other Big East team that will earn an at-large bid, but it’s always possible a program like Seton Hall or Creighton could make a surprising run to the finals and try to earn the auto-bid.
The stakes are high for the 2026 men’s Big East tournament. Here’s the bracket and full schedule below. We’ll keep it updated with results after every game.
2026 Big East men’s basketball scores and schedule
All times ET
Wednesday, March 11 — First Round
Game 1 | No. 9 Providence 91, No. 8 Butler 81Game 2 | No. 10 Xavier 89, No. 7 Marquette 87Game 3 | No. 6 DePaul vs. No. 11 Georgetown | 9 p.m. | Peacock/NBCSN
Thursday, March 12 — Quarterfinals
Game 4 | No. 9 Providence vs. No. 1 St. John’s | 12 p.m. | Peacock/NBCSNGame 5 | No. 5 Creighton vs. No. 4 Seton Hall | 2:30 p.m. | Peacock/NBCSNGame 6 | No. 10 Xavier vs. No. 2 UConn | 7 p.m. | FS1Game 7 | G3 winner vs. No. 3 Villanova | 9:30 p.m. | FS1
Friday, March 13 — Semifinals
Game 8 | G4 winner vs. G5 winner | 5:30 p.m. | FoxGame 9 | G6 winner vs. G7 winner | 8 p.m. | FS1
Saturday, March 14 — Championship
Game 10 | G8 winner vs. G9 winner | 6:30 p.m. | Fox
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