The 2012 Big East Tournament officially begins with first round action on Tuesday, and the DePaul Blue Demons kick off the action in a showdown against the Connecticut Huskies at Madison Square Garden. Other opening day games include matchups between the No. 13 Pittsburgh Panthers and No. 12 St. John's Red Storm, the No. 15 Providence Friars and No. 10 Seton Hall Pirates and the No. 14 Villanova Wildcats against the No. 11 Rutgers Scarlet Knights.
The top-seeded Syracuse Orange and No. 2 seed Marquette Golden Eagles are the favorites to meet in the championship game, and they have byes until the quarterfinal round on Thursday. Here is the complete tournament schedule for the first round and the entire tournament:
Tuesday, March 6 (First Round):
11 a.m. CT / ESPN2, ESPN3D: (No. 16-seed) DePaul Blue Demons vs. (9) Connecticut Huskies
1 p.m. CT/ ESPN2, ESPN3D: (13) Pittsburgh Panthers vs. (12) St. John's Red Storm
6 p.m. / ESPNU, ESPN3D: (15) Providence Friars vs. (10) Seton Hall Pirates
8 p.m. / ESPNU, ESPN3D: (14) Villanova Wildcats vs. (11) Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Below is a printable bracket.
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You can get a preview on each team by clicking on the following links: Syracuse, Marquette, Notre Dame, Cincinnati, Georgetown, South Florida, Louisville,West Virginia, Connecticut, Seton Hall, Rutgers, St. John's, Pittsburgh, Villanova,Providence, DePaul.