Big East tournament schedule, bracket, scores: St. John's get challenge from Connecticut?
The St. John’s takeover of the Big East is nearly complete.
After wrestling the regular-season crown away from two-time defending national champion Connecticut — winning by three games over second-place Creighton and four over the Huskies — the Red Storm now move to the conference tournament, with the goal of cutting down the nets at Madison Square Garden for the first time since 2000.
Yes, hiring Rick Pitino will do good things for your basketball program. After a struggle of a debut, Pitino’s second squad has soared to the top of the Big East and into the elite crop of teams capable of advancing through an NCAA Tournament regional to the Final Four.
Standing in the way of the Red Storm is Connecticut, which could easily flip a switch and revert back to the March Madness powerhouse that has dominated the past two tournaments. Others to watch include future tournament teams in Creighton, Marquette and maybe Xavier.
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Big East tournament schedule, bracket, scores
First round
Wednesday, March 12
Butler 75, Providence 69
DePaul 71, Georgetown 67
Villanova 67, Seton Hall 55
Quarterfinals
Thursday, March 13
St. John's 78, Butler 57
Marquette 89, Xavier 87
Creighton 85, DePaul 81 (2OT)
Connecticut 73, Villanova 56
Semifinals
Friday, March 14
St. John's 79, Marquette 63
Creighton 71, Connecticut 62
Championship
Saturday, March 15
St. John's 82, Creighton 66
Big East favorite
It has to be St. John’s, which has lost just once since the calendar turned to 2025. This stretch includes a win at home against Creighton, home-and-away sweeps against Xavier and Marquette, and wins in Storrs and at MSG against the Huskies. Overall, the Red Storm’s four losses — to Baylor, Georgia, Creighton and Villanova — have come by a combined seven points, showing how close this team has come to a perfect regular season.
Big East tournament top players
Kadary Richmond, G, St. John’s – The former Seton Hall transfer has averaged 12.7 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game and been just what the Red Storm needed: a steady veteran at point guard to orchestrate things on both ends of the court.
Ryan Kalkbrenner, C, Creighton – Few big men in college basketball can match the way Kalkbrenner impacts the game on offense (19.4 points per game) and defense (2.7 blocks per game).
Kam Jones, G, Marquette – The unanimous first-team all-league pick is a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award as the nation’s top point guard after averaging 18.9 points and 6.1 assists per game during the regular season.
Eric Dixon, F, Villanova – Dixon is the nation’s leading scorer at 23.6 points per game and tops the Big East in making 42.9% of his attempts from deep.
Alex Karaban, F, Connecticut – It hasn’t been the season most expected from the Huskies or from Karaban, but the junior has a proven record of stepping up in postseason play.
NCAA tournament bubble storylines for the Big East
Xavier spent most of this season on the bubble but has moved into solid tournament position with a current seven-game winning streak, even if these wins have come against the bottom of the Big East. An opportunity awaits against Marquette in the quarterfinals. A win there should make the Musketeers feel better about their chances. Villanova is not currently a realistic bubble team due to a 2-7 mark in Quad 1 games and some absolutely dreadful losses, including Columbia and St. Joseph’s in non-conference play. The Wildcats will likely need to win the conference tournament to get into the bracket on Selection Sunday.