2026 Big East Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament Basics
Format
Traditional bracket.
Site
Madison Square Garden continues as home of both the old and new versions of the Big East Tournament—an uninterrupted run that began in 1983.
Participants
All 11 teams will get at least one game above Penn Station.
Schedule
Downloadable PDF Bracket
First Round (Wed. 3/11)
Peacock ($) will stream and NBCSN will air all three games.
Gm. 1: (9) Providence 91, (8) Butler (16-16, 7-13) 81
Gm. 2: (10) Xavier (14-17, 6-14) vs. (7) Marquette (12-19, 7-13), 6:30*
Home split: Golden Eagles 66-65 on 1/7 and Musketeers 96-88 on 2/14.
Gm. 3: (11) Georgetown (14-17, 6-14) vs. (6) DePaul (16-15, 8-12), 9*
Home split: Blue Demons 56-50 on 1/6 and Hoyas 70-61 on 1/28.
Quarterfinals (Thurs. 3/12)
Gm. 4: (9) Providence (15-17, 7-13) vs. (1) St. John’s (25-6, 18-2), 12 (Peacock ($)/NBCSN)
Road split: Friars 77-71 on 1/3 and Red Storm 79-69 on 2/14.
Gm. 5: (5) Creighton (15-16, 9-11) vs. (4) Seton Hall (20-11, 10-10), 2:30* (Peacock ($)/NBCSN)
Home split: Pirates 56-54 on 1/4 and Bluejays 69-68 on 2/7.
Gm. 6: Gm. 2 winner vs. (2) UConn (27-4, 17-3), 7 (FS1)
Gm. 7: Gm. 3 winner vs. (3) Villanova (24-7, 15-5), 9:30* (FS1)
Semifinals (Fri. 3/13)
Fox will air both games.
Gm. 8: Gm. 4 winner vs. Gm. 5 winner, 5:30
Gm. 9: Gm. 6 winner vs. Gm. 7 winner, 8*
Championship (Sat. 3/14)
Gm. 10: Semifinal winners, 6:30 (Fox)
Mayhem Potential
Data originally posted by Bob Vetrone Jr. on Twitterin 2020 with my own additions for the seasons beyond.
Over its last 14 editions, the No. 1 seed has won just a half-dozen Big East Tournament titles, with all of those victories coming since 2015, including the last two. Note that the No. 7 and No. 9 seeds’ titles came in the conference’s earlier, super-sized configuration. Georgetown won the COVID-impacted 2021 edition as an 8 seed.
- 1 seed (6): 2015, 2017, 2019, 2023, 2024, 2025
- 2 seed (3): 2013, 2018, 2022
- 3 seed (1): 2016
- 4 seed (1); 2014
- 7 seed (1): 2012
- 8 seed (1): 2021
- 9 seed (1): 2011
NCAA Bid Totals In The 68-Team Era
- 11 bids (1): 2011 (13-10 record, UConn national champion, 16 teams)
- 9 bids (1); 2012 (14-9 record, 16 teams)
- 8 bids (1): 2013 (13-7 record, Louisville national champion (vacated), 15 teams)
- 7 bids (1): 2017 (6-7 record, 10 teams)
- 6 bids (3): 2022 (7-6 record, 11 teams),2018 (9-5 record, Villanova national champion, 10 teams),2015 (5-6 record, 10 teams)
- 5 bids (3): 2025 (4-5 record, 11 teams), 2023 (12-4 record, UConn national champion, 11 teams), 2016 (9-4 record, Villanova national champion, 10 teams)
- 4 bids (2): 2021 (4-4, 11 teams),2019 (1-4 record, 10 teams), 2014 (2-4 record, 10 teams)
- 3 bids (1): 2024 (10-2, UConn national champion, 11 teams)
The most likely way the conference places more than three teams in the 2026 field is if there is a surprise winner. Seton Hall will have a chance with a win over Creighton and some help from other bubble teams.
Last Conference Tournament Titles
St. John’s: 2025 (1 seed)
UConn: 2024 (1 seed)
Marquette: 2023 (1 seed)
Villanova: 2022 (2 seed)
Georgetown: 2021 (8 seed)
Seton Hall: 2016 (3 seed)
Providence: 2014 (4 seed)
Creighton: 2013 (1 seed, MVC)
Butler: 2011 (2 seed, Horizon League)
Xavier: 2006 (10 seed, Atlantic 10)
Butler, Creighton, DePaul, and Xavier have yet to win the Big East Tournament; however, the Blue Demons are the only current conference member without any kind of league tournament title at all.