Big East Tournament Updates: DePaul wins second consecutive Big East crown

DePaul wins its second consecutive Big East crown against Marquette last night in a 74-73 nail-biter. With last night’s win, DePaul gets an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.

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Last season, No. 2 DePaul defeated No. 1 Marquette in the championship to win its second Big East crown in three years. The two teams are in familiar territory as the top two seeds once more as the Big East Tournament begins today.

Marquette (24-6, 15-3) finished the 2018-19 regular season with an 80-57 win against Providence, which helped it capture the regular-season crown. Meanwhile, DePaul ended the season on an eight-game winning streak, with its last win coming against Creighton. Entering the tournament, DePaul (23-7, 14-4) seems focused, determined and scrappy.

But despite being the top seeds, the Big East is up for grabs. Although DePaul and Marquette are top seeds, any team can have a poor shooting night resulting in a first-game loss.

Once conference tournaments start, every team in the nation gets something of a fresh start. Each of the 10 teams in the Big East play physically and focus on defense. A couple of teams that can challenge Marquette and DePaul include Seton Hall and Providence, due to their backcourts’ abilities to shoot and defend.

Clearly, DePaul and Marquette will enter today’s tournament with a slight advantage. But when any team can craft or create the perfect game plan, this combined with an opponent coming out flat could create some major upsets.

Schedule

When: Saturday, March 9 — Tuesday, March 12

Where: Wintrust Arena, Chicago, IL

How to view: Big East Network (first round), FS2 (quarterfinals), FS1 (semifinals/final)

Bracket

FIRST ROUND

St. John’s opened the first round of the Big East tournament with a 76-51 blowout win against Seton Hall, led by Akina Wellere’s 18-point performance. In the second game of the first round, Providence defeated Xavier, 70-62, despite a solid performance from A’riana Gray.

No. 9 St. John’s vs. No. 8 Seton Hall

Saturday, March 9, 3 p.m. ET, Big East Network

No. 10 Xavier vs. No. 7 Providence

Saturday, March 9, 5:30 p.m. ET, Big East Network

QUARTERFINALS

Marquette set the tone in the quarterfinals by demolishing St. John’s, 88-57, to advance to the semifinals, while Georgetown cruised to the next round with a 76-67 win over Villanova.

DePaul punched its ticket to the semifinals by crushing Providence, 85-60, while Creighton shocked Butler with a 60-51 upset to secure a spot in the next round.

No. 1 Marquette vs. St. John’s

Sunday, March 10, 1 p.m. ET, FS2

No. 4 Georgetown vs. No. 5 Villanova

Sunday, March 10, 3:30 p.m. ET, FS2

No. 2 DePaul vs. Providence

Sunday, March 10, 7 p.m. ET, FS2

No. 3 Butler vs No. 6 Creighton

Sunday, March 10, 9:30 p.m. ET, FS2

SEMIFINALS

Marquette punched its third consecutive Big East Championship ticket after defeating Georgetown, 75-62. DePaul fought off a hungry Creighton team for an 80-69 win to advance to the championship game.

No. 4 Georgetown vs. No. 1 Marquette

Monday, March 11, 4 p.m. ET, FS1

No. 6 Creighton vs. No. 2 DePaul

Monday, March 11, 6:30 p.m. ET, FS1

CHAMPIONSHIP

DePaul wins its second consecutive Big East crown against Marquette last night in a 74-73 nail-biter. With last night’s win, DePaul gets an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.

No. 1 Marquette vs. No. 2 DePaul

Tuesday, March 12, 8 p.m. ET, FS1