The 2024 Big East tournament will start as a NCAA tournament bubble battle that gives way to a UConn Huskies party inside Madison Square Garden.

Four teams come into New York with their NCAA tournament hopes hanging in the balance.

The Seton Hall Pirates are in the safest position, as they reside on the "Last Four Byes" in the latest projection from ESPN's Joe Lunardi.

The St. John's Red Storm and Villanova Wildcats are Lunardi's last two teams in the field, while the Providence Friars have work to do from the "Next Four Out" line.

The Big East bubble situation sets up an incredible Thursday headlined by a Seton Hall-St. John's battle.

St. John's needs to beat Seton Hall to get a shot at UConn in the semifinals, while Seton Hall must win to feel completely secure about its spot in the field of 68.

Villanova and Providence will get shots at the Marquette Golden Eagles and Creighton Bluejays, as long as they aren't upset in Wednesday's first round.

The bubble drama on Thursday and Friday could move aside for UConn's triumph on Saturday.

The Huskies are the clear favorite to win the Big East tournament and they are looking for their first Big East tourney title since Kemba Walker guided the program to the crown in 2011.

Big East Tournament Bracket and Schedule

Full tournament bracket can be found here.

Wednesday, March 13

No. 8 Butler vs. No. 9 Xavier (4 p.m. ET, FS1)

No. 7 Providence vs. No. 10 Georgetown (6:30 p.m. ET, FS1)

No. 6 Villanova vs. No. 11 DePaul (9 p.m. ET, FS1)

Thursday, March 14

No. 8 vs. No. 9 winner vs. No. 1 UConn (Noon ET, FS1)

No. 5 St. John's vs. No. 4 Seton Hall (2:30 p.m. ET, FS1)

No. 7 vs. No. 10 winner vs. No. 2 Creighton (7 p.m. ET, FS1)

No. 6 vs. No. 11 winner vs. No. 3 Marquette (9:30 p.m. ET, FS1)

Friday, March 15

Semifinal No. 1 (5:30 p.m. ET, Fox)

Semifinal No. 2 (8 p.m. ET, FS1)

Saturday, March 16

Championship Game (6:30 p.m. ET, Fox)

Big East Tournament Odds

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

UConn (-135; bet $135 to win $100)

Creighton (+425; bet $100 to win $425)

Marquette (+500)

St. John's (+800)

Villanova (+1600)

Seton Hall (+3500)

Providence (+6000)

Xavier (+11000)

Butler (+11000)

Georgetown (+100000)

DePaul (+100000)

Prediction

Thursday is the most important day of the Big East tournament to everyone except for UConn.

The Huskies are expected to cruise past either the Xavier Musketeers or Butler Bulldogs, which will put them in a great position to battle on back-to-back nights for the Big East crown.

All the other quarterfinal participants will be involved in battles because of the bubble situation.

St. John's lost both regular-season meetings with Seton Hall, but the Red Storm are in better form on a five-game winning streak.

A win for either program will be celebrated only for a bit because the reality of taking on a fresh UConn team will face them in the semifinals.

On the other side of the bracket, Villanova is better poised to pull off an upset than Providence because its quarterfinal opponent is weaker at the moment.

Marquette point guard Tyler Kolek is dealing with an oblique injury, and even if returns in New York, it will be his first game in almost two weeks.

Villanova's experienced core, led by Eric Dixon and Justin Moore, could will it to a victory and make it feel somewhat safe about its NCAA tournament spot.

Providence faces a tougher challenge against a Creighton team that is 7-1 in its last eight games.

Creighton is the only team to beat UConn since the calendar flipped to 2024 and it is best equipped to beat the Huskies right now.

However, it must be noted Creighton's win over UConn on February 20 came three days after an emotional Huskies win over Marquette. UConn also had to travel to the midwest after the battle with the Golden Eagles.

UConn will be playing a home game with its crowd behind it at MSG. The Huskies did not lose at home this season, and while MSG is a neutral venue, the UConn crowd typically shows up in waves for the Big East tournament.

The two best Big East teams should match up in the final. The job for the bubble teams is to pick up at least one more quality win to move up on the bubble. All of them seem like long shots to win the Big East tournament because of the inconsistencies displayed throughout the season.

Prediction: UConn over Creighton

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