2018 BIG EAST Women's Basketball Tournament Bracket
NEW YORK – It took until the final day of the regular season but the bracket for the 2018 BIG EAST Women’s Basketball Tournament presented by Jeep has been set. DePaul and Marquette shared the regular-season title, the fifth consecutive for the Blue Demons and first for the Golden Eagles, both finishing with matching 15-3 conference marks. Marquette claims the No. 1 seed in the BIG EAST Tournament for the first time while DePaul will be the No. 2 seed for the third time. The BIG EAST Tournament is March 3-6 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Ill.
DePaul and Marquette split the regular-season series, with the tiebreaker coming down to their record against the next highest team in the standings – third-seeded Villanova. The Golden Eagles went 2-0 against the Wildcats while the Blue Demons went 1-1. Marquette won its first BIG EAST Tournament last season in Milwaukee, while DePaul won back-to-back tournaments in 2014 and 2015 in Rosemont, Ill.
BIG EAST Tournament First Round action tips off at 4 p.m. CT on Saturday, March 3, as No. 9 seed Providence (3-15) faces No. 8 seed Butler (6-12). The winner will face the top-seeded Golden Eagles at noon on Sunday in the Quarterfinals. The Bulldogs won both regular-season meetings with the Friars this season. Seventh-seeded Seton Hall (7-11) and 10
th-seeded Xavier (3-15) follow at 6:30 p.m., with the winner facing the second-seeded Blue Demons on Sunday at 6 p.m. The Pirates swept the Musketeers during the regular season. PC and XU finished with matching 3-15 marks, with the Friars’ two wins over fifth-seeded St. John’s (9-9) being the deciding factor. First Round games will stream live on the BIG EAST Digital Network presented by SoFi.
The Red Storm, who most recently won the 2016 BIG EAST Tournament, will face fourth-seeded Creighton (11-7) in the second Quarterfinal game on Sunday, slated for 2:30 p.m. The Bluejays and St. John’s split the regular-season series. Following the DePaul-Xavier/Seton Hall game, No. 3 seed Villanova will face No. 6 seed Georgetown (9-9) to close out the four-game day at 8:30 p.m. The Wildcats are one of just two teams to sweep the Hoyas this season, along with St. John’s, resulting in the Red Storm earning the No. 5 seed over GU. All four Quarterfinal games will air live on FS2.
FS1 picks up coverage for the Semifinals and Final. Semifinal games on Monday, March 5, are slated for 3 and 5:30 p.m. Monday’s winners advance to Tuesday’s title game, set for 6 p.m. The winner of the BIG EAST Tournament receives the Conference’s automatic bid into the 2018 NCAA Tournament.
Single-session tickets for the 2018 BIG EAST Women’s Basketball Tournament presented by Jeep are now on sale, with tickets starting as low as $15. All-session booklets are still available, with nine-game passes starting at just $50. Groups of 15 or more can purchase single-session tickets for $10, while super groups (50+) are available for just $8. Courtside seating is also available. To purchase, visit
www.depaulbluedemons.com.
2018 BIG EAST Women’s Basketball Tournament Presented By Jeep
All games played at Wintrust Arena - Chicago, Ill.
All times local – Central
First Round – March 3
Game 1: #9 Providence vs. #8 Butler, 4 p.m. (BEDN)
Game 2: #10 Xavier vs. #7 Seton Hall, 6:30 p.m. (BEDN)
Quarterfinals – March 4
Game 3: #1 Marquette vs Game 1 winner, Noon (FS2)
Game 4: #5 St. John’s vs. #4 Creighton, 2:30 p.m. (FS2)
Game 5: #2 DePaul vs. Game 2 winner, 6 p.m. (FS2)
Game 6: #6 Georgetown vs. #3 Villanova, 8:30 p.m. (FS2)
Semifinals – March 5
Game 7: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 3 p.m. (FS1)
Game 8: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 5:30 p.m. (FS1)
Final – March 6
Game 9: Semifinal winners, 6 p.m. (FS1)