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#BIGEASThoops Set For Tournament Week In NYC

#BIGEASThoops Set For Tournament Week In NYC

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NEW YORK – The BIG EAST Tournament bracket is set and all 10 teams are prepping for their appearances on Broadway this week at Madison Square Garden, March 13-16. During 2019 Tournament Week in NYC, the BIG EAST will once again host a week of unique and engaging events which culminates in the crowning of the 2019 BIG EAST Men’s Basketball Tournament champion on Saturday, March 16.
 
The pinnacle of the week will be the BIG EAST Men’s Basketball Tournament presented by Jeep. The tournament, which is the longest-running college championship event held at the same venue, will be played at the World’s Most Famous Arena for the 37th consecutive year, Wednesday through Saturday. The first two games will be played March 13 at 7 p.m. ET and 9:30 p.m. with Butler and Providence meeting in the first game and a St. John’s-DePaul battle in the nightcap. Thursday delivers a huge day of BIG EAST basketball, with four games beginning at noon. The semifinals are Friday night March 15 at 6:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. with the Thursday winners back in action. The 2019 champion will be crowned on Saturday evening with the championship game tipping at 6:35 p.m. and a pregame show at 6 p.m. Games will be carried on FS1 with the championship game on FOX.
 
To officially ring in the start of the 2019 Tournament, the BIG EAST, along with key partners will open the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday morning for the second consecutive year. The BIG EAST continued its partnership with Madison Square Garden’s Garden of Dreams as part of the BIG EAST Serves platform and will celebrate this partnership on Wednesday night.  On Saturday morning, the BIG EAST will host its inaugural BIG EAST Startup Challenge, an academic competition contest that focuses on the entrepreneurial accomplishments of selected students from each of our 10 member schools. During all sessions of the tournament, the BIG EAST will be honoring some of New York City’s finest first responders.  Championship Saturday will feature the Empire State Building glowing in the championship teams’ colors, capping the night dressed in the lights of the winner.
 
Last year’s BIG EAST Tournament had the highest tournament attendance levels since the league reconfigured in 2013-14, with three of the five sessions selling out.  With an average attendance of 18,790 fans, the 2018 BIG EAST Tournament filled Madison Square Garden to 95 percent of its college basketball capacity, surpassing the tournament attendance figures of all of the major basketball conferences. 
 
See below for the complete and detailed listing for 2019 BIG EAST Tournament Week in NYC.
 
Wednesday, March 13
  • BIG EAST Commissioner Val Ackerman along with BIG EAST partners, other league officials, school administrators and mascots will ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange. Interviews with Ackerman will be conducted on the trading floor.
     
  • BIG EAST mascots will visit the cafeteria of the Madison Square Garden Company for a lunch time treat.
     
  • Major postseason awards are announced at a 4:30 p.m. press conference held at the Theater Lobby of Madison Square Garden. The BIG EAST will present the Player of the Year, Coach of the Year and Freshman of the Year trophies along with the announcement of the BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete of the Year presented by SUNKIST.
     
  • Coinciding with the first round of the BIG EAST Tournament is Garden of Dreams Night at Madison Square Garden. The BIG EAST will host children from the league and Madison Square Garden’s partner, the Garden of Dreams, on the court. Children will join Butler and Providence players on the court for the national anthem. To enhance this partnership, the BIG EAST hosted teens from the “MSG Classroom” at the league office on Third Avenue in late February. MSG Classroom is an Emmy award-winning educational program that teaches high school students about the media industry. The eight-week program provides a hands-on opportunity for students to develop the skills necessary to pursue careers in the media industry
     
  • Halftime entertainment for Wednesday night is the Continental Tire Slam Dunk Show. Continental Tire is one of the BIG EAST Tournament’s corporate partners.
 
Thursday, March 14
  • Two of Thursday’s first session bands, No. 4 seed Xavier and No. 5 seed Creighton will be featured on FOX 5’s Good Day New York, morning show in a Battle of the Bands live from the floor of Madison Square Garden. The Musketeers and Jays bands will battle it out on the hardwood before the players take the court at 2:30 p.m.
     
  • In between the first and second session of the tournament, the BIG EAST will host the Sports and Entertainment Career Networking Event.  Students selected by the representatives of the league’s 10 member institutions’ career consortiums will be able to network with BIG EAST school alumni at a catered event at the Delta Club in Madison Square Garden.
     
Friday, March 15
  • Friday’s anthem will be song by Kate Rockwell, currently starring as Karen Smith in Mean Girls on Broadway. Broadway credits also include starring roles in Bring It On: The Musical, Rock of Ages, Legally Blonde and Hair. In between the Friday semifinal games, Queens native Nabate Isles will play God Bless America on the trumpet. Isles plays with two-time Grammy Award winner Christian McBride.
 
  • The NBA’s legendary acrobatic act Red Panda will once again grace the floor of Madison Square Garden. Red Panda will perform at halftime of both semifinal games on Friday night.
     
  • The BIG EAST semifinal team mascots will visit the 86th floor observatory of the Empire State Building on Friday afternoon. The mascots and FOX talent will film a segment for Friday’s BIG EAST Shootaround Pregame Show.
 
Saturday, March 16
  • The BIG EAST kicks off Championship Saturday with the inaugural BIG EAST Startup Challenge, an entrepreneurial contest featuring students from all 10 schools. To enhance collaboration with academic efforts off the court, the BIG EAST Startup Challenge will have students share their innovative ideas in front of a panel of corporate judges. The winner of the challenge will be honored on the court at Madison Square Garden during Saturday’s championship.
     
  • Saturday’s anthem will be sung by Anna Negron, a Seton Hall alum and who has sung the anthem for the past three tournaments.  Saturday’s halftime performance is the return of Lorenzo Laroc, the electric violinist. Making his second appearance at the BIG EAST Tournament, New York native Laroc is an electric musician, composer and arranger. His New York City musician group is called “Masterpiece.”
     
  • As a BIG EAST Tournament champion is crowned for the 37th time at Madison Square Garden, the lights of New York City’s iconic Empire State Building will turn to the official colors of the winning team.  As the sun sets on the New York City skyline, the championship teams will share the colors on the top of this iconic metropolitan architectural structure. Tweet photos to @BIGEASTmbb and @EmpireStateBldg.
 
Tickets for all five sessions are available at http://www.ticktmaster.com/bigeast. For more information on the Tournament visit BIGEAST.com for the BIG EAST Tournament Central. Follow along via social media hashtag #BEtourney.