Xavier is the outright BIG EAST Regular Season Champion
MBB Minute -- Xavier Wins Outright Crown and No. 1 Tournament Seed
MBB Minute - Xavier Wins Outright Title and No. 1 Tournament Seed
Xavier held off a late rally and won 65-62 at DePaul Saturday afternoon to win its first outright BIG EAST regular-season crown and earn the No. 1 seed in The BIG EAST Tournament Presented by Jeep. The BIG EAST tourney returns to Madison Square Garden for the 36th consecutive year on March 7-10.
The Musketeers, as the top seed with a 15-3 record, will open on Thursday at noon ET against the winner of the battle between No. 8 Georgetown and No. 9 St. John's, which opens the tournament on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET.
Villanova, which defeated Georgetown 97-73, is the No. 2 seed with a 14-4 mark. The Wildcats will play the winner of the matchup between No. 7 Marquette and No. 10 DePaul on Wednesday at 9:30 p.m.
Saturday began with no tournament seeds set and it took the final game of the night between Seton Hall and Butler to complete the bracket. The Pirates beat Butler 77-70 to gain the No. 3 seed in a three-way tie with Creighton and Providence at 10-8. Butler will be the No. 6 seed. The two teams will meet again in Thursday's quarterfinals.
FS1 will televise all rounds until the championship game moves to FOX.
BIG EAST Tournament Schedule
First Round - FS1
Wednesday, March 7
No. 8 Georgetown vs. No. 9 St. John's, 7 p.m.
No. 7 Marquette vs. No. 10 DePaul, 9:30 p.m.
Quarterfinal Round - FS1
Thursday, March 8
No. 1 Xavier vs. Georgetown/St. John's winner, Noon
No. 4 Creighton vs. No. 5 Providence, 2:30 p.m.
No. 2 Villanova vs. Marquette/DePaul winner, 7 p.m.
No. 3 Seton Hall vs. No. 6 Butler, 9:30 p.m.
Semifinals Round - FS1
Friday, March 9
Thursday afternoon winners, 6:30 p.m.
Thursday evening winners, 9 p.m.
Final Round -- FOX
Saturday, March 10
Championship Game, 6:30 p.m.
All times are Eastern