NEW YORK - Three BIG EAST teams heard their names called during the Selection Show for the 2026 NCAA Tournament on Sunday - St. John's, UConn, and Villanova.
 
St. John's - the back-to-back BIG EAST Tournament champions - is the No. 5 seed in the East region, and will face No. 12 seed Northern Iowa in San Diego, Calif. The two squads will square off at 7:10 p.m. ET on CBS. The Red Storm enters the NCAA Tournament with a 28-6 overall record, including an 18-2 mark in BIG EAST play, en route to their second straight regular season title.  The Johnnies downed Providence, Seton Hall, and UConn to cut down the nets at Madison Square Garden this past Saturday night.  Northern Iowa captured the Missouri Valley conference tournament title and has a 23-12 overall and 11-9 mark in MVC play this season.

UConn - the BIG EAST tournament runners-up - is the No. 2 seed in the East region and will take on Furman in Philadelphia. The game will tip off Friday at 10 p.m. on TBS. The Huskies have registered a 29-5 overall record and a 17-3 mark in BIG EAST action, with wins over seven teams in the field - BYU, Illinois, Kansas, Florida, Texas, Villanova, and St. John's.  They will take on the Southern Conference champion Palladins, who finished with a 22-12 overall record and a 10-8 mark in league play.

Villanova makes its return to the NCAA Tournament field for the first time since the 2021-22 season, as the No. 8 seed in the West region in San Diego. The game will air on Friday at 4:10 p.m. on TNT. Head coach Kevin Willard - in his first season at the helm of the Wildcats - has engineered a 24-8 overall mark, including a 15-5 BIG EAST record.  Nova will face Mountain West regular season and tournament champ Utah State (28-6, 15-5 MW).

NCAA Tournament Schedule
Friday, March 20 - First Round (San Diego)
No. 8 seed Villanova vs. No. 9 seed Utah State (TNT) - 4:10 p.m. Friday, March 20 - First Round (Philadelphia)
No. 2 seed UConn vs. No. 15 seed Furman (TBS) - 10:00 p.m.
 
Sunday, March 22 - Second Round (San Diego)
No. 5 St. John’s/No. 12 Northern Iowa vs. No. 4 Kansas/No. 13 Cal Baptist - TBD
No. 8 Villanova/No. 9 Utah State vs. No. 1 Arizona/No. 16 Long Island - TBD

Sunday, March 22 - Second Round (Philadelphia)
No. 2 UConn/No. 15 Furman vs, No. 7 UCLA/No. 10 UCF - TBD