Xavier University Athletics
No. 2 Seed Xavier Will Play Winner of St. John's/Marquette on Thursday In BIG EAST Tournament
03.05.16 | Men's Basketball
NEW YORK – Xavier (26-4, 14-4 BIG EAST) is the No. 2 seed in the 2016 BIG EAST Tournament from March 9-12 at Madison Square Garden. Xavier, which finished second in the BIG EAST regular season race, will play its first game on Thursday night at 7 p.m. against the winner of the first round game between Marquette and St. John's.
Villanova, 27-4 overall, is the No. 1 seed. The Wildcats won the BIG EAST regular-season title with a 16-2 league mark. Xavier and Villanova met in last year's BIG EAST championship game with Villanova capturing the title. In this week's national polls, Villanova is ranked second in the USA Today poll and third in the Associated Press poll. Xavier is fifth in both polls.
Seton Hall is the No. 3 seed, the Pirates' highest tournament position since 2003. The Hall finished in third place with an 11-6 mark and 21-8 overall. The Pirates will play No. 6 seed Creighton.
Providence earned the No. 4 seed with a 10-8 BIG EAST mark. The Friars will meet fifth-seeded Butler.
In the First Round on Wednesday, the tournament begins with No. 8 seed Georgetown meeting No. 9 seed DePaul followed by No. 7 seed Marquette playing No. 10 seed St. John's.
FOX will televise the Championship Game on Saturday, March 12 at 5:30 p.m. ET. All other games will be carried on FS1.
2016 BIG EAST Tournament Schedule:
First Round, Wednesday, March 9 – FS1
No. 8 Georgetown vs. No. 9 DePaul, 7 p.m.
No. 7 Marquette vs. No. 10 St. John's, 9:30 p.m.
Quarterfinals, Thursday, March 10 – FS1
No. 1 Villanova vs. Georgetown/DePaul winner, Noon
No. 4 Providence vs. No. 5 Butler, 2:30 p.m.
No. 2 Xavier vs. Marquette/St. John's winner, 7 p.m.
No. 3 Seton Hall vs. No. 6 Creighton, 9:30 p.m.
Semifinals, Friday, March 11 – FS1
Thursday afternoon winners, 6:30 p.m.
Thursday evening winners, 9 p.m.
Championship Game, Saturday, March 12 – FOX
Semifinal winners, 5:30 p.m.
