The Big East Tournament returns to The World's Most Famous Arena with an Conference Championship and automatic NCAA Tournament bid up for grabs. The three day spectacle marks the continuation of over four decades of the Big East Tournament taking place Madison Square Garden.
St. John's won the out the outright Big East regular title for the first time in 40 years and will be the number 1 overall seed in the tournament. Along with St. John's, Creighton, UConn, Marquette, and Xavier earned de-facto byes thanks to their top 5 finishes in the conference.
Complete Big East seeding is as follows:
1. St. John's Red Storm 27-4 (18-2)
2. Creighton Bluejays 22-9 (15-5)
3. UConn Huskies 22-9 (14-6)
4. Marquette Golden Eagles 22-9 (13-7)
5. Xavier Musketeers 21-10 (13-7)
6. Villanova Wildcats 18-13 (11-9)
7. Georgetown Hoyas 17-14 (8-12)
8. Providence Friars 12-19 (6-14)
9. Butler Bulldogs 13-18 (6-14)
10. DePaul Blue Demons 13-18 (4-16)
11. Seton Hall Pirates 7-24 (2-18)
The bracket is set. 🔒 pic.twitter.com/bYsMRdUzAm
— BIG EAST MBB (@BIGEASTMBB) March 9, 2025
While some conferences have begun to exclude the worst finishing teams from the conference tournaments, the Big East Tournament continues to include all 11 Big East teams and does not show any signs of changing that.
The Automatic tournament bid remains the grand prize, and for several teams in the conference, it represents the only path to the big dance, while for others, it might mark a stepping stone for something bigger this March.
The Tournament tips off Wednesday, March 12, and will wrap up with the Big East Championship game on Saturday, March 15. It is set to be a jam-packed few days of basketball with plenty on the line for all teams.
Let's take a deeper look at the 2025 edition of the Big East tournament with some players and teams to keep an eye on and predictions for who will cut down the nets Saturday Night.
Key Players
G RJ Luis Jr, St. John's (Jr.)
2024-25 Stats: 18.1 ppg, 7.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists
St. John's guard RJ Luis Jr has been a huge key to the Red Storm's incredible success this year and could very well be on his way to winning Big East player of the year. Luis' season has been filled with highlights, and he's been heating up in recent weeks, as he has averaged 22 ppg over the last five games. Luis has lots of momentum heading into the Big East Tournament, and with the tournament taking place in St. John's home arena, don't expect this momentum to let up as the Red Storm look to add to their historic season.
C Ryan Kalkbrennner, Creighton (Sr.)
2024-25 Stats: 19.4 ppg, 9.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists
Fifth year big man Ryan Kalkbrenner leads to the Bluejays into the Big East Tournament with eyes set on winning their first Big East Tournament in program history. Kalkbrenner has had a fantastic season, leading the team in both points and rebounds while shooting 66.3% from the field, a mark which is among the highest in the entire country. Among Kalkbrenner's highlights this season was a career-high 49 point outing versus UT-Rio Grande, the second-highest single game scoring output in program history. Kalkbrenner has been vital to Creighton's continued success over the past couple of seasons, and he looks poised to continue doing just that over the next few weeks. Kalkbrenner is certainly in the running for the Big East player of the year. He might win it, and he'd certainly deserve it.
G Kam Jones, Marquette (Sr.)
2024-25 Stats: 18.9 ppg, 4.5 rebounds, 6.1 assists
Kam Jones has been the heart and soul of this year's Marquette team, and has been a key catalyst in their success this year. Jones' knack for scoring make him an incredibly tough player for opposing teams to defend. Furthermore, his immense playmaking ability only makes his teammates around him better and collectively makes the Golden Eagles an even tougher matchup. Much like Luis and Kalkbrenner, Jones is certainly in the running for Big East player of the year.
Team Superlatives
Team to Beat - St. John's
The Red Storm are the clear team to beat. St. John's won the outright Big East regular title by a whopping 3 games while going undefeated at home. Getting to play in their home arena will only make the Red Storm a tougher out. Given the way St. Johns' has been playing of late, beating them in their own building will be a daunting task for any team.
Top Contender - UConn
Given how the last two years have gone for the Huskies, this year could almost be labeled a down year for UConn. But they are still a very dangerous team and are not a team opponents will be excited to play. The 3-seeded Huskies have still picked up plenty of solid wins both out of conference and in conference play, and still look to be a team that can compete with anyone in the country. Regardless of how their season has gone so far, you can't count out Dan Hurley and the Huskies in March.
Dark Horse(s) - Villanova/Xavier
There's always the potential for one of the teams that begin play Wednesday to turn some heads and make a surprising deep run in the Big East Tournament. 6-seeded Villanova seems to be the one that best fits that bill. The Wildcats have knocked off several of the top teams in the Big East, including wins over St. John's, UConn, and Marquette. But consistency has remained an issue for Villanova, and while they have several quality wins, they have a plethora of bad losses that will keep them out of the field of 68.. Head Coach Kyle Neptune is almost certain playing for his job, and it makes for a championship or bust scenario for the Wildcats.
Meanwhile, the 5-seeded Musketeers appear to be playing some of their best basketball of the year. The Musketeers are on a 7-game win streak that has put them back in the tournament picture. However, they're still living dangerously close to the cut line and will likely need to pick up at least one win to feel a little comfortable on Selection Sunday. But the Musketeers will have at least one opportunity for a quad 1 win in their opening round matchup with Marquette. The Golden Eagles have had their struggles lately, as the Golden Eagles have lost back to back games and have lost three of their last five. The path to the semifinals is there for Xavier, and if they were to defeat St. John's in the semifinals, it could be their tournament to lose.
Predictions
First Round
No. 9 Butler over No. 8 Providence
No. 10 DePaul over No. 7 Georgetown
No. 6 Villanova over No. 11 Seton Hall
Opening round sees an upset with 10-seed DePaul knocking off Georgetown. The Blue Demons enter the Big East Tournament on a two-game winning streak and went 2-0 versus Georgetown this year, including in their regular season finale on Saturday. The Blue Demons once again take down the Hoyas and keep their season alive. Additionally, Butler and Villanova both pick up Wednesday victories and move on to the quarterfinals.
Quarterfinals
No. 1 St. John's over No. 9 Butler
No. 5 Xavier over No. 4 Marquette
No. 2 Creighton over No. 10 DePaul
No. 3 UConn over No. 6 Villanova
The quarterfinals is highlighted by Xavier picking up a huge win over Marquette and bolstering their at-large odds. The top three seeds in St. John's, Creighton, and UConn all take care of business and move on to the semifinals.
Semifinals
No. 1 St. John's over No. 5 Xavier
No. 3 UConn over No. 2 Creighton
St. John's dream season continues as the Red Storm advance to the Big East Championship game for the first time since 2000. UConn defeats Creighton in a tight matchup that is reminiscent to both of the teams' regular season matchup. The Huskies have their eyes on back to back Big East Tournament Championships.
Championship
No. 1 St. John's over No. 3 UConn
Even with the unpredictability of the Big East Tournament, two of the top three seeds meet in the Championship and the no. 1 seed prevails. The Red Storm were already de-facto NCAA Tournament lock entering the Big East Tournament, but now it's official.
Rick Pitino picks up his fourth Big East Tournament Championship, only this time it's with St. John's. The Red Storm's 25-year Big East Tournament Championship drought comes to an end in their home building. It's a watershed moment for a program that seemed dead in the water up until Pitino took over before the 2023-24 season. Now, the Red Storm turn their attention to the NCAA Tournament, where they are poised to have a high seed and are ready for a deep run. It's another chapter added to the most storied conference tournament in college basketball.