The 2012 Big East Tournament tips off Thursday at Madison Square Garden, and one of the two programs that will cap the first-day action of the 16-team, five-day, single-elimination event is the Villanova Wildcats, who enter as a No. 14 seed.

The Wildcats will face the No. 14 Rutgers Scarlet Knights at 9 p.m. ET on ESPNU, the winner advances to the second round where they will face the No. 6 South Florida Bulls (9 p.m. ET on ESPN).

Before 'Nova and Rutgers start, however, there will be three other games that had been completed. So, here's a look at the Big East Tournament's Tuesday schedule:

Noon ET: (No. 16-seed) DePaul Blue Demons vs. (9) Connecticut Huskies
2 p.m.: (13) Pittsburgh Panthers vs. (12) St. John's Red Storm
7 p.m.: (15) Providence Friars vs. (10) Seton Hall Pirates
9 p.m.: (14) Villanova Wildcats vs. (11) Rutgers Scarlet Knights

For more on the Big East Tournament, check back to this SB Nation Philly StoryStream. Meanwhile, SB Nation's blog The 'Nova Blog has everything on the Wildcats, while Big East Coast Bias is all about the Big East.