The Pitt Panthers secured the regular season Big East crown this weekend with their win over Villanova and as a result earned the top seed in the 2011 Big East tournament. Pitt and Big East runner up Notre Dame, Syracuse & Louisville all earn byes through the first two rounds of the conference tournament as the top seeds. Villanova however, enters the tournament as a #10 seed after their late season collapse that saw them lose 9 of their final 14 games.
Despite their poor play down the stretch, the Wildcats don't have the toughest road in the first few rounds of the tournament. Nova will face off against 15th seeded South Florida on Tuesday at 7pm in Madison Square Garden. Should they advance, they'll face 7th seeded Cincinnati. The winner of that matchup faces Notre Dame on Thursday. The main problem facing Jay Wright's squad really isn't its schedule, its their own poor play. The Big East tournament is Wright's last chance to try and right his ship before the big dance begins.
Here's the full Big East tournament schedule
Tuesday, March 8
9. Connecticut vs. 16. DePaul, 12:00 PM
12. Seton Hall vs. 13. Rutgers, 2:00 PM
10. Villanova vs. 15. South Florida, 7:00 PM
11. Marquette vs. 14. Providence, 9:00 PM
Wednesday, March 9
Connecticut/DePaul vs. 8. Georgetown, 12:00 PM
Seton Hall/Rutgers vs. 5. St. John's, 2:00 PM
Villanova/South Florida vs. 7. Cincinnati, 7:00 PM
Marquette/Providence vs. 6. West Virginia, 9:00 PM
Thursday, March 10
Connecticut/DePaul/Georgetown vs. 1. Pitt, 12:00 PM
Seton Hall/Rutgers/St. John's vs. 4. Syracuse, 2:00 PM
Villanova/South Florida/Cincinnati vs. 2. Notre Dame, 7:00 PM
Marquette/Providence/West Virginia vs. 3. Louisville, 9:00 PM
Friday, March 11
Winner of Pitt game vs. winner of Syracuse game, 7:00 PM
Winner of Notre Dame game vs. winner of Louisville game, 9:00 PM
Saturday, March 12
Big East championship, 9:00 PM
