Sports
Big East Basketball Tournament 2013: End of an Era Comes with Sizzling Show on Tap
In the final tournament before the coming Big East implosion, rivals Georgetown and Syracuse square off, then it's Louisville and Notre Dame. Television times, predictions and where to watch.
Anybody mourning the pending death of Big East basketball as we know is at least getting one last bit of quality time with the conference before it dies.
The Big East men's basketball tournament 2013 hasn't always been pretty, but it has been competitive and filled with dream matchups.
Nobody could be happier than Georgetown fans this week. First, the nation's oldest Jesuit university gets it's first-ever Jesuit pope. And now the Hoyas get a chance to squeeze the Orangemen from Syracuse one more time.
Find out what's happening in Georgetownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
In what could overshadow the championship game in terms of pure emotion on the court, the Hoyas take on arch-rival Syracuse tonight in the first semi-final matchup (7 p.m. on ESPN), hoping to repeat their drubbing of the Orangemen last week in the regular season finale.
Syracuse, Notre Dame and Pittsburgh are headed to the ACC next year, and Louisville will join them a year later.
Find out what's happening in Georgetownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
That leaves Georgetown in the what will remain the Big East in name only, as the Hoyas join six basketball-centric Catholic schools breaking away from the conference to create their own league.
The Hoyas are picked as the runner-up in most forums. Louisville is favored, though that feeling is far from unanimous -- especially in Georgetown. Louisville receives the biggest Vegas odds at +140. Georgetown is second at +200, while Syracuse is a distant third at +350, according to SB Nation.
Lousiville are heavy favorites heading into Friday's late semi-final against Notre Dame.
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
When: March 12-16
Watch: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU
Game No. Matchup Time (ET) TV 1
USF 42 vs. Seton Hall 46
-- ESPNU 2 DePaul 57 vs. Rutgers 76 -- ESPNU
Second Round - Wednesday, March 13
Game No. Matchup Time (ET) TV 3 Cincinnati 61 vs. Providence 44 . ESPN 4 Seton Hall 63 vs. Syracuse 75 . ESPN 5 St. John's 53 vs. Villanova 66 . ESPN2 6 Rutgers 61 vs. Notre Dame 69 . ESPN2
Quarterfinals - Thursday, March 14
Game No. Matchup Time (ET) TV 7 Cincinnati 43 vs. Georgetown 62 . ESPN 8 Syracuse 62 vs. Pittsburgh 59 . ESPN 9 Villanova 55 vs. Louisville 74 . ESPN 10 Notre Dame 73 vs. Marquette 65 . ESPN
Semifinals - Friday, March 15
Championship - Saturday, March 16
Game No. Matchup Time (ET) TV 13 Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner 8:30 p.m. ESPNGet more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
