How to watch 2026 Big East men’s basketball tournament: Schedule, bracket, teams to know

The stakes of the Big East event have solely gotten greater. After UConn’s abysmal loss to Marquette granted St. John’s its second straight regular-season title, the Madison Square Garden showcase is seemingly the Huskies’ ultimate hope of netting a No. 1 seed within the Big Dance.

With the event returning to the “World’s Most Famous Arena” for the forty fourth consecutive time, the Johnnies hope to give their hometown crowd one thing to cheer for as soon as once more. They received final 12 months’s convention event to break a 25-year drought.

Standing of their means: a UConn squad with much more to play for than once they cut up conferences throughout convention play, a Villanova Wildcats group on the cusp of securing a spot in NCAA Tournament for the primary time since 2022, and some lower-seeded packages with high-volume scorers.

How to watch the 2026 Big East men’s basketball event

• Venue: Madison Square Garden —New York City
• Dates: March 11-14
• TV: NBCSN, FS1, Fox
• Streaming: Peacock on March 11-12; Fubo (Watch Now) on March 12-14
• Watching in individual? Get tickets on StubHub.

All Fox broadcasts are additionally accessible to stream on Fox One.

Teams to watch

UConn’s season is one among redemption. Hopes of turning into a “dynasty” snapped earlier than Dan Hurley’s eyes final 12 months throughout a 24-11 marketing campaign, and his group failed to grow to be the primary program to win three straight nationwide championships in over half a century. This season, UConn solely dropped one recreation going into convention play, falling to Arizona in November.

Entering the event, the Huskies’ general report sits at 27-4, after losses to Creighton, a troublesome battle with St. John’s and final weekend’s blunder towards Marquette. Meanwhile, Hurley’s role as head coach It is extra necessary now than ever earlier than.

UConn has one of many nation’s most effective defenses. The Huskies are buoyed by guard Silas Demary Jr., who’s averaging a conference-leading 6.5 assists per recreation, and senior bigs Alex Karaban and Tarris Reed Jr. Those three have been named to the All-Big East first group, turning into the primary trio from the identical squad to earn the dignity in convention historical past.

This is an entire group heading into March Madness. But as was the case final season, the Achilles’ heel of this program shouldn’t be solely in regards to the schemes and gamers that Hurley makes use of, however in the end what he does on the market on the ground with them. Costly technical fouls. Meaningless ejections. The most important factor between Hurley and chopping down the netting for the third time in 4 years may very well be himself.

The Johnnies are a power to be reckoned with in Rick Pitino’s third season with the Red Storm. Zuby Ejiofor, a unanimous Big East first-team choice, has used his 6-foot-9 body to terrorize teams on each side of the ground, all whereas setting his teammates up for alternatives to rating.

Ejiofor is crucial to his group’s success, particularly towards top-ranked opponents. In St. John’s win over UConn, the previous Kansas Jayhawk put forth a formidable 21 factors, 10 rebounds and 7 assists. When they traveled to UConn, nevertheless, Ejiofor solely managed six factors on 2-for-5 capturing from the sector.

It’s straightforward to get misplaced within the Huskies-Johnnies debate earlier than play begins at Madison Square Garden — they’re the convention’s solely ranked teams — however Villanova (24-7, 15-5) is not too far behind.

Five Wildcats have scoring averages within the double digits. Led by guard Tyler Perkins with 13.7 factors per recreation, Villanova additionally has a presence on the boards in 6-foot-10 senior Duke Brennan, who averages over 10 rebounds per recreation. His effort on the glass may very well be the distinction between a win and a trip dwelling.

Among teams within the decrease half of the bracket, Providence is one to maintain tabs on. Coming in because the No. 9 seed, the Friars are the highest-scoring group within the convention and have gamers like guard Jaylin Sellers — averaging a league-best 18.1 factors per recreation — who can go off on a whim. They have additionally crushed St. John’s at MSG as soon as already this season.

Providence defends poorly, nevertheless, and Kim English won’t have time to find a solution to plug the leak in its defensive setup. But why not exit with a bang? That’s not to say the Friars are going to win the entire thing, however wilder issues have occurred on an NCAA court docket round this time of 12 months.

Tournament schedule

All occasions ET. Conference event seedings are additionally listed.

Wednesday, March 11 – First spherical

Broadcaster: Peacock/NBCSN

• Game 1: No. 8 Butler vs. No. 9 Providence, 4 p.m.
• Game 2: No. 7 Marquette vs. No. 10 Xavier, 6:30 p.m.
• Game 3: No. 6 DePaul vs. No. 11 Georgetown, 9 p.m.

Thursday, March 12 – Quarterfinals

Broadcaster: Peacock/NBCSN, FS1

• Game 4: No. 1 St. John’s vs. Game 1 winner, midday (Peacock/NBCSN)
• Game 5: No. 4 Seton Hall vs. No. 5 Creighton, 2:30 p.m. (Peacock/NBCSN)
• Game 6: No. 2 UConn vs. Game 2 winner, 7 pm (FS1)
• Game 7: No. 3 Villanova vs. Game 3 winner, 9:30 pm (FS1)

Friday, March 13 – Semifinals

Broadcasters: FS1, Fox

• Game 8: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 5:30 pm (Fox)
• Game 9: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 8 pm (FS1)

Saturday, March 14 – Championship

Broadcaster: Fox

• Game 10: Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 6:30 p.m.

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