NEW YORK – The season's theme of parity continued on Sunday as four of five games were decided by single digits making for a dramatic conclusion to the BIG EAST women's basketball regular season. It took until the day's final buzzer sounded for the 2019 BIG EAST Women's Basketball Tournament presented by Jeep bracket to be set, as six teams finished the regular season in various ties across the 10-team standings. The league championship is set for March 9-12 at Wintrust Arena, located in downtown Chicago, with the top-six seeds earning byes directly into the quarterfinals.
No. 1 seed Marquette earned the BIG EAST regular-season title outright by finishing 15-3 in conference play, marking the Golden Eagles' second consecutive regular-season crown. MU will play in the first quarterfinal game on March 10 at noon CT, facing the winner of the 8-9 matchup which pits Seton Hall against St. John's. The two tied in the regular-season standings at 7-11, but the Pirates earned the season sweep of the Red Storm to gain the seeding advantage. No. 8 seed Seton Hall and No. 9 seed St. John's tip off at 2 p.m. CT on Saturday, March 9.
Reigning tourney champion DePaul is a top-two seed for the sixth consecutive year, representing the No. 2 seed in 2019. The Blue Demons finished regular-season play 14-4 and are currently riding a BIG EAST-best eight-game winning streak. No. 2 seed DePaul will play the first game of the night session of Sunday's quarterfinals at 6 p.m. CT, facing the winner of Saturday's 7-10 matchup which sees Providence against Xavier. The Friars finished tied for sixth in the standings with Creighton at 8-10 and the two split the regular-season series. The Bluejays earned the advantage by way of their win over top-seeded Marquette during the regular season.
At No. 7, Providence has its highest seeding since it was the No. 2 in the 1996 BIG EAST Tournament. The Friars swept No. 10 seed Xavier during the regular season, and the two have never met in the conference postseason.No. 7 seed Providence and No. 10 seed Xavier tip off at 4:30 p.m. CT in Saturday's first round. The Musketeers went 2-16 in BIG EAST play with eight losses by single digits.
Villanova and Georgetown tied for fourth in the regular-season standings at 9-9 and split the season series. After both went 0-2 against Marquette and DePaul, the tiebreaker came down to results against No. 3 seed Butler, which the Hoyas went 1-1 against while the Wildcats went 0-2, including today's overtime setback. No. 4 seed Georgetown and No. 5 seed Villanova meet in the quarterfinals at 2:30 p.m. CT on Sunday, marking the second straight year they'll meet in the conference tourney and seventh time overall (Villanova, 5-2).
Quarterfinal day wraps up when No. 3 seed Butler faces No. 6 seed Creighton at 8:30 CT. The Bulldogs claim their highest seed since joining the BIG EAST prior to the 2013-14 season, besting their previous mark of No. 6. Butler finished the regular season alone in third place with a program-best 11-7 mark in BIG EAST play. The Bulldogs earned a bye into the quarterfinals for the first time since 2015. Creighton heads straight into the quarterfinals for the third consecutive year, coming in as a 6-seed for the first time. Butler swept Creighton during the regular season, one of just two teams to do so this season along with Villanova. The Bluejays were the only conference team this season to earn wins over the top two seeds in the BIG EAST Tournament – Marquette and DePaul. Creighton and Butler have met twice previously in the conference tourney, with the Bluejays winning both times (2017QF, 2014QF).
The BIG EAST Digital Network presented by SoFi will have live coverage of the BIG EAST Tournament First Round on March 9, before FS2 takes over for all four quarterfinals on March 10. FS1 will have complete coverage of the final three games of the tournament, starting with the semifinals on March 11 at 3 and 5:30 p.m. CT, followed by the final on March 12 at 7 p.m. CT. The winner of the BIG EAST Women's Basketball Tournament receives the league's automatic bid into the 2019 NCAA Tournament.
For more on the BIG EAST Women's Basketball Tournament, visit Championship Central.
2019 BIG EAST Women's Basketball Tournament Presented by Jeep
Wintrust Arena – Chicago, Ill.
First Round – March 9
Game 1: #9 St. John's vs. #8 Seton Hall, 2 p.m. (BEDN)
Game 2: #10 Xavier vs. #7 Providence, 4:30 p.m. (BEDN)
Quarterfinals – March 10
Game 3: #1 Marquette vs Game 1 winner, Noon (FS2)
Game 4: #5 Villanova vs. #4 Georgetown, 2:30 p.m. (FS2)
Game 5: #2 DePaul vs. Game 2 winner, 6 p.m. (FS2)
Game 6: #6 Creighton vs. #3 Butler, 8:30 p.m. (FS2)
Semifinals – March 11
Game 7: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 3 p.m. (FS1)
Game 8: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 5:30 p.m. (FS1)
Final – March 12
Game 9: Semifinal winners, 7 p.m. (FS1)
All times Central
