There are six days left in the Big East Conference men's basketball regular season, and the league's tournament field is slowly taking shape. Currently, the Syracuse Orange and Marquette Golden Eagles are the only two schools to clinch a double-bye in the 16-team, five-day, single elimination event, which begins Tuesday, March 6, at Madison Square Garden.
The Orange (29-1, 16-1) earned the Big East's regular season title, while the Golden Eagles (24-5, 13-3) are in second-place in the Big East standings, but still could fall two fourth place with losses in their final two regular-season games -- at Cincinnati Bearcats, Wed., and versus Georgetown Hoyas on Sat.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish (20-9, 12-4) finish up with a Monday night match-up at Georgetown and against visiting Providence Friars on Friday.
The South Florida Bulls (18-11, 11-5), Cincinnati Bearcats (20-9, 10-6) and Louisville Cardinals (22-7, 10-6) all have slim chances of earning the final double-bye spot, but will need some help to get there.
If you'd like to know what the Big East Tournament bracket would look like if the regular season ended today, well, here it is.
(Note: Bracket is made by the current Big East basketball standings. Head-to-head results are factored in.)
Tuesday, March 6 (First Round):
Noon ET: (No. 16-seed) DePaul Blue Demons vs. (9) Connecticut Huskies
2 p.m.: (13) Pittsburgh Panthers vs. (12) Rutgers Scarlet Knights
7 p.m.: (15) Providence Friars vs. (10) West Virginia Mountaineers
9 p.m.: (14) Villanova Wildcats vs. (11) St. John's Red Storm
Wednesday, March 7 (Second Round on ESPN):
Noon: (WINNER of No. 16/9) vs. (8) Seton Hall Pirates
2 p.m.: (WINNER of No. 13/12) vs. (5) South Florida Bulls
7 p.m.: (WINNER of No. 15/10) vs. (7) Louisville Cardinals
9 p.m.: (WINNER of No. 14/11) vs. (6) Cincinnati Bearcats
Thursday, March 8 (Quarterfinal Round on ESPN):
Noon: (WINNER of Wed. Noon Game) vs. (1) Syracuse Orange
2 p.m.: (WINNER of Wed. 2 p.m. Game) vs. (4) Georgetown Hoyas
7 p.m.: (WINNER of Wed. 7 p.m. Game) vs. (2) Marquette Golden Eagles
9 p.m.: (WINNER of Wed. 9 p.m. Game) vs. (3) Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Friday, March 9 (Semifinal Round on ESPN):
7 p.m.: (WINNER of Thurs. Noon Game) vs. (WINNER of Thurs. 2 p.m. Game)
9 p.m.: (WINNER of Thurs. 7 p.m. Game) vs. (WINNER of Thurs. 9 p.m. Game)
Saturday, March 10 (Championship Round on ESPN):
9 p.m.: WINNERS of Semifinal-Round Games
For complete coverage of the Big East Tournament, check back to this SB Nation New York StoryStream. If you'd like a recap of SBNY's regular-season coverage, visit this StoryStream.