The Big East Conference men's basketball tournament begins in just five days, and on Tuesday the field got a bit of a shuffle when the Connecticut Huskies lost at the Providence Friars. The loss puts UConn's NCAA Tournament hopes in a lot of jeopardy, as they've dropped nine of their last 12 contests with the only victories coming against Seton Hall Pirates, DePaul Blue Demons and Villanova Wildcats.
In conclusion, the odds that UConn fans stopped reading this piece after its second sentence are very good.
Meanwhile, Seton Hall (19-10, 8-9) and the South Florida Bulls (18-11, 11-5) greatly benefit from the Huskies awful play down the stretch, as both teams have not only secured a bye in the Big East Tournament -- Seton Hall just needs to beat DePaul on Saturday -- but, possibly a March Madness bid. However, the latter will be decided on Selection Sunday.
For now, here's what the Big East Tournament bracket would look like if the five-day, 16-team, single-elimination event begin today.
(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) West Virginia Mountaineers
2 p.m.: (13) Pittsburgh Panthers vs. (12) Rutgers Scarlet Knights
7 p.m.: (15) Providence Friars vs. (10) Connecticut Huskies
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) Notre Dame Fighting Irish
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) Georgetown Hoyas
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.