March 12, 2026

Big East Round 1: March to MSG

basketball , Big East Basketball , Big East Conference , Big East Tournament , College , college basketball , college sports , MSG , Seton Hall

The first round of the Big East Tournament is in the books, and in true Big East fashion, every game delivered.

Here’s a quick overview of Wednesday’s slate of games.

Butler vs. Providence

Butler got off to a fast start, jumping out to a 25–9 lead over the Friars and maintaining control for most of the first half. Providence desperately needed to find some offense after the slow start.

With five minutes to go in the half, the Friars began to turn things around, knocking down shots and hitting from three. Just before halftime, Mela hit a jumper to tie the game at 38–38.

Providence carried that momentum into the second half, jumping out to a 10-point lead and keeping Butler at arm’s length the rest of the way.

Sellers knocked down a three with under five minutes remaining. A three-pointer by Vakkas followed by another jumper from Mela pushed the Friars ahead of the Bulldogs 84–77 with less than two minutes to play. Vakkas stayed hot, hitting another three to give Providence a comfortable 10-point lead.

Butler hit a late three with 35 seconds left, but it was too little, too late. Providence secured the win and will face St. John’s in the quarterfinals.

Marquette vs. Xavier

Xavier jumped out to a quick lead early in the game. A couple of strong layups helped the Musketeers go up 23–14 over the Golden Eagles.

Both teams traded three-pointers with under ten minutes remaining in the first half. Xavier shot an impressive 63 percent from the floor and began pulling away a few minutes into the second half with a 15–2 run.

Marquette continued to fight, but their offensive inconsistency eventually caught up with them as they fell to Xavier 89–87.

Georgetown vs. DePaul

The final game of Round 1 featured a late-night matchup between DePaul and Georgetown.

Both teams traded leads throughout the first half, but the Hoyas managed to take a narrow advantage into halftime. DePaul kept things tight down the stretch, and with four minutes remaining RJ Smith hit a three-pointer to bring the Blue Demons within three.

As the minutes ticked off the clock in the second half the Hoyas kicked it into high gear leaving DePaul in panic mode. Georgetown came out on top beating DePaul 63-56 and will face Villanova in the Quarterfinals.