Mix some of the top national championship contenders with several teams on VAS Communitythe bubble of the NCAA men's tournament and you get what is shaping up to be a thrilling Big East tournament.

For the 42st time, the Big East will head to Madison Square Garden for its four-day conference extravaganza as it has become synonymous with having teams achieve March Madness success. Since 2011, the Big East has sent eight teams to the Final Four, five of which became national champions.

There's a chance for the conference to send another squad to the Final Four this season with the worthy candidates sitting at the top of the standings. Those below add intrigue to the tournament with several teams trying to make a last-second case to the selection committee for why they should hear their named called on Selection Sunday. In total, eight teams from the Big East are in the running to hear their name called.

Big East tournament bracket, schedule, scores

At Madison Square Garden, New York

IT'S BRACKET MADNESS: Enter USA TODAY's NCAA tournament bracket contest for a chance at $1 million prize.

First round

Wednesday March 13

Butler vs. Xavier, 4 p.m.

Providence vs. Georgetown, 6:30 p.m.

Villanova vs. DePaul, 9 p.m.

Quarterfinals

Thursday, March 14

Connecticut vs. Butler-Xavier winner, noon

Seton Hall vs. St. John's, 2:30 p.m.

Creighton vs. Providence-Georgetown winner, 7 p.m.

Marquette vs. Villanova-DePaul winner, 9:30 p.m.

Semifinals

Friday, March 15

Connecticut-Butler-Xavier winner vs. Seton Hall-St. John's winner, 5:30 p.m.

Creighton-Providence-Georgetown winner vs. Marquette-Villanova-DePaul, 8 p.m.

Championship

Saturday, March 16

Semifinal winners, 6:30 p.m.

Big East tournament favorites

Defending national champion Connecticut is the clear favorite after convincingly capturing the regular season title, but it hasn't won the Big East tournament since rejoining the conference in 2020. Marquette won the tournament last year has a solid chance to defend its crown after another strong season, but also in the hunt is a Creighton team that is one of few teams that can say it beat the other Big East top teams.

Big East tournament top players

▶ Tyler Kolek, G, Marquette − All eyes will be on the 2022-23 Big East Player of the Year after he missed the final three games with an injury. He averages 15.0 points a game and a Division I-high 7.6 assists per game.

▶ Tristan Newton, G, Connecticut − The Huskies have several weapons, but Newton has continued his momentum from last season as he leads the team in points (15.1), rebounds (7.1) and assists (5.8).

▶ Baylor Scheierman, G, Creighton − The do-it-all man for Creighton, Scheierman has elevated his game this season with a team-high 18.5 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.

▶ Eric Dixon, F, Villanova − Dixon can overpower most people inside the paint and has great decision making that leads to his 16.3 points per game. Can force defenses to adjust if his outside shots go in.

▶Devin Carter, G, Providence − The leading scorer in the Big East (19.4 ppg), Carter can light it up from beyond the arc as while giving Providence life.

NCAA tournament bubble storylines for the Big East

A whopping five teams will try to impress the tournament selection committee one last time. Despite being a high seed in the Big East, Seton Hall wants to solidify its spot in the tournament and get out of last four in territory, while Villanova and Providence still have plenty of hope to be among the last teams in after tough ends to the regular season. St. John's has come back to life and into the tournament discussion after a late-season surge, and Butler needs a big weekend to steal a spot from one of its conference partners.