The 2025 Big East Tournament has reached the semifinal rounds, and it should surprise no one that the remaining teams were the conference's heavyweights this season.
Potential cinderellas like Butler and DePaul each made a good run, but the clock struck midnight on both in the quarterfinals. Xavier, a bubble team trying to pad its resume for the NCAA Tournament, didn't do itself any favors by losing its only game of the conference tournament, although the Musketeers did lead No. 25 Marquette by as many as 14 points before relinquishing command in the second half.
Here is where things stand in the Big East as we enter the semifinal round of the conference tournament on Friday night at Madison Square Garden.
Updated Big East Tournament bracket after two rounds
St. John's, Marquette, Creighton, and UConn will compete in the Big East Tournament semifinal games, each starting tournament play with wins on Thursday after receiving first-round byes.
Marquette and Creighton had close calls in the quarterfinals. The Golden Eagles survived a scare from Xavier with a 53-point second half to secure an 89-87 win after trailing by 10 at halftime. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays needed double overtime to avoid an upset against DePaul.
UConn also trailed Villanova at the half but held the Wildcats to just 20 points throughout the restof the game to run away with a 17-point win. St. John's cruised in a blow out win over Butler behind 20 points from RJ Luis Jr.
St. John's vs. Marquette will be Friday's first semifinal, and UConn vs. Creighton follows. The winners will play for the Big East Tournament title at 6:30 p.m. ET on Saturday.
St. John's and Marquette just played an overtime thriller on Saturday in Milwaukee. Creighton is the only team remaining in the tournament that has defeated the Red Storm this season.
Where do Big East teams stand in the NCAA Tournament projections now?
All four teams playing in Friday's semifinals should be safely in. St. John's has the biggest guarantee, projected as a No. 3 seed by most experts. Creighton and UConn project as No. 8 or No. 9 seeds, while Marquette's predictions are all over the place.
ESPN has the Golden Eagles as a No. 8 seed. Yet, CBS projects them as a No. 5, and Fox has them as a No.7. Obviously, continuing to win the games in front of them will put Marquette in a good spot, but it's curious that no one seems to agree on its standing at the moment, other than the fact that Marquette will be one of the 68 teams in the field.
Arguments can be made about how much impact a conference tournament result can have on a team's March Madness seeding, especially if they were already expected to be in the field. In this case, head-to-head matchups and conference tournament results could help the selection committee differentiate between multiple middling teams in a top-heavy conference.
Most outlets project the Big East to have at least four teams in the field. The only real questions are where are they seeded and did Xavier do enough to join them?
The Musketeers won't get a chance to improve their standing before Selection Sunday after Thursday's loss. The good news is that both ESPN and CBS have them in the field, playing play-in games against Texas and San Diego State as a No. 11 or No. 12 seed. However, the latest results dropped Xavier into Fox's "First Four Out."