Pittsburgh captured the number one seed in the 2011 Big East Tournament bracket after winning the conference title with a regular-season record of 27-4. This is the third time that the Panthers have received the tournament's top seed, and they have won the tournament twice.
Notre Dame (25-5) received the No. 2 seed in the Big East Tournament. Louisville (23-8) and Syracuse (25-6) are the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds, respectively. The top four seeds in the tournament receive two byes and will not play until Thursday.
The 2011 Big East Tournament is set to begin on Tuesday, March 8, when the Connecticut Huskies (21-9) square off with the DePaul Blue Demons (7-23) in a first round match-up at MSG at noon EST. No. 12 Seton Hall (13-17) will then face No. 13 Rutgers (14-16) at 2 p.m.
The Big East Championship game will be played at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, March 12, at 9 p.m., and will be broadcast on ESPN. The semifinals will also be broadcast on ESPN and will be played at MSG on Friday night starting at 7 p.m.
2011 Big East Tournament Schedule
Tuesday, March 8 - First Round (ESPN2/ESPN 3D)
No. 9 Connecticut (21-9) vs. No. 16 DePaul (7-23) Noon
No. 12 Seton Hall (13-17) vs. No. 13 Rutgers (14-16) 2 p.m.
No. 10 Villanova (21-10) vs. No. 15 USF (9-22) 7 p.m.
No. 11 Marquette (18-13) vs. No. 14 Providence (15-16) 9 p.m.
Wednesday, March 9 - Second Round (ESPN/ESPN 3D)
No. 8 Georgetown (21-9) vs. Connecticut/DePaul winner Noon
No. 5 St. John's (20-10) vs. Seton Hall/Rutgers winner 2 p.m.
No. 7 Cincinnati (24-7) vs. Villanova/USF winner 7 p.m.
No. 6 West Virginia (20-10) vs. Marquette/Providence winner 9 p.m.
Thursday, March 10 - Quarterfinals (ESPN/ESPN 3D)
No. 1 Pittsburgh (27-4) vs. 8/9/16 winner Noon
No. 4 Syracuse (25-6) vs. 5/12/13 winner 2 p.m.
No. 2 Notre Dame (25-5) vs. 7/10/15 winner 7 p.m.
No. 3 Louisville (23-8) vs. 6/11/14 winner 9 p.m.
Friday, March 11 - Semifinals (ESPN/ESPN 3D)
Thursday afternoon winners 7 p.m.
Thursday evening winners 9 p.m.
Saturday, March 12 - Championship (ESPN/ESPN 3D)
Semifinal winners 9 p.m.