Big East Tournament: Quarterfinal Preview

After a dramatic game between Marquette and St. John's late last night, the Big East Tournament continues on Thursday with the Quarterfinal round. This is the best day of the week as eight teams are set to take the floor with a chance to advance one step closer to a conference postseason title.

And all four games come with intriguing storylines. Georgetown can never be discounted no matter how poor of a season they have had and the Hoyas will try to shock Villanova. Providence and Butler should be the best game of the day with both teams playing plenty of offense. Henry Ellenson had a spectacular performance on Wednesday night. Can he follow that up against a strong Xavier front line?

And then there's the two sleepers, Creighton and Seton Hall, who will go head to head in the late night game.

It will be a jammed back day of basketball so here's what to look forward in each game.

No. 1 Villanova vs. No. 8 Georgetown Noon ET on FS1

The Hoyas won on Wednesday night due to the level of their competition but D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera played a bit better (finished with 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting) and the Hoyas got big man Bradley Hayes back from a broken hand.

Playing Villanova less than 24 hours after the win over DePaul may be a major concern for the Hoyas though. Josh Hart could have easily won the Big East Player of the Year award and the Wildcats are on a mission to prove the critics wrong about their postseason problems.

No. 4 Providence vs. No. 5 Butler 2:30 p.m. ET on FS1

This could very well be one of the games of the tournament as both teams score the basketball at ease.

The Friars are led by Big East Player of the Year Kris Dunn and breakout player Ben Bentil while the Bulldogs have the highest scoring offense in the league. Kellen Dunham, Roosevelt Jones and Kelan Martin are tough to account for so expect a shoot out.

No. 2 Xavier vs. No. 7 Marquette 7 p.m. ET on FS1

The battle of the bigs: James Farr and Jalen Reynolds versus Henry Ellenson and Luke Fischer. Whichever team scores more points and the paint and controls the glass is likely to win, but let's not forget how well rounded the Musketeers are.

Trevon Bluiett is an excellent young talent on the offensive side of the ball, Edmond Sumner is the heart of the team and Myles Davis is the leader who normally comes up big in the clutch.

In the end, the Golden Eagles might not have the experience to match-up.

No. 3 Seton Hall vs. No. 6 Creighton 9:30 p.m. ET on FS1

Isaiah Whitehead is playing the best basketball of his career and may be the hottest player in the country. With Angel Delgado, Khadeen Carrington and Desi Rodriguez all playing sidekick, the Pirates have locked up an NCAA berth (first since 2006) and will look to steal the trophy away from the top two teams, Villanova and Xavier.

Meanwhile, the Blue Jays need to win the whole thing to clinch a bid to the Big Dance. Maurice Watson Jr. will have to play out of his mind and the Creighton shooters must catch fire.