Big East Tournament 2012 Bracket And Schedule: Cincinnati Earns Final Double Bye

The 2012 Big East Tournament bracket and schedule has been finalized, and the Cincinnati Bearcats have earned a double bye into the quarterfinals. The Bearcats finished in a three-way tie for fourth place with Georgetown and South Florida, but earned the tiebreaker by virtue of a win over the Hoyas in January.

That means Cincinnati will wait until Thursday to play its first game. They'll play either Georgetown, St. John's or Pittsburgh in that one. Here is the complete Big East Tournament schedule.

First Round: Tuesday, March 6

Noon: No. 16 DePaul vs. No. 9 Connecticut (ESPN2)
2 p.m.: No. 13 Pittsburgh vs. No. 12 St. John's (ESPN2)
7 p.m.: No. 15 Providence vs. No. 10 Seton Hall (ESPNU)
9 p.m.: No. 14 Villanova vs. No. 11 Rutgers (ESPNU)

Second Round: Wednesday, March 7

Noon: DePaul/UConn winner vs. No. 8 West Virginia (ESPN)
2 p.m.: Pitt/St. John's winner vs. No. 5 Georgetown (ESPN)
7 p.m.: Providence/Seton Hall winner vs. No. 7 Louisville (ESPN)
9 p.m.: Villanova/Rutgers winner vs. No. 6 South Florida (ESPN)

Quarterfinals: Thursday, March 8

Noon: DePaul/UConn/West Virginia winner vs. No. 1 Syracuse (ESPN)
2 p.m.: Pitt/St. John's/Georgetown winner vs. No. 4 Cincinnati (ESPN)
7 p.m.: Providence/Seton Hall/Louisville winner vs. No. 2 Marquette (ESPN)
9 p.m.: Villanova/Rutgers/USF winner vs. No. 3 Notre Dame (ESPN)

Semifinals: Friday, March 9

7 p.m.: Winners of Thursday's noon and 2 p.m. games (ESPN)
9 p.m.: Winners of Thursday's 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. games (ESPN)

Championship: Saturday, March 10 at 9:00 PM (ESPN)

If the Hoyas win their first game, they would face Cincinnati. The two teams only played once this season, with the Bearcats winning, 68-64, at the Verizon Center on January 9.

Click here for more on the 2012 Big East Tournament.