Marquette captured the first of two consecutive regular season titles after Syracuse was forced to vacate 9 wins from the 2011-2012 season , and third outright , with a conference win-loss record of 17 – 1 , which tied Connecticut in 1995 – 96 for most regular season conference wins in conference history . The Orange also received the no. 1 seed in the Big East Tournament , and a bye into the quarterfinals , along with 2nd-seed Marquette , 3rd-seed Notre Dame , and 4th-seed Cincinnati . Georgetown , South Florida , Louisville , and West Virginia rounded out the top eight , and all received a bye into the tournament 's second round . Play began at noon on Tuesday , March 6 in Madison Square Garden , when 9th-seed Connecticut defeated 16th-seed DePaul , 81 – 67 . Play ended on Saturday , March 10 , when Louisville defeated Cincinnati , 50 – 44 , for their second Big East Championship
Big East Tournament
2012 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament
2011–12 Big East Conference men's basketball season