For the final time, the Big East Conference as we know it will contest its historic tournament at Madison Square Garden in New York City. By the 2015 season, these teams will be scattered throughout the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Big Ten Conference and the “America 12” (rumored name for the old Big East). But since all that is boring and confusing, let’s live in the present and examine what’s at stake for the 2013 Big East tournament.

Mess at the top

The Big East currently features a three-way tie for first place between No. 5 Georgetown University, No. 8 University of Louisville, and No. 15 Marquette University. Each team boasts a 13-4 record in conference play. Behind that crew sits another grouping of three, who all also happen to be ranked in No. 24 University of Notre Dame, No. 20 University of Pittsburgh, and No. 17 Syracuse University, who are all 11-6 in conference. Dark horse Villanova University put an exclamation point on conference play last Wednesday, March 6, with an upset of Georgetown to push the Wildcats to 10-8 in Big East play. The conference’s top seven seeds will all be within four games of one another, meaning any team could win.

Georgetown

The Hoyas were riding a nearly month-and-a-half long win streak of 11 games before stumbling at Villanova on Wednesday night, 67-57. However, a 22-point victory over Syracuse on Saturday, March 9 proves that the Hoyas are not just a Big East title contender, but also a national championship contender. Led by sophomore forward Otto Porter Jr., who averages 16.4 points per game, Georgetown is one of the most feared teams in the nation. Against the other tied teams, Georgetown is 2-1, with wins over both Louisville and Marquette. The Hoyas lost to Marquette as well, though.

Louisville

The always-dangerous Louisville Cardinals have not lost a regulation game since January 26. The only defeat in that span came to Notre Dame in five overtimes on Feb. 9. Junior guard Russ Smith averages 17.9 points per game for coach Rick Pitino’s squad. Since momentum is everything come March, the Cardinals are my pick to take home the Big East championship, then make a deep run through March Madness.

Marquette

As the quiet team of the bunch, Marquette is a balanced squad led by junior guard Vander Blue, who “only” averages 14.4 points per game. The Golden Eagles, coached by Buzz Williams, have been handled by Louisville, 70-51, and Georgetown, 63-55, though they did record a one-point home win against the Hoyas. Can the Golden Eagles make it to the Big East finals? Probably not, since they have to go through Louisville in the semifinals, but stranger things have happened.

The Field

The 2011 University of Connecticut Huskies were a No. 9 seed when they won the Big East Tournament. So, who is this year’s UConn? If I had to bet, my favorite “sleeper” is the Villanova Wildcats. The No. 7 seed has victories over three top five teams this year (Louisville, Syracuse, Georgetown) and features top freshman Ryan Arcidiacono, whose name alone makes him intimidating. Can the Wildcats roll that magic in four consecutive days? Sitting on the NCAA bubble, they certainly have motivation to.

The Tournament

The 2013 Big East Tournament begins on Tuesday with the bottom six teams in action, kicking off a week of games that will conclude on Saturday night at 9:00 p.m. with the championship game. The winner of the tournament will claim the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, with many at-large bids to follow.