NEW YORK - All college basketball coaches brag about their conferences heading into the postseason, hoping to impress anyone listening. The Big East coaches have no need to exaggerate.

“The middle of the pack seems to be the strongest it’s ever been,” Pittsburgh’s Jamie Dixon said. “Villanova coming in as the ninth seed? That surely says a lot about our conference. I don’t think anybody else has a ninth seed with a top 20 RPI rating.”

Last year, the Big East became the first league to have eight teams make the NCAA tournament. It wouldn’t be a shock to see the same number again.

“The parity is tremendous,” said Georgetown coach John Thompson III, whose Hoyas won the regular-season title for the first time since his father was in charge of the program in 1989. “The difference from the guys at the top and those not at the top is minuscule.”

Georgetown, Louisville, Pittsburgh and Notre Dame earned first-round byes and await the winners of Wednesday’s opening-round at Madison Square Garden. Those four are considered locks to earn bids to the NCAA tournament and there could be as many as four more joining them from the 16-team conference.

“It’s not a league, it’s a corporation. It’s not surprising we’ll get eight in because it’s two leagues not one,” Louisville coach Rick Pitino said. “The competition is unbelievable. Every game is different because of the variety of styles and that makes it interesting and challenging. It is so keen and so incredible that you have to be on top of your game every night.”

Georgetown (23-6, 13-3) gets the winner of the game between DePaul (18-12, 9-7) and Villanova (21-9, 9-7). Second-seeded Louisville (22-8, 12-4) meets the winner of West Virginia (21-8, 9-7) and Providence (18-11, 8-8).

Third-seeded Pittsburgh (25-6, 12-4) will the face the winner of the game between Marquette (23-8, 10-6) and St. John’s (16-14, 7-9). The last of the quarterfinals has fourth-seeded Notre Dame (23-6, 11-5) meeting the winner of Syracuse (21-9, 10-6) and Connecticut (17-13, 6-10).

“When you think about the history and tradition of the league and see Syracuse and Connecticut and the league’s two Hall of Fame coaches going at it on the first day, it’s pretty staggering,” Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said.

Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim made history in the 2006 tournament when the Orange won it all as the ninth seed behind a remarkable week for senior guard Gerry McNamara. It was the first time a team took the title by winning four games, and it was Syracuse’s fifth Big East championship and second in a row.

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“New York is a crap shoot,” Boeheim said. “Anyone can win there. We proved it last year as a No. 9 seed. Any of the 12 teams can conceivably win the tournament and I wouldn’t put it past anybody. We did it last year and came in playing horribly. It’s a tough tournament.”

Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun is looking at the tournament as a chance for the inexperienced Huskies to salvage a tough season that started with a Top 25 ranking.

“Hopefully there’s some toughness from the scar tissue we’ve built up and we’ll have a chance to show that,” he said. “Syracuse did it last year. They had four great days led by one of the best performances in Big East history and we need someone to do that. It’s nice to have a fresh start.”

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St. John’s, in the tournament for the first time since 2003, will be without all-league forward Lamont Hamilton, who injured his left knee Sunday against Providence.

“He has worked extremely hard during his four-year career, and especially during his senior season to put us in a position to qualify for the Big East tournament,” Red Storm coach Norm Roberts said. “It is disappointing that he won’t be able to participate after all of his dedication to our team. He will be with us on the sidelines cheering on his teammates.”