The first of two night games in Tuesday's opening round of the 2012 Big East Tournament is underway. The 10th-seeded Seton Hall Pirates are facing off against the No. 15 seed Providence Friars at Madison Square Garden. Through the first half of play, Seton Hall has taken a commanding lead. The Pirates are on top at halftime, 36-23.

Providence went on a surprising 9-0 run in the opening five minutes of play, but the Pirates went ahead just a few minutes later and have led ever since. Seton Hal is playing some solid basketball, including a nice three-point bomb by freshman Brandon Mobley, who leads all scorers at the break with 11 points:

And this terrific dunk from forward Herb Pope:

Pirates guard Jordan Theodore has helped pace Seton Hall to the lead with nine points.

For complete coverage of the 2012 Big East Tournament, stay tuned to this StoryStream or visit SB Nation's dedicated NCAA basketball hub. For more on the game, be sure to visit our Seton Hall blog, South Orange Juice. For all things Big East Conference, you can always stop by Big East Coast Bias.