Having to move your conference tournament so another’s can happen should’ve ended talk of going there in the first place. The tournament played second fiddle to that of the Big East, even moving the dates to accommodate it. Putting the conference tournament in Madison Square Garden firmly positioned the Big Ten as the second biggest show in NYC in March. Both can play great hosts for events and that’s precisely the problem with the first option. Now, absolutely nothing against either city. So the location answer is simple, right? You’d think that! Then the conference went and sent the tournament to New York City and Washington D.C. The city’s built for it despite being smaller than Chicago and benefits from its central location bordering Illinois, Michigan and Ohio State with two in-state teams. Indianapolis is well-positioned to host events, having done so for the Big Ten Tournament, Final Fours, the NFL combine and even the Super Bowl. The city obviously has enough to do to support those in attendance as well. This has been done by alternating between Chicago and Indianapolis.Ĭhicago is the core of the Midwest with enough fans already in the city to support the tournament before the travel of others. With the Big Ten being so spread out, the issue of travel and location can be addressed by choosing a city that’s roughly centrally placed in the conference. Going from one end of the conference to another as a fan all but necessitates a flight, which’ll only get worse with the coming arrival of UCLA and USC.īut the Big East has added a few Western members over the years and its conference tournament retains that magic. For one, the Midwest is much more spread out than the Northeast. There’s obviously a few issues that can’t be changed. It should be a city wherein that conference has a definite foothold, has enough of a surrounding community to support non-basketball activities and it should be as easy to get to for as many teams as possible. You can’t just throw a conference tournament anywhere and expect the fans to turn out.

Location Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images The makeup of the Big Ten men’s basketball Tournament can’t be perfected, but it can be improved. Conference expansion has eroded much of the league’s traditional matchups and the energy they bring. The tournament lacks an established historic location. The city is great, the arena is historic, the fanbases are rabid and the basketball itself is likely the best in the country. It makes sense, the city can more than support all of those fanbases and it’s easy to get to and around for most of them. The conference has held its tournament in New York City every year since 1983. Johns and others take the court at Madison Square Garden.Īnd that’s the thing, it’s always Madison Square Garden. There’s legitimate heat when the likes of UConn, Providence, Georgetown, St. The Big East is obviously a basketball-only conference, but the focus and investment in the sport has produced the most compelling product of all the major conferences. One tournament checks all of these boxes: The Big East’s on the men’s side. The destination needs to make sense, there needs to be established culture and the on-court product has to be good. In an ideal world, conference basketball tournaments serve as an exciting culmination to an interesting regular season of college hoops.įanbases from all teams gather in one spot that makes sense to converse, take in the surrounding areas before and after the games and, of course, watch the basketball.

The Big Ten, among its many issues, has a problem with its conference men’s basketball tournament.Ĭollege basketball is a regional sport with only a handful of schools having true national title expectations every year, the NCAA Tournament is a loser factory.

Big 10 basketball tournament