I just realized that next year’s Big 10 Tournament is scheduled to begin on February 28th, a week earlier than normal, to be able to play it in New York. How stupid is this? Now we’re going to be playing two conference games in early December to accommodate this crap? We’re already likely away at Texas in December and could potentially have to sandwich that with two Big 10 road games. Not to mention a home game with UCLA and a Big10/ACC Challenge game in there too.
Hate rotating the conference tournament to sites that are not even close to a central location. Heck, I’d rather have the BTT in Bloomington even though we usually play like crap there than have it in NY or DC or Atlantic City or wherever. Put it back in Indy. Or if you’re going to rotate - Milwaukee, Indy, Detroit, Cleveland, Minneapolis/St Paul, Youngstown…You know. Actual, Midwest cities.
I get the reasoning of playing in NYC, but if they can’t accommodate the proper tournament dates then move on to the next year. 14 programs are inconvenienced for the greed of a conference.
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What happened to the Big TEN? We now have 14 teams which makes zero sense. Maryland, Rutgers, Penn State, and Nebraska should leave and bring back relevance to the name. Having the tournament on the east coast is stupid since the origin of the Big Ten is in the midwest.
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If you’re going to have PSU, MD, and Rutgers in the B1G, then having the BTT in DC or NY occasionally makes sense. Switching the weeks does seem silly but football has five weeks before the bowl games and the scheduling isn’t that crazy. And at this point, with all the late or early games to accommodate tv, this doesn’t seem so wild.
I understand missing the days of the actual Big Ten before even PSU, but those days are long gone. And I do like being able to watch every single game on tv. I do think they could’ve played in Brooklyn the year after or something like that.
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We’ve had Nebraska in the conference longer, but I’ve never seen any B1G officials saying we should have it in Des Moines or St Louis to accommodate them or Minnesota.
Actually the Target Center in Minneapolis is going through a full renovation this summer and I’m hearing they’re definitely going to bid on the tournament in the coming years.
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Yeah, I’m not surprised that the conference isn’t having its tournament in Lincoln or Des Moines, as they are slightly different than DC and NYC in terms of Big Ten alumni there, nearby recruiting hotbeds nearby, and, oh yeah, the tv markets. There is certainly more benefit to the conference and its membership to having the tournament and more exposure in DC and NYC than in Nebraska.
Yeah, which is why it’s only about $, not because PSU, MD and Rutgers are in the conference. Maybe I misunderstood your original point.
To paraphrase Coach Boeheim, how many elite hoops recruits come from Des Moines? NYC and DC/NoVA both produce a LOT of elite D1 athletes. Yes, $ plays a big role in Tourney location, but so does recruiting.
Not saying it’s correct, just saying it is part of the equation.
Michigan alumni are all over DC. Let us have our fun. The Midwest will get the tournament back soon enough. 
Also, I wouldn’t exactly describe Chicago and Indianapolis as neutral courts. Until Michigan plays Maryland, it’s as close as it’s ever been to a neutral court in the tournament.
Yea I like the nyc pick. A week earlier is dumb but as a fan of the big ten I love the idea of going to nyc for a weekend vacation to watch hoops.
Also yes try and reach the Meccas Fertile recruiting grounds. Wish it was this year so bamba could be taking it in court side as we get hot and win it all. Who knows what future wolverines will be in msg as kids
I’m not a fan of playing the Tournament a week early, either. BigEast has a deal w/MSG to host its Tournament through 2026. If the decision was mine, I would have gone to Brooklyn in 2019 (ACC is back there in 2018 & 2020) and tried to book MSG for 2027.
But, a lot easier said from the comfort of my couch than it is to execute from the B1G Offices.
And who knows, maybe the chance to play at MSG next season entices Bamba to select UM 
Are both Madison Square Garden and the Barclays Center busy during the normal conference tournament week, or is it just MSG?
Yes, both MSG & Barclays are booked for the “normal” championship weekend next season. MSG has the Big East Tourney, Barclays the ACC.
Also there are a lot of UM, OSU, PSU, IU, MSU fans and alumni here in DC. I’m actually enjoying this since I can’t fly into Indy or Chicago when the tourney happens. I’ll be in attendance for today’s game.
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If both Barclays and MSG are booked, what about the Prudential Center (in Newark)? It’s close enough.
Or else, just don’t have it in the NY area. Hosting the tournament a week early is crazy.
Maybe the extra week will help big ten teams in the NCAA tourney. It’s extra rest.
As a high-level athlete you get used to a competitive rhythm, playing a game every few days. When you have a major change to your schedule like that, suddenly giving you a bunch of time off, it can throw you off. You often see football teams come out flat after a bye week.
I don’t know if this was a factor or not, but probably our worst game of the last two months (home vs. OSU) came after we had a week off.