I spent three days at the Big 10 Tournament (deciding to skip the final so I can sit on the edge of my seat while watching to see if the Illini back their way into the NCAAs) and, man do I have thoughts.
Indianapolis is the perfect venue for the tournament. Downtown Indianapolis is small; all the teams stay within a few block radius of Conseco Fieldhouse. Each school has its own restaurant/bar associated with it, all within a 4-6 block radius of Conseco. The Big 10 tournament is THE event of the weekend and Indianapolis caters to the tournament. Chicago, on the other hand, would need to hold the tournament at the United Center. There are few hotels in the area necessitating public transportation to get to the tournament. There are just a few bars/restaurants around the UC. And in Chicago, the Big 10 Tournament is just AN event. Come to Indianapolis for the Big 10 Tournament next year. You will not regret it.
The basketball varied from exciting (Northwestern/Ohio State or Michigan/Illinois) to mind numbingly awful (see the crime against basketball that was the Penn State/Wisconsin game).
The Big 10 Tournament took on a special significance for the teams on the bubble. This was a unique Big 10 season with three teams solidly in the tournament and four teams mediocre enough to sneak into the NCAAs.
As an Illinois fan this tourney was an unmitigated disaster. Heading into the tournament, Illinois was pretty clearly the fourth Big 10 team. After losing to Michigan (in a game I am still not really ready to talk about), Michigan State beat Purdue handily, and Penn State beat Wisconsin and Michigan State. After all that, it is very possible that the Selection Committee considers Illinois the 7th Big 10 team and may end up on the outside looking in. Again.
To sum up, the Big 10 tournament is an awesome spectator event. This year, it was a disaster for the Illini (that I'm not ready to talk about).
Check back here next week for a discussion of Big 10 teams and their tournament hopes.
No comments:
Post a Comment