My Two Cents: My 5 Favorite Things About Big Ten Tournament

It's been a fun week of basketball at the Target Center in Minneapolis, and we wrap it up on Sunday with the Big Ten Tournament championship game between Illinois and Wisconsin. Here are my favorite things about this event, which has been a blast since 1998.

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — The Big Ten puts a bow on its 2023-24 season when No. 2 seed Illinois takes on No. 5 Wisconsin in the championship game of the Big Ten Tournament at 3:30 p.m. ET at the Target Center.

It's been a fun week here in Minneapolis in the last full-field conference tournament as we've known it since 1998. Next year, when the league expands to 18 with the addition of USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington, only the top 15 teams make the field.

There's no getting around it without adding a few days to the event, and it's already plenty long enough. And even though it doesn't mean a lot to the top teams who are off the to the NCAA Tournament anyway, it's still an event that matters.

Here are my five favorite things from this week.

1. It's great to watch 13 games in 5 days

When you're a basketball junkie like I am, it's a lot of fun to have so much going on in a short window. 

The full-day four-game schedules on Thursday and Friday are awesome, and Saturday's two semifinal games were great, especially Wisconsin's upset win over No. 1-seed Purdue. And I'm really looking forward to the final on Sunday.

The joy of covering Indiana and Purdue and the rest of the league is that you really get to know all these coaches and players well. It's great to have a chance to see them all in one spot. And the games, for the most part, have been pretty good.

2. I love the open locker room policy

There's a cooling off period after each game, and then the locker rooms are open to the media for 30 minutes. That doesn't happen during the regular season, It gives us a chance to talk to several players, often one-on-one. It's a rare treat. We don't get that option anywhere any more, except here and the NCAA Tournament.

It sure helps to do my job.

After Indiana home games, we get one or two players at a podium for two or three minutes, and that's it. You don't really get to know them well that way. It's even shorter on the road. So this was nice to have some longer conversations. It was also nice, for instance, to say goodbye to a few people after a season-ending loss. I got that chance with Indiana, and said farewell to Xavier Johnson. It was also great catching up with players on some other teams. I wish it was this way every game.

Indiana senior Anthony Leal answers questions from the media in the Hoosiers’ locker room after beating Penn State Thursday night in the Big Ten Tournament :: Tom Brew/HoosiersNow.com

3. Spending time with colleagues in and out of arena

The reporters who cover their Big Ten teams most thoroughly were all here in Minneapolis, and these are folks you see a game or two at a time during the season. All in one big work room here, it's been great to visit with dozens of people and get caught up.

Sure, watching games and doing press conferences together is nice, but it's even better to share a meal and/or a drink, or just sit an chat for a few minutes. It's great bonding time, especially for guys that you won't see for another year — if at all in this crazy business we call journalism.

4. Enjoying Minneapolis, who's been a great host

Sure, there's a lot of geographic bias in play when I say I wish this tournament was in Indianapolis every year, because it's a great host city for all sporting events. Being able to walk EVERYWHERE always sets Indy apart.

But I also get how you need to move this event around a little bit, and Minneapolis has done a great job. The Target Center, home to the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves, is a great building and a wonderful place to watch basketball, but much like Indianapolis, there's plenty to do right downtown, too. There's been lots of good food to be had, and great drinks, too. 

It's doubtful the tourney will be back here any time soon, but this has been a good week. Future sites will be announced soon, and I'm sure we'll see more of Indianapolis and Chicago, but don't be surprised if it moves out west occasionally, too. We'll be in Los Angeles or Las Vegas some time soon. 

The HoosiersNow.com team on press row at the Big Ten Tournament, publisher Tom Brew (left), marketing and social media director Becky Rigel and basketball reporter Jack Ankony

5. The games still matter

Illinois and Wisconsin are safely in the NCAA Tournament, but making a run to the finals has probably helped them move up a spot on the seed line. That's always good. That's why this tournament still matters.

Michigan State came here probably on the good side of the bubble, but beating Minnesota on Thursday probably sealed their deal. A loss would have made for a stressful Selection Sunday show.

Iowa and Ohio State came here with some work still to be done to get in, so their games really mattered. But the No. 7 seed Hawkeyes lost to No. 10 seed Ohio State and then the Buckeyes lost the next day to Illinois. Neither will be going dancing now.

Indiana probably had a chance to reach the postseason without winning the title, but they would have had to at least beat Nebraska and Illinois to get there. That didn't happen, of course. The Hoosiers beat Penn State, but lost by 27 to Nebraska. So, yeah, that game mattered, too. 

it's been fun, and we'll wrap it up today. 

Related stories on Big Ten basketball 

• TITLE GAME PREVIEW: The championship matchup is set for the 2024 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament. No. 2 seed Illinois will take on No. 5 seed Wisconsin at 3:30 p.m. ET at the Target Center in Minneapolis on Sunday. Here's a preview of the matchup between the Fighting Illini and Badgers. CLICK HERE
• WISCONSIN BEATS PURDUE GAME STORY: Top-seeded Purdue had beaten Wisconsin twice during the regular season, but Chucky Hepburn and Max Klesmit made clutch baskets late to help the Badgers steal a 76-75 overtime victory in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals on Saturday. The Badgers are back on track after a tough February, and now it's on to the NCAA Tournament for the Boilers. CLICK HERE
• TOM BREW COLUMN: Referee D.J. Carstensen ejected Mike Woodson from Indiana's ugly 93-66 loss to Nebraska Friday night, and he did something that Scott Dolson and Quinn Buckner wouldn't do. He told him he couldn't coach Indiana basketball any more. That's how this putrid 2023-24 season full of blowout losses ends, a brutal year that simply can't happen again. CLICK HERE
• EDEY PASSES MOUNT: Zach Edey has made more history at Purdue. The 7-foot-4 center broke Rick Mount's all-time scoring record in the Boilermakers' Big Ten Tournament game against Wisconsin on Saturday. He's now the program's all-time leader in points and rebounds. CLICK HERE
• BIG TEN TOURNAMENT TRACKER: The 2024 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament bracket is set. Here's a look at the matchups, dates, times and television information for every game from the Target Center in Minneapolis. CLICK HERE