Report: Teams could be left out of Big Ten basketball tourney next year

Oregon, Washington, USC and UCLA will turn the Big Ten into an 18-team conference in 2024.

When Oregon, Washington, USC and UCLA join the Big Ten for the 2024-25 sports seasons it could lead to a pretty big change in the Big Ten basketball tournaments. 

According to Jon Rothstein at College Hoops Today, there is growing momentum to keep the tournament fields at 14 or 15 teams, which would leave 3-4 teams out if the changes are approved. 

Rothstein says there is no timetable for a decision but discussions have been happening for the past couple of weeks. He previously reported that having all 18 teams in the conference tournaments when Oregon, USC, UCLA and Washington join is "highly unlikely."

Right now, all 14 Big Ten teams automatically qualify for the conference tournament. 

Last year, the Minnesota men's basketball team finished dead last in the Big Ten (2-17) and played in the conference tournament as the No. 14 seed. The lowest seed to win the men's tournament was the No. 8 Michigan State Spartans in 2017. 

Really, the only danger that keeping three or four teams out of the field is not giving every team a chance to make a magical run through the tourney to clinch an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. 

Mar 8, 2023; Chicago, IL, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers guard Braeden Carrington (4) defends Nebraska Cornhuskers guard Keisei Tominaga (30) during the first half at United Center.  / Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports