One of my favorite sports weeks of the year is conference tournament week in college basketball.
It’s right up there with the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament in terms of drama and excitement.
Automatic bids are on the line.
You win the tournament, you’re in the tournament. Period. No questions asked.
Conference tournament week could be every crazier this year.
Fearful that top teams might opt out, the Big Ten is moving its conference tournament from Chicago to Indianapolis.
By doing so, they’re basically creating a bubble ahead of the NCAA Tournament, which will take place in its entirety in Indianapolis.
It’s a great move by the Big Ten to incentivize its top teams to actually play.
What reason would a team like Wisconsin have to play if it was in Chicago? None.
Health and safety protocols require teams to have seven consecutive days of negative tests before the NCAA Tournament.
Why risk getting sick during conference tournament week when you’re already firmly in the field of 68?
The Big Ten has alleviated that issue by moving their tournament.
But not every conference can do that.
So what’s to stop a team like Villanova or Gonzaga or Baylor from opting out?
Honestly, nothing.
It’d be the right move.
And with top teams out of conference tournaments, lower seeded teams might steal more automatic bids.
That’s fine by me.
I just hope the NCAA doesn’t step in and A) require top teams to play or B) penalize top teams for not playing.
You don’t ever provide real leadership. Why start now?
Embrace the chaos. It’s everything we love about tournament time in the first place.
