2021 Big East Tournament discussion

[ArmyVet]

Lots of questions about this year's Big East Tournament:

1) First, will there be a BET?

Assuming yes, then:
2) If so, will all 11 teams be included?
3) Will it be at MSG?
4) How many fans can attend?
5) Will it be played immediately before the NCAAT?

[GoldenWarrior11]

As sad as it may be, it might be in the best interest to not have the BET this year (assuming other major conferences follow suit). That week could be a buffer week to maybe play any number of the cancelled games, or just a week off entirely before the tournament. Without fans, which seems a strong likelihood at this point, there really isn't a whole lot to play for in a conference tournament this year. We will get multiple bids, anywhere from 4-6 teams, so it seems sort of arbitrary.

Who knows though.

[Omaha1]

As sad as it may be, it might be in the best interest to not have the BET this year (assuming other major conferences follow suit). That week could be a buffer week to maybe play any number of the cancelled games, or just a week off entirely before the tournament. Without fans, which seems a strong likelihood at this point, there really isn't a whole lot to play for in a conference tournament this year. We will get multiple bids, anywhere from 4-6 teams, so it seems sort of arbitrary.

Who knows though.

I agree. What’s the point this year especially with it ending just days before the NCAA tourney? If someone tested positive at MSG that team would be out of the NCAA’s right?

[Hall2012]

I think the only real question here is the first one. If the answer to the first one yes, the others should - for the most part - be pretty easy.

2) If so, will all 11 teams be included? -- Yes, it just removes 1 bye and adds 1 opening night game
3) Will it be at MSG? -- Yes, especially with other conferences looking to get into MSG, its important for us to maintain a strong relationship. They're hurting for events and we should use this opportunity to scratch their backs a bit, even if it would be cheaper to play elsewhere. Without fans in attendance, we should be able to negotiate a reduced rate for this season that works for both sides. They'll remember that come contract extension time.
4) How many fans can attend? 0
5) Will it be played immediately before the NCAAT? The one that's not so easy - I'd guess it ends the usual Saturday before the tournament unless a mandatory pre-tournament quarantine is ordered for participating teams.

[Fieldhouse Flyer]

Lots of questions about this year's Big East Tournament

By pure coincidence, a day after the four preceding posts were made, CBS Sports published this lengthy article which answers some of those questions, and raises even more. The observations by South Carolina coach Frank Martin are particularly salient. Frank Martin is the only head coach in major American sports at this point believed to have contracted the coronavirus twice.

More than one out of every four coaches surveyed say conference tournaments should not be held this season - Matt Norlander – January 21, 2021

'I don't think there should be conference tournaments this year,' one power-conference coach said. 'There's too much at stake.'

CBS Sports surveyed 41 head coaches -- in conferences big and small, with records great, good and sub-par -- and asked: Should your league stage a conference tournament this season?

The alternative to no league tournament would mean the automatic bid would go to the regular-season champion.

No conference has decided to temporarily do away with its playoff, nor has any league pushed up its championship in an attempt to further separate the conclusion of league play with Selection Sunday.

The calendar and context are important, as the schedule could ultimately give way to NCAA Tournament vulnerabilities and/or opportunities surrendered.

The NCAA is mandating all Tier 1 personnel on NCAA Tournament-selected teams return negative COVID-19 tests for seven consecutive days segueing to a team's departure for Indianapolis.

With different formats, locations and timelines for many of these conference tournaments, both big and small, there's a chance March could get messy before it goes mad.

Teams could wind up not playing in their conference tournaments for two reasons. The first is obvious and unintentional: COVID-19 positives prompt a pause. This possibility is precisely why some coaches are against league tournaments. The very threat of being put on pause could eliminate them from NCAA Tournament participation. Is the reward worth that risk?

The second option opens Pandora's box: teams safely projected into the NCAAs opt out of playing in league tournaments. If that were to happen, what recourse could a conference have? One source familiar with television contracts said if it's a program's decision -- with the push from a coaching staff and/or athletic department -- a conference would have the power to revoke league-tournament payments, essentially eliminating that school's share. Amid a pandemic that's wrecked athletic department budgets, that's a significant action. To get a sense of how much of a financial penalty it could be, the source added this postulation: the American Athletic Conference makes somewhere around $300,000 off its league championship in a normal year, while the Pac-12 would be around $750,000 and the Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC vault north of $1 million.

But what if it's not the coaches' decision? What if unpaid amateur athletes on a surefire NCAA Tournament team decide they don't want to put their bodies and health at risk for a less-heralded event and instead choose to sit out a league tournament to better ensure they can play in the tournament that matters (which promises to be much more rigorous in its COVID protocols)? No league could force the players to play, and financially punishing a school under these conditions would be a PR disaster.

"You could even ask in the Big Ten: What's the point?" coach Mark Few said. "If you have a bye in the Big Ten tournament you're probably in."

Gonzaga also makes for an easy hypothetical. If it ends the regular season undefeated, what motivation does it have to play in the WCC championship? Then there's this ramification: If GU opted out but no other WCC team did, that would ethically bring up the issue of bid collusion, just as it would if four projected locks in a multi-bid league all did the same. Whatever the reason might be for good teams potentially choosing not to play in league tournaments, this quandary is on the minds of plenty of coaches -- and the NCAA Tournament selection committee.

"We have discussed it briefly and are aware," NCAA senior vice president of basketball Dan Gavitt told CBS Sports. "But that's as far as I can go to answer at this point. There will be some communication probably made at some point to leagues about just what to do with that situation."

* * * * * *
Ultimately, of course this comes down to the money. Here are the words of two coaches in two different parts of the country, one is in a power conference, the other in one of the lowest-rated leagues in college hoops.

Power-conference coach said: "I think we make too much money in our conference tournament not to do it. That's why I don't think we would have a choice because for the good of the league and the money it generates."

The small-conference coach said: "It's just, 'Get the money and get on to next year.' That's the sad truth."

While the majority of coaches do support keeping on schedule, many of the ones who were against it are coaching in multi-bid leagues with teams currently projected to make the NCAA Tournament. That suggests this issue could become more prominent in the next few weeks.

Related: NCAA Tournament Plans Getting Rave Reviews - BigEast.com – January 7, 2021
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[coreynj2461]

When will we get an official decision? Im assuming theyll have to decide within the next 2 weeks or so?

[ArmyVet]

When will we get an official decision? Im assuming theyll have to decide within the next 2 weeks or so?

Have any schools offered fans the option to buy tournament tickets?

[Fieldhouse Flyer]

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Conference Tournament Central 2021 - Chris Dobbertean, SB Nation - February 25, 2021

Your one-stop shop for 2021 NCAA Division I men’s basketball conference tournament brackets, schedules, TV info, and final scores. Currently, this page includes both confirmed conference tournament info and tentative, projected information based on previous years’ schedules and known broadcast contracts.

Big East Conference (Tentative)

Date & Location: March 10–13. Madison Square Garden, New York
2019 Champion: Villanova Wildcats

First Round (Wednesday, March 10) FS1 will air both games.

Game 1: No. 9 vs. No. 8
Game 2: No. 10 vs. No. 7
Game 3: No. 11 v. No. 6

Quarterfinals (Thursday, March 11) FS1 will air all four games.

Game 4: Game 1 Winner vs. No. 1, 12 p.m.
Game 5: Seed No. 5 vs. Seed No. 4, approx. 2:30 p.m.
Game 6: Game 2 Winner vs. No. 2, 7 p.m.
Game 7: Game 3 Winner vs. No. 3, approx. 9:30 p.m.

Semifinals (Friday, March 12) FS1 will air both games.

Game 8: Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner, 6:30 p.m.
Game 9: Game 6 Winner vs. Game 7 Winner, approx. 9 p.m.

Championship (Saturday, March 13) (Fox)

Game 10: Semifinal winners, 6:30 p.m.

Big East Basketball Standings - 2020-21 – ESPN - Through Games on February 25, 2021

Team • Conf. W-L • Conf. W-L % • Conf. W-L Games Behind • Overall W-L

Villanova Wildcats • 10-2 • .833 • - • 15-3
Creighton Bluejays • 13-4 • .773 • +0.5 • 17-5
Seton Hall Pirates • 10-7 • .565 • 2.5 • 13-10

UConn Huskies • 8-6 • .647 • 3 • 11-6
Xavier Musketeers • 5-5 • .706 • 4 • 12-5

St. John's Red Storm • 8-9 • .583 • 4.5 • 14-10
Providence Friars • 8-9 • .522 • 4.5 • 12-11
Butler Bulldogs • 7-11 • .381 • 6 • 8-13
Georgetown Hoyas • 5-8 • .389 • 5.5 • 7-11
Marquette Golden Eagles • 6-10 • .478 • 6 • 11-12
DePaul Blue Demons • 2-11 • .267 • 8.5 • 4-11

Big East Schedule – ESPN

[Fieldhouse Flyer]

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This morning, a new menu option was added to the official Big East Men’s Basketball homepage entitled: 2021 Tournament Central. I clicked on it, and this announcement appeared:

2021 BIG EAST Men's Basketball Tournament Presented by Jeep – BigEast.com – February 27, 2021

March 10th - 13th, 2021

The 2021 BIG EAST Men's Basketball Tournament Presented by Jeep returns to Madison Square Garden for the 39th consecutive year. This year's tournament dates are Wednesday, March 10 through Saturday, March 13.

FOX Sports, the conference’s television partner, will continue its wall-to-wall coverage with FS1 televising all nine games in the first three days of the Tournament before the FOX broadcast network carries the championship game on Saturday, March 13, at 6:30 p.m. ET. The BIG EAST Tournament at The World's Most Famous Arena is college basketball’s longest running conference tournament held at the same venue.

With the readmission of the University of Connecticut giving the BIG EAST 11 teams, the Tournament will have an additional game in the first round. The tripleheader on Wednesday, March 10, begins with the No. 8 seed meeting the No. 9 seed at 3 p.m. The No. 7 seed battles the No. 10 seed at 6 p.m. and the No. 6 seed plays the No. 11 seed at 9 p.m. The three first-round winners advance to the quarterfinal round on Thursday, March 11, which begins at noon. The quarterfinal winners meet in the semifinal round on Friday, March 12, at 6 p.m.

A spreadsheet-type Tournament Bracket is shown at the bottom of the webpage.
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[sju88grad]

If you’re trying to figure out how the seeding for the BET may shake out, here’s a few cool links to check out....

http://bball.notnothing.net/bigeast.php?sport=mbb

https://twitter.com/mjhackman/status/13 ... 81634?s=20