Early exits mean Indianapolis loses box-office battle
INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana and Purdue fans, plus possibly executives at CBS, weren't the only ones disappointed with an Illinois-Minnesota semifinal Saturday instead of the instate rivals Hoosiers and Boilermakers.
One scalper a few blocks from Conseco Fieldhouse held up a sign that summed up what losing the two Indiana teams did: "Cheap tickets."
Even with the discount, he wasn't finding any buyers.
The headline on the front page of the Indianapolis Star read: "Early Exits."
Saturday's semifinals still drew 17,520, with a large percentage rooting for Wisconsin and Michigan State.
Attendance was down before Friday's Indiana and Purdue upsets. After rotating between Chicago and Indianapolis from 2002 to 2007, this is the first of a five-year commitment for Indianapolis to host the Big Ten tournament.
The city goes all out for the event, renaming all the nearby streets with the 11 Big Ten teams' nicknames and creating a fan-friendly environment. But through the first four sessions, not as many fans are showing up.
Thursday's games drew 13,852, off significantly from the other three years Indianapolis hosted: 18,418 in 2002, 15,110 in 2004 and 16,982 in 2006.
Session 2 Friday afternoon drew 15,355, compared to 18,996 in 2002, 16,204 in 2004 and 18,730 in 2006.
The numbers picked up Friday night with both Indiana and Purdue playing, but the 18,691 still didn't match the 18,882 Chicago averaged last year.
Nothing but nail-biters: With Wisconsin's 2-point win and Illinois' 4-point victory Saturday, this is the most competitive Big Ten tournament in its 11-year history. Six of nine games have been decided by 4 points or less or in overtime, including the last four.
Badgers banged up: Wisconsin played the final 12:39 of its win over Michigan State without freshman Trevon Hughes, the team's second-leading scorer, after he injured his left ankle.
The Badgers rallied without Hughes. They outscored the Spartans by 12 points after the injury to win 65-63, the largest deficit Wisconsin has overcome this year.
Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said Hughes is questionable for the championship game.
"He's fine emotionally," Ryan said. "Physically, our trainer will make that decision, so we shall see."
Hughes scored 22 and 18 points in the Badgers' two games against the Illini, team highs in both games.
"You can't depend on that," Illinois coach Bruce Weber said. "Obviously, Trevon has hurt us. But, at the same time once it's (Joe) Krabbenhoft, then it's (Michael) Flowers, then (Brian) Butch. They consistently come up with big efforts."