INDIANAPOLIS — The Big Ten women’s basketball tournament tips off Wednesday at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse, launching a busy time for basketball in the Circle City.
The tournament marks the return of Big Ten women’s basketball to downtown, bringing expanded fan bases following conference realignment.
“It really just shows the strength of the conference,” said Dan Gliot with Indiana Sports Corp. “It’s really expanded. We have all these new fan bases and it’s exciting to bring these new fans here and highlight women’s basketball.”
Indiana and Purdue both earned spots in the 14-team field, seeded 13th and 14th, respectively.
Indiana won six of its last eight regular-season games, including a victory over Penn State to close out the season, giving the Hoosiers momentum entering the tournament.
“For us to get in the Big Ten tournament, for some people it’s not a huge deal, but to us it’s really big,” said Shay Ciezki, a senior guard for the Hoosiers. “Like I said, we are a completely different team. It’s very cool right now that we’re at this point, but like you said, we have this momentum, and we're going to preparing a lot for our first game. We plan to make it pretty far in the Big Ten tournament.”
Purdue secured its berth with a must-win victory over Northwestern after missing last year’s tournament.
Once the Big Ten women’s tournament wraps up, postseason play in Indianapolis continues. The Horizon League basketball championships begin March 8.
“Two teams are going to be punching their ticket to the tournament to try and make it to the Final Four back here in Indy,” said Gliot.
The city will then prepare for the Final Four, the NIT semifinals, and the NCAA Division II and Division III men’s national championships.
“It’s the first time any city has ever crowned four champions over the same weekend,” said Gliot. “That’s unprecedented, but we’re Indianapolis.”
This year’s Final Four will mark the first full fan experience since 2015. The 2021 tournament was held under COVID-19 restrictions.
The Final Four fan experience will feature a free music festival, Fan Fest at the convention center and a free tailgate on Georgia Street.
As for the Big Ten women’s tournament, Indiana tips off against Nebraska at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday. Purdue will play Oregon at about 8:30 p.m.
__
