Published: December 31, 2007 07:57 pm            

VELAZCO: Big Ten drops the ball , but it’s fixable

State tournament would bring all 10 D-I squads together

It seems like people are so distracted with missing basketball games that used to be on Ch. 4 and are now on the Big Ten Network that a glaring omission on this season’s Big Ten men’s basketball schedule has flown under the radar.

On Tuesday, Feb. 19, Purdue travels to Indiana for the first Boiler-Hoosier game of the season.

There is no scheduled second game.

To get a second date, IU and Purdue will have to meet in the Big Ten tourney. The powers that be at the league office, which makes sure that Michigan and Ohio State meet in football every season, have again dropped the ball in hoops.

I’m here to pick it up.

Why even rely on the Big Ten getting it right? They don’t have your best interest at heart anyway. If we want something done, we can do it ourselves.

Which brings me to an idea we kicked around in the office the last time IU and Purdue met only once in the regular season: a state tournament.

The idea started as a way of getting the Boilers and Hoosiers on the hardwood an extra time and quickly grew. Instead of just a pre-arranged meeting in the pre-conference season — which could be fun — how about making the two big boys earn it by fending off all the little fish along the way?

What I’m talking about is a big state blowout with all 10 Division I schools. We can seed IU and Purdue in opposite sides of the bracket so that they would meet only in a final.

My mouth is watering just thinking about it. I’m sure that the state’s fans would get behind it. The chance to gather together and watch state schools all concentrated into one big Indiana-only tournament would really ramp up local rivalries.

Here’s how it would work:

State tourney format

Because there are 10 D-1 schools in the state, we’ll need four rounds. We’ll need a two-game opening round to whittle the tourney down to eight teams for a quarterfinal set. After that you’ve got quarterfinals, semifinals and a championship.

The tourney should be played on a neutral court, ideally Conseco Fieldhouse or the Colts’ new home. That would create a tourney atmosphere and allow for healthy contingents of fans from all the schools.

I haven’t decided exactly how to schedule the tourney. A four-day chug seems pretty merciless, especially to the squads trying to battle in from the play-in round. The Big Ten tourney is set up that way, however, so maybe it’s not so bad.

The other option is to go with an opening weekend with the play-in and the quarterfinals on a Saturday and Sunday, then take a break and come back for a second weekend with the semis and final again on Saturday and Sunday.

The draw

Since IU and Purdue are the main draws, I’d keep them out of the play-in round by rule. I might also afford that luxury to Notre Dame. We’d want to encourage those schools to bring big fan groups to the quarterfinals (and beyond), not run the risk of suffering an upset loss in a play-in round.

It’d also be best to keep conference rivals away from each other for at least the first game if not further, so no Evansville-Indiana State meetings on opening day.

Other than that, I’d make it a random draw every year. It’d be cruel to assign IUPUI and IPFW play-in games every time. Instead, the random draw would come out and teams would learn their matchups a few weeks ahead of time, kind of like sectionals in high school.

Carrot and the stick

Now, the biggest obstacles would be convincing every team, especially the big fish, to participate. The solutions are easy. Indiana State, Ball State, Purdue, IU, IUPUI and IPFW are state schools. They could simply be compelled to play by the state.

Notre Dame is the biggest worry. I’d think private schools Valpo, Evansville and Butler would be more than happy to get a crack at the state’s big boys. But ND is arrogant and might ignore the tourney (the Irish don’t play a single state school this year).

If Notre Dame, or any private school, doesn’t want the carrot of juicy games on the state’s main stage, I’m more than happy to crack the stick.

If any private school doesn’t want in, fine, the state legislature will then stick its nose in and say that no state-funded school is allowed to schedule a non-conference game against that school for five years.

Frivolous use of the state legislature’s time? No doubt about it, but they’ve stuck their noses where they don’t belong before and will do it again. At least this time they’d be doing my bidding. And I’m fairly certain that’s within their jurisdiction. The state holds the purse strings for schools and can tell them what to do.

Excitement

So there you have it. Four rounds, 10 teams, and the attention of the entire state. Who wouldn’t want to watch Butler take on one of the big boys in the quarters or semis?

The tourney would be nothing but positive. Some of the lesser-known local rivalries would get the spotlight for a night and Indiana and Purdue would get a chance to earn another matchup. Plus, I’d think ESPN or a broadcast network would jump at the chance to show the championship on an electric winter night in front of a big crowd.

Call your favorite college athletic department and start putting pressure on them to make this happen. Let’s get this started in time to make up for the next Big Ten schedule oversight.

Pedro Velazco is a Tribune sportswriter. He may be contacted by e-mail at pedro.velazco@kokomotribune.com or by phone at (765) 454-8572.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.