The Iowa Hawkeyes had two completely different stories in the 2024 Big Ten Tournaments.
On one side, the men's team was one-and-done, ousted by an Ohio State team that had just a bit more magic in its push to March Madness than the Hawkeyes. Iowa limped home, watching the Illinois Fighting Illini capture an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
On the other, the women's team captured its third consecutive conference tournament championship. Fans flocked to Minneapolis to witness the final moments of Caitlin Clark's illustrious career before one final trip through March Madness. Winning that tournament also helped the Hawkeyes secure a No. 1 seed in the Women's NCAA Tournament.
Iowa fans left the Target Center with a mixed bag, though with plenty of pride in their program. But there will be more years ahead with equal opportunities for both programs to triumph through the tournament or feel the disappointment of defeat.
In the coming years, more cities will play host to the Big Ten Conference Tournament, though with a drastically different look. Oregon, Washington, UCLA and USC will all join the conference next season. The conference tournament will no longer host every team, instead only inviting the top 15 teams at the conclusion of the regular season.
With the conference stretching to the West Coast, it's possible we do see the tournament hosted in one of the Pacific states. Such a trip hasn't been announced, nor the intention to do so by conference officials.
Unfortunately, future venues for the tournament have not been announced by the Big Ten either. The tournament has most often been hosted at the United Center in Chicago and Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. These were the most recent sites before this year's first venture to Minneapolis at the Target Center.
It's likely the tournament will return to Chicago or Indianapolis in 2025 for simplicity's sake with so much change happening in the conference. Still, it would be fun to see the conference tournament head to cities like Detroit, Cleveland, Seattle, Milwaukee or Los Angeles in future seasons.
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