Feb. 24, 2005
- Listen to the games online!
- Watch Steve’s visit with the media live!
- Purchase your game tickets online
- Listen to the Hawkeyes on XM Radio
The Big Ten Conference announced today that standing room only tickets for Sessions 2, 4 and 5 of the 2005 Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament will go on sale to the general public beginning today at Noon CST at the United Center box office, Ticketmaster outlets, www.ticketmaster.com or by calling Ticketmaster at (312) 559-1212. The eighth annual event will be held from Thursday to Sunday, March 10-13, at the United Center in Chicago.
Three of the five sessions for the 2005 event are currently sold out, as standing room only tickets will be available for the first two quarterfinal games on Friday morning (session 2), the two semifinal contests on Saturday (session 4) and the championship game on Sunday (session 5). Limited single-session tickets for the first-round games on Thursday (session 1) and the two quarterfinals on Friday night (session 3) are still available, as standing room only tickets will only be sold for those sessions once all tickets are purchased. If available, standing room only tickets can be purchased for $25 for Thursday or Friday sessions, $30 for the Saturday session and $40 for the title game on Sunday.
After a one-year hiatus, the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament returns to Chicago to crown the 2005 Tournament Champion. The first Big Ten Tournament was held at the United Center in 1998, as Chicago hosted the event in its first four years of existence. Beginning in 2002, the tournament has rotated between Indianapolis and Chicago, with the 2007 event slated to return to the United Center for the 10th annual Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament.
In its first seven years of existence, the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament has welcomed more than 670,000 fans and issued over 4,200 media credentials. Six different League representatives have become Big Ten Tournament Champions, with Michigan State claiming the honor twice (1999, 2000) along with triumphs by Michigan (1998), Iowa (2001), Ohio State (2002), Illinois (2003) and Wisconsin (2004). The tournament schedule is as follows (game times are listed in CST):
2005 Big Ten Conference
Men’s Basketball Tournament
Session 1: 11 a.m., Thursday, March 10
#8 Seed vs. #9 Seed; #7 Seed vs. #10 Seed; #6 Seed vs. #11 Seed
Session 2: 11 a.m., Friday, March 11
#1 Illinois vs. #8/9 Winner; #4 Seed vs. #5 Seed
Session 3: 5:40 p.m., Friday, March 11
#2 Seed vs. #7/10 Winner; #3 Seed vs. #6/11 Winner
Session 4: 12:40 p.m., Saturday, March 12
Semifinal Games #1 and #2
Session 5: 2:30 p.m., Sunday, March 13
Tournament Final