A few thoughts on the Big Ten Tournament at Target Field this weekend...
1) 8 is Enough
Until recently (2014, to be precise), the Big Ten Tournament invited just six teams, which is an awkward number from a bracketing perspective. The Big Ten Tournament moved to 8 teams in 2014, a move that makes even more sense with the addition of Maryland and Rutgers this season. The addition of those two east coast teams brings the Big Ten's baseball-playing contingent up to 13 teams (get your act together, Wisconsin). A 6-team playoff would let in fewer than half of the conference's teams, while an 8-team playoff lets in a bit more than half of the conference's teams.