Where the Conference Tournaments Should Have Been
What if every conference tournament was held at the geographic midpoint of every team in the league?
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Eli: Conference tournament season is, without a doubt, a highlight of the college basketball season every year. With few exceptions, it’s a time for every team in the league — every fanbase, every alumni network, every pep band — to gather in one location not just to determine a champion (and, in most cases, an NCAA Tournament berth), but to celebrate the season that was.
But some teams have to travel way farther than others! What’s up with that?
Obviously in some cases this is unavoidable — like David mentioned in the conversation that spawned this piece, Hawai’i is out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, so they’re kinda just screwed no matter what — but most conferences don’t have these wacky outliers. For most of the 32 NCAA Division I conferences, we can find a central location that’s just about equally (in)convenient for everyone.
So that’s what we did! Here’s how this is gonna work.
We computed the geographic midpoint of every conference by averaging the latitudes and longitudes of every 2022-23 league member’s primary home arena. There’s no weighting at all; it’s just a straight average. We’ll fly around to all of them and note both the closest event venue of any kind and the closest gym built to host basketball (most of these are local schools).
David’s gonna sell you on why each midpoint is a good location (I’m gonna try my best!) for a conference tournament and I’m gonna grade each conference on how convenient their actual conference tournament location is relative to how convenient it could be if it cared more about geography.
Without further ado and in order of the KenPom Adjusted Efficiency Margin conference rankings…
Big 12
Midpoint: A ranch field southwest of Wagoner, Oklahoma
Closest event venue: The Barn at Coal Creek (0.67 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Lincoln Academy (2.35 mi)
David: Visit Wagoner, Oklahoma, where you’ll be a goner for the Big 12 basketball tournament! Indulge in all the ranch you could ever want as you watch the country’s best take each other on in a tournament for the ages.
Eli: You never realize just how much of an outlier West Virginia is in this league until you look at it on a map. At least Cincinnati joins them as a travel partner next year. This year, though, all they’re doing is pulling this midpoint several dozen miles to the east.
This map also reinforces my long-held belief that the Big 12 Tournament should not be in Kansas City. It’s historically where the tournament has been held, but it’s not convenient at all for most of the conference and it’s also almost immediately adjacent to the league’s strongest men’s basketball school, giving them a quite unnecessary advantage.
As much as I’d like to put the Big 12 Tournament in a barn in the middle of nowhere, we all know they deserve better.
Grade: C-
Where I’d put it: Tulsa | BOK Center
Big Ten
Midpoint: A cornfield northeast of Warsaw, Indiana
Closest event venue: Harrison Elementary School (2.68 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Harrison Elementary School
David: In homage to their previous location — Chicago — the Big Ten has moved operations to the pretty little hamlet that is Warsaw, Indiana. It really does just feel right that basketball returns to Indiana in the end - and the elementary setting is perfect for a group of teams that haven’t won a title in 23 years.
Eli: The Big Ten knows what they’re doing, generally alternating between Chicago and Indianapolis. Personally, I prefer Indianapolis, but both are pretty close to the midpoint and it’s hard to complain either way. The midpoint is even closer to mid-sized cities South Bend and Fort Wayne, but the Big Ten deserves a big city.
Grade: A
Where I’d put it: Indianapolis | Gainbridge Fieldhouse
SEC
Midpoint: A forest west of Natural Bridge, Alabama
Closest event venue: The Barn at Coleman Farms (2.15 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Brilliant Elementary School (6.96 mi)
David: Come see scenic Natural Bridge, Alabama! This town of 32 will swell each year as the masses convene on Brilliant Elementary to watch the SEC’s giants duke it out. It just means more down here, folks. It really does.
Eli: The SEC used to have a rotation of host cities, but back in 2018, they announced that once their current rotation ran out, the tournament would be held in Nashville until at least 2030 and possibly forever.
It’s a good thing to have a regular host location. Nashville is central enough; if they’d missed the mark in any direction, north is the one that makes the least sense, but at least it’s still better than last year’s Tampa tournament.
If it was up to me, I’d just put it in Atlanta. It’d still be somewhat off center — even more so than Nashville, actually — but Atlanta is basically the capital of the South, so most SEC schools already have an expansive alumni base living there.
Grade: B
Where I’d put it: Atlanta | State Farm Arena
Big East
Midpoint: A residential area in…East Palestine, Ohio
Closest event venue: East Palestine Elementary School (0.71 mi)
Closest basketball arena: East Palestine Elementary School
David: I can’t even joke about this. What the hell?
Eli: I’ve never done an unironic spit take, but I came pretty close when I finished this calculation. I’m not gonna touch this one.
What I will say is that, despite geography, moving the Big East Tournament out of Madison Square Garden would be nonsensical. It’d be like if they moved the NIT out of Madison Square Garden, which…obviously they’d never do that, right?
That said: if I was starting from scratch, removing all cultural significance from the situation, and pretending the Big East was a new conference looking to find a convenient tournament location,1 I would not make the league’s five Midwestern teams trek all the way to New York.
Grade: D
Where I’d put it: Pittsburgh | PPG Paints Arena
Pac-12
Midpoint: A desert southwest of Austin, Nevada
Closest event venue: Gabbs School (52.44 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Gabbs School (52.44 mi)
David: Come visit scenic Austin, Nevada - no, not the one in Texas, no, hey, wait, where are you going, stay with us, don’t be like UCLA and USC and leave for greener pastures hey wait stop that!
Eli: The closest community of any kind to the Pac-12 midpoint is a living ghost town. Sometimes the jokes just write themselves.
Five conferences held their tournaments in Greater Las Vegas this year, which is kind of absurd. Most of them have no real business doing so, but in the Pac-12’s case, I’ll give ‘em a pass. They’re (ostensibly) like the Big Ten in that they deserve a big city host site, so even though they’re closer to, say, Reno, Vegas is definitely the move for them.
Grade: A
Where I’d put it: Las Vegas (Paradise) | T-Mobile Arena
Mountain West
Midpoint: A desert northwest of Milford, Utah
Closest event venue: Milford High School (10.10 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Milford High School
David: See Milford, Utah! With its scenic desert vistas, you’ll be reminded of the Mountain West’s tournament performances from years past as you take in the present and the future of the highest conference in the country.
Eli: Alright, I’ll say it: I think it’s silly that the Mountain West always holds their tournament on UNLV’s home court. It’s fine to have higher seeds host games like many conferences do, and it’s fine to rotate home court host sites like the Ivy League now does, but why would you always give the same team so much of an advantage?
Of course, UNLV hasn’t even made the championship game since 2013, so maybe I’m tilting at windmills, but I maintain that this is unfair, especially in a league where everyone else is so spread out. Let’s fix that and put the tournament in a more central location where there are actually mountains: the Utah Valley.
Grade: D
Where I’d put it: Provo | Marriott Center
ACC
Midpoint: The mountains northeast of Ararat, Virginia
Closest event venue: Blue Ridge Elementary School (3.34 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Blue Ridge Elementary School
David: COUNTRY ROADS, TAKE ME HOME, TO THE PLACE, I BELOOOONG, (western) VIRGINIA - shit. Come check out the ACC! We have Louisville, mountains, and Tobacco Road!
Eli: I wonder if David knows “Country Roads” was written about western Virginia.
Jim Boeheim, plug your ears:2 Greensboro is the perfect place for the ACC Tournament. It's about as close to the midpoint as you can reasonably get without giving any one school an unfair advantage. Plus, Greensboro has Cook Out and Brooklyn doesn't.
Grade: A+
Where I’d put it: Greensboro | Greensboro Coliseum
WCC
Midpoint: The desert hills east of Walker, California
Closest event venue: Antelope Valley Community Center (4.92 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Coleville High School (7.21 mi)
David: Enjoy scenic Walker, California, just south of Tahoe along historic Highway 395! Enjoy the Antelope Valley and all the high desert has to offer - which admittedly isn’t much but hey, at least we’re not in Death Valley!
Eli: The WCC shouldn’t use Vegas either, and it’ll make even less sense next year once BYU’s gone. Vegas is east of every other school in the conference and south of all but three. You see how the midpoint is pretty much right on top of Lake Tahoe? Let’s take advantage of that for now and recalibrate next year.
Grade: D-
Where I’d put it: Reno | Lawlor Events Center
American
Midpoint: A forest south of Winfield, Alabama
Closest event venue: Fun Lab Party Place (1.59 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Winfield City Middle School (2.70 mi)
David: Is there anything more American than the Fun Lab Party Place? I think not. Welcome to wonderful Winfield, Alabama, home of the Fun Lab and the local middle school, playing host to the American Conference tournament!
Eli: Now what the heck is this thing doing all the way over in Fort Worth? What are we doing here?
The American is a zombie conference no one likes or cares about. Its tournament routinely has the deadest crowds I’ve ever seen, which might be because it’s usually held in a nonsensical location (they've also used Orlando, Hartford, and — least egregiously — Memphis), but is probably more because East Carolina vs. South Florida just doesn’t get the juices flowing.3
In the future, I think this league should shoot for a more central location over trying to host in an inconvenient “destination” city. Next year’s location won’t be anything like this year’s thanks to realignment, but this year, my pick would have been Huntsville, Alabama: the Rocket City. Their largest arena was recently renovated and seats 8,300, which is more than enough for the American Athletic Conference.
Grade: F
Where I’d put it: Huntsville | Von Braun Center
C-USA
Midpoint: A forest clearing east of Georgetown, Mississippi
Closest event venue: Simpson Central School (1.65 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Simpson Central School
David: The USA. Land of the brave, home of the free. Conference USA is proud to represent United States ideals from the small town of Georgetown, Mississippi - named for our first president (Jim, don’t fact-check that, just go with it), it embodies all the particulars of United States excellence that we desire. Go USA.
Eli: Like the other league named for our great nation, Conference USA holds its tournament in Texas despite it making little geographic sense. I’ll admit that it’s a better fit than the AAC, but we can still do better.
This midpoint is immediately adjacent to Jackson, and under normal circumstances, I’d say to put the tournament there. However, Jackson has been suffering a water crisis for the past seven months and holding a large-scale event there seems juuuust a little unnecessary, so we’ll look elsewhere.
We’ll get to the Sun Belt in a bit, but they currently hold their tournament on the Gulf Coast in Pensacola, a nice little destination town with pretty ocean views. Let’s take a page out of their book.
Grade: D-
Where I’d put it: Biloxi | Mississippi Coast Coliseum
WAC
Midpoint: A ranch field southwest of Corona, New Mexico
Closest event venue: Corona High School (1.42 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Corona High School
David: When you think Corona, think family fun, with WACtion in lovely Corona, New Mexico! There’s no way you won’t want to catch this pandemic of great basketball action - what do you mean this isn’t effective marketing? Why?
Eli: Seattle to the WCC is sooooo obvious, y’all.
Here’s another conference that holds its tournament in Vegas for no reason, going to extreme lengths to do so by holding it in multiple arenas because their preferred arena is still in use by the WCC when their tournament is scheduled to start.
Why not just hold it in Albuquerque? It’d be way more convenient for the WAC’s six Texas teams and it’d be a marquee sporting event for the city. You might say it’s too convenient for New Mexico State, usually the league’s premier men’s basketball member, but it’s also the home of their bitter rival New Mexico, so it’s not all friendly.
Grade: D-
Where I’d put it: Albuquerque | The Pit
A-10
Midpoint: Forest hills northwest of Flintstone, Maryland (in Pennsylvania)
Closest event venue: Flintstone Elementary School (3.21 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Flintstone Elementary School
David: Grab your gummies and let’s hark back to the prehistoric side of things. Come see Flintstone, Maryland, home to prehistoric characters like Sister Jean, Loyola’s bid hopes, and a bunch of mid-ass schools that were once relevant!
Eli: Well I like the A-10. It’s been a while since this conference has had a regular tournament host site. It was in Brooklyn this year and it’ll be there again next year, but beyond that, nothing’s set in stone. They’ve also recently used Dayton, Washington, and Pittsburgh.
I’d like to avoid permanently hosting it in the home city of a league member, so that rules out Pittsburgh despite it making the most sense geographically. We could crash WVU Coliseum, but honestly, I’m not sure Morgantown could handle an A-10 Twitter convention.
And that’s pretty much it for options that don’t make this incredibly inconvenient for Saint Louis and Loyola Chicago (and, to a lesser extent, Dayton). So we’ll just ignore them and centralize for the other 12. After all, they are the Atlantic 10.
Grade: D
Where I’d put it: Baltimore | CFG Bank Arena
Sun Belt
Midpoint: Forest hills northeast of Anniston, Alabama
Closest event venue: Miller Sports Arena (2.45 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Miller Sports Arena
David: The Fun Belt invites YOU, lucky consumer, to Anniston, Alabama, between Birmingham and Atlanta on Interstate 20, for the greatest show in racing - no? This isn’t the Talladega copy? What are we doing here, then? Jim, I told you I wasn’t doing these anymore!
Eli: Pensacola made more sense for the Sun Belt before they swiped Marshall and Old Dominion from C-USA and James Madison from the CAA. Harrisonburg to Pensacola is a trek.
Recalibrating the tournament a little farther north would be prudent. Birmingham’s right there.
Grade: D
Where I’d put it: Birmingham | Bartow Arena
Ivy
Midpoint: A park in Sherman, Connecticut
Closest event venue: The Sherman School (1.28 mi)
Closest basketball arena: The Sherman School
David: To Whom It May Concern,
You, the wealthiest of us, are cordially invited to the Sherman School to indulge in the Ivy League basketball tournament. Enjoy complimentary hors d’oeuvres and box seating with table service as the nation’s most elite play to the tastes of you, the nation’s most elite.
Cordially yours.
Eli: The Ivy League didn’t hold a conference tournament at all until 2017. Since the tournament’s inception, the league has rotated hosting duties between different member institutions; this year it was Princeton’s turn.
That’s all well and good, but I’m shooting for one centralized location. Hartford it is.
Grade: D+
Where I’d put it: Hartford | XL Center
Big West
Midpoint: The Pacific Ocean southwest of the Channel Islands
Closest event venue: Lompoc Valley Middle School
Closest basketball arena: Lompoc Valley Middle School
David: Okay, so. Not ideal that it’s in the middle of the fucking ocean now, is it, Jim? What am I supposed to do with this one? Do you think I’m some sort of joke? I am a TRAVEL AGENT and you are asking me to sell these people THE MIDDLE OF THE FRIGGIN’ OCEAN!
Eli: The ratio of ten California teams to one Hawai’i team pushes this midpoint way closer to the California coast than you’d probably expect. Break out the aircraft carrier, folks! We’ve got a conference tournament to host!
If we must hold the tournament on land, it sure as hell won’t be in Vegas, which is east of every single team in the conference. They had a reason for doing this at first. The Big West Tournament was held in Anaheim every year from 2001 through 2019, then of course the pandemic happened. In the 2020-21 season, the State of California had super tight restrictions that basically made trying to run a conference tournament impossible, so the league wiggled out of their agreement with the Honda Center and left for Mandalay Bay.
They’re still in Vegas two years later but they absolutely don’t need to be. We’ve moved past this. Bring it back to Anaheim.
Grade: F
Where I’d put it: Anaheim | Honda Center
Missouri Valley
Midpoint: A farm field southeast of Clarksdale, Illinois
Closest event venue: Taylorville Junior High School (5.70 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Taylorville Junior High School
David: When you think of the Missouri Valley, you probably think of Arch Madness, and all the glorious upsets that have come from there, but we’re here to present to you the new Arch Madness - that’s right, folks, McDonald’s of Taylorville is offering $2 off a Big Mac for ticketholders for the MVC tournament held right at Taylorville Junior High!
Eli: Geographically, you hold this tournament in Springfield, Illinois. You may or may not remember that Illinois played an exhibition game and four regular season games there in November 2015 while renovations to the State Farm Center were being completed.4
Culturally, though, let’s not fix what isn’t broken. Arch Madness is classic, timeless, perfect. It’s also not that much farther from the midpoint than Springfield is, so the pros clearly outweigh the cons.
Grade: A
Where I’d put it: St. Louis | Enterprise Center
Big Sky
Midpoint: A ranch field northwest of Shoshone, Idaho
Closest event venue: Lincoln County Community Center (6.72 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Shoshone Middle-High School (6.99 mi)
David: It’s only right that the Big Sky be under the biggest sky of them all - an Idaho sky. Take a moment to embrace the call of the wild and dig into the heart of Big Sky Country, here in stunning Shoshone, Idaho.
Eli: Ignoring that David just deeply offended a million Montanans, the Big Sky Conference nailed this one. No notes.
Grade: A+
Where I’d put it: Boise | Idaho Central Arena
ASUN
Midpoint: An REI store in Sandy Springs, Georgia
Closest event venue: LA Fitness (0.26 mi)
Closest basketball arena: LA Fitness
David: Are they really gonna make these kids play in the middle of an REI? Oh, no, okay, they get to go to the LA Fitness. That’s nice of them. I was worried for a second, you know? What if they have to do the climbing wall? Hard to shoot a three pointer through thirty feet of rock.
Eli: The ASUN is the first conference on our list that eschews a centralized tournament and just has the higher-seeded team host every game, a practice they’ve followed for several years. That’s a shame, too, because under their current alignment, their midpoint is smack dab in the middle of a bustling metropolis.
As evidenced by Liberty’s membership, this conference has never been one to shy away from making questionable decisions in the name of the almighty dollar, so I feel like they wouldn’t actually want to pony up the money to book an arena and lodging in Atlanta itself; they’d just put the tournament in the suburbs to save a quick buck. Gwinnett County has an arena that has hosted Georgia’s high school basketball state championships since 2004. As long as the ASUN can schedule their tournament to avoid a conflict, it’s a match made in heaven.
Grade: C (by default)
Where I’d put it: Gwinnett County | Gas South Arena
MAC
Midpoint: A farm field southeast of Haskins, Ohio
Closest event venue: Wood County Fairgrounds (4.00 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Bowling Green Jr/Sr High School (4.04 mi)
David: Come home to helpful Haskins, Ohio! It’s a stone’s throw from Bowling Green State, so enjoy the quick trip for the Falcons as you head to Middle America for some MACtion!
Eli: This one was the funniest to me. Bowling Green’s campus is only a mile farther from the midpoint than the city’s high school. I imagine some stubborn bureaucrats sticking to the letter of the law and repeatedly holding the tournament at the high school despite having a much more fitting venue right in their backyard.
The real MAC Tournament has been played in Cleveland since 2000 and quite honestly I’m not sure why; the city doesn’t care about the MAC at all and it’s east of almost everyone in the league. They used to hold the tournament almost right on the midpoint at a wacky converted convention center arena in Toledo, but they figured an NBA arena would be a better host.
Whether that’s actually true is up for debate, but no matter your opinion, it’s clear that Cleveland doesn’t make much sense as a host city either culturally or geographically. Putting it in Toledo probably provides an unfair advantage to Toledo and maybe Bowling Green as well. Perhaps the MAC is snug enough that it wouldn’t matter; I wouldn’t wanna chance it but your mileage may vary.
If the MAC wants to host their tournament at a large arena in a big city, Detroit makes much more sense. It’s immediately closer to more league members and it doesn’t make Northern Illinois have to drive significantly farther than everyone else.
Grade: C-
Where I’d put it: Detroit | Little Caesars Arena
SoCon
Midpoint: Forest hills southwest of Travelers Rest, South Carolina
Closest event venue: Forestville Baptist Church (0.26 mi)
Closest basketball arena: George I. Theisen Family YMCA (1.90 mi)
David: Catch your breath at Traveler’s Rest - and while you’re here, enjoy one of the oldest college conferences in America with the SoCon basketball tournament. Held at the Theisen Family YMCA, this is sure to provide you — and the family — all the enjoyment you could ever need!
Eli: Here’s another conference whose midpoint is right on top of a league member; the SoCon midpoint is less than four miles from Furman’s home court.
Asheville is the closest city to the midpoint that could realistically host this tournament and isn’t home to a SoCon member school. The league has held their tournament here every year since 2012 and they’re correct in doing so.
Grade: A
Where I’d put it: Asheville | Harrah’s Cherokee Center
Horizon
Midpoint: A farm field east of Napoleon, Ohio
Closest event venue: Campbell’s Soup Warehouse (2.32 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Liberty Center School (3.62 mi)
David: Broaden your horizons with the Horizon League, based near Napoleon, Ohio. We’ve got soup warehouses, schools, farms, and IUPUI basketball. I can’t think of anything better.
I have never thought about Ohio this much in my life before. Good lord.
Eli: Jeez, when did northwest Ohio become the cradle of civilization? Well, if the MAC’s not gonna host their tournament in Toledo, the Horizon League sure should.
Their current tournament format is nonsensical. The first two rounds are held two days apart from each other at higher-seed host sites and they reseed between rounds, so theoretically Green Bay could host a game on Tuesday and then get sent all the way to metro Pittsburgh on Thursday. They’d have to set up travel and lodging on a whim, probably at last-minute prices.
Then the semifinals and finals are held in Indianapolis for some reason. Not only is this basically the southwestern corner of the conference footprint, it’s also right in IUPUI’s backyard. Terrible choice. Terrible choices all around. Fix this, Horizon League.
Grade: F
Where I’d put it: Toledo | Huntington Center
Big South
Midpoint: An industrial yard in Concord, North Carolina
Closest event venue: Cannon School (0.54 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Cannon School
David: [F-150 announcer voice] Grit. That’s a word that means something here in America, and with the 6,700 pounds of torque in the new Ford F-150, you can - hm? Sorry? Oh! Yes. Force of habit. At the Big South Tournament, held in Concord’s own industrial yards, you, too, can feel the grit of hard work.
Eli: Charlotte is the correct place to hold the Big South Tournament. Plus, it’s held at Bojangles Coliseum, a name that just automatically evokes Southern thoughts. I wouldn’t change a thing.
Grade: A+
Where I’d put it: Charlotte | Bojangles Coliseum
Summit
Midpoint: A farm field north of Salix, Iowa
Closest event venue: St. Joseph Catholic Church (2.15 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Sergeant Bluff-Luton High School (5.00 mi)
David: Jim. You are telling me to sell the Summit League in one of the flattest places in the country. You sent me to Salix and I could see all the way to Des Moines! This isn’t cool, dude! Er, whatever. Come to Sergeant Bluff-Luton High for the Summit of college basketball!
Eli: No. I refuse to say the Summit League Tournament should actually be held in Sioux City. I didn’t live in Sioux Falls for seven years to give their premier sporting event away to a much worse rival city. Not doing it. Sioux City’s airport code is SUX for a reason.
I will say that it should be held at the Sanford Pentagon and not at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center. Yes, everything in Sioux Falls is named after T. Denny Sanford. Get used to it.
Grade: A-
Where I’d put it: Sioux Falls | Sanford Pentagon
MAAC
Midpoint: A field west of Greeley, Pennsylvania
Closest event venue: Lake Owego Camp (0.28 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Lake Owego Camp
David: America’s true metropolis - Greeley, Pennsylvania. Think bigger than the skylines of America’s most iconic cities and come home to a metro area that will make you feel at home. The Metro Atlantic tournament, held at the Lake Owego Camp. When you’re here, you’re MAAd.
Eli: For the past three years, the MAAC has held their tournament in Atlantic City, which makes negative sense.
This league is another one with outliers who are gonna be screwed no matter what. Geographically, the tournament should probably be held in Scranton, but that’s so far away from everyone in the league and it’s not a destination city at all, so I’m fairly certain no one would show up.
Unfortunately for Niagara, Canisius, and Mount St. Mary’s, we’ll go ahead and make things more convenient for everyone else. In the MAAC’s case, that means New York is the play. But the MAAC is a league of small private colleges; they’d prefer a suburban location to an urban one. Lucky for them, there’s a nice, historic arena in Westchester County with their name on it.
Grade: F
Where I’d put it: Westchester County | Westchester County Center
America East
Midpoint: A field north of Worthington, Massachusetts
Closest event venue: The Worthington Inn (0.33 mi)
Closest basketball arena: R.H. Conwell Elementary School (1.19 mi)
David: I really think the America East might have found the one spot in Massachusetts that isn’t like… entirely full of Dunkin? You’re telling me I have to go more than a couple miles for my Dunkies? Why else am I going to Massachusetts? Why WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS?
Eli: The America East has the higher-seeded team host all conference tournament games. This is good if you want your best teams to reach the NCAA Tournament, and it works out pretty well for the America East; their best team is usually Vermont, who almost always at least reaches the championship game.
But, again, I’m a centralized location purist, and if I was to pick a spot for the America East, it’d be Springfield. They could collaborate with the Basketball Hall of Fame and everything. I can’t think of many leagues less suited to do this than the America East, but hey, geography is geography.
Grade: C (by default)
Where I’d put it: Springfield | MassMutual Center
CAA
Midpoint: In the Chesapeake Bay southeast of Hoopersville, Maryland
Closest event venue: Karen Noonan Center (4.70 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Deal Island School (9.95 mi)
David: Someone really saw the Big West and said “oh hey I can do that but worse” and now we’re stuck with a bunch of dipshits playing in the middle of the friggin’ Chesapeake! It’s not the Revolutionary War. Just because your conference name is the Colonial doesn’t mean you get to play naval with it.
Eli: How quickly can they get the aircraft carrier from the Big West midpoint to this one? It’s an urgent matter of national security.
All jokes aside, there’s really no better place for the CAA Tournament than Washington. They’ve held it there three of the past four years5 and they should continue holding it there every year until their alignment significantly shifts.
Grade: A
Where I’d put it: Washington | Entertainment and Sports Arena
Patriot
Midpoint: A field southwest of Buttzville, New Jersey
Closest event venue: Buttzville United Methodist Church (0.30 mi)
Closest basketball arena: White Township Consolidated School (0.93 mi)
David: Is there anything more patriotic than Buttz? I think not.
Eli: The Patriot is another league that has the higher-seeded team host every tournament game. I actually love that a lot for this conference but that’s not the point of this article.
If I’m picking a central location for this league, I’m avoiding the Lehigh Valley (too close to Lafayette and Lehigh) and forming another suburban New York tournament. This one’s on the New Jersey side of the Hudson.
Grade: C (by default)
Where I’d put it: Newark | Prudential Center
MEAC
Midpoint: A riverbank west of Horseshoe, Virginia
Closest event venue: Old Church Community Center (2.71 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Battlefield Park Elementary School (6.43 mi)
David: As you drive north of Richmond, you’ll happen upon the sleepy community of Old Church — and later, Horseshoe — and you, reader, it’s your lucky day! Welcome to happy Horseshoe, home of the MEAC basketball tournament, where an elementary schools plays host to the best that the middle seaboard has to offer.
Eli: Norfolk has hosted this tournament since 2013 and I really wish they didn’t. Thanks to the Chesapeake Bay, it’s pretty much only a convenient location for Norfolk State, and hey, wouldn’t you know: Norfolk State has made five of the past six championship games.
It’s so obvious this tournament should be held in Richmond. Make it so, MEAC.
Grade: D-
Where I’d put it: Richmond | Siegel Center
OVC
Midpoint: A field east of Carrsville, Kentucky
Closest event venue: First Christian Church [Illinois] (3.27 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Hardin County High School [Illinois] (5.18 mi)
David: Cross state lines and dip your toes into some Kentucky joy with the Ohio Valley Tournament, held near the border town of Carrsville across the water in Illinois. Straddle the river the way this conference straddles its desire to compete at the Division I level. Get your fill of double ladder brackets and healthy servings of bourbon alike.
Eli: Pretty neat that the midpoint for the Ohio Valley Conference is immediately adjacent to the Ohio River, eh?
The OVC has held their tournament in Evansville since 2018, so it’s an established host, but they’re not married to it or anything. I’d love to put this tournament in Paducah, but I checked, and there doesn’t seem to be a suitable venue for it in the entire city.
I don’t love keeping this tournament in Evansville given Southern Indiana is now right next door, but there really aren’t any better options. C’est la vie.
Grade: B+
Where I’d put it: Evansville | Ford Center
Southland
Midpoint: A field north of Texla, Texas
Closest event venue: Oakwood Baptist Church (0.83 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Mauriceville Elementary School (4.01 mi)
David: See? Texas is the South. Certainly, no one will be mad at this.
Eli: Prior to this year, the Southland had held their tournament in Katy, Texas, a suburb of Houston, since 2008. This year, they moved it to McNeese’s home arena in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and they’re slated to return there for the next two years as well.
I’m opposed to holding a conference tournament on a static home court on principle, but I won’t dock them too many points given they are pretty close to the midpoint. If it was me, I would have kept it in Katy for court neutrality and because Houston is a more fun destination than Lake Charles, but this is another conference for which there isn’t really a perfect option.
Grade: C+
Where I’d put it: Katy | Merrell Center
SWAC
Midpoint: A field southwest of Magee, Mississippi
Closest event venue: St. John Church (0.64 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Magee High School (5.86 mi)
David: Would Mississippi Valley State beat Magee High School? Hell, maybe you’ll get to find out! Welcome to Mississippi, now playing host to the SWAC basketball tournament. Enjoy the best of 12 HBCU teams duking it out for a bid in the Big Dance amidst a frankly ungodly number of churches.
Eli: Since 2018, the SWAC has hosted their tournament in Birmingham, significantly northeast of the midpoint. I’d say it’s unfair to the Texas schools, but it doesn’t seem to be an issue for Texas Southern, who’s won four of the five Birmingham tournaments, including this year’s as the 8-seed. At least it’s a somewhat neutral site.
Jackson is right there, but so is Jackson State, not to mention, y’know, that whole water crisis. If I’m the SWAC, I’m bookin’ it for New Orleans and partying it up for a week.
Grade: D+
Where I’d put it: New Orleans | UNO Lakefront Arena
NEC
Midpoint: A neighborhood in Bedford Hills, New York
Closest event venue: Rippowam Cisqua School (0.68 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Rippowam Cisqua School
David: Avoid the hustle and bustle of the big city with the NEC tournament, in sleepy Bedford Hills, New York. Come rest your eyes and enjoy some decent-to-bad basketball in what might be the nation’s most geographically tight conference. No big road trips for you!
Eli: I’m gonna immediately contradict David and say that this tournament should absolutely be held in New York. They currently have the higher-seeded team host every game, but look: three of those teams are in New York proper, one is right across the river in Hackensack, New Jersey, and another is a little ways north in Fairfield, Connecticut. That’s more than half the league right there.
You don’t have to hold the thing at Madison Square Garden or Barclays Center, but it should definitely be in the city.
Grade: C (by default)
Where I’d put it: New York | Carnesecca Arena
Independents
Midpoint: A field northwest of Saegertown, Pennsylvania
Closest event venue: Saegertown Jr./Sr. High School (2.70 mi)
Closest basketball arena: Saegertown Jr./Sr. High School
David: Well, seems a little unfortunate that this is where Hartford goes for their last hurrah, but at least they have Friend of the Program Chicago State to keep them company. We’re happy to see them both get an opportunity.
Eli: Chicago State vs. Hartford seven-game series in Erie to decide the true NCAA champion! Who says no?
Grade: N/A
Where I’d put it: Erie | Erie Insurance Arena
The United States of Conference Tournaments
Miscellaneous Midpoint Statistics
Final thoughts
Eli: David, who the hell is Jim?
David: Jim is the boss of the hypothetical travel agent tasked with selling 32 tiny towns or literal middle-of-nowhere locales to plenty of fans desperate for the old days of tournaments in actual cities with arenas that aren’t accustomed to small children as their main clientele.
This is the stupidest idea I’ve ever had. I loved every second of it.
Eli: Me too. I don’t envy Jim.
If we wanna be really technical, this version of the Big East is only a decade old!
I guess you can’t really hear text on a screen. Close your eyes?
This isn’t a hypothetical; that was the actual 8-9 matchup in this year’s tournament.
They went 2-2 in these regular season games, somehow losing to both North Florida and Chattanooga.
They held the tournament at James Madison’s newly opened arena in 2021, then James Madison up and left the league, so they didn’t even get to participate in the 2022 tournament.
"Sorry kids, we're gonna kick you out of your gym class for some SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE BASKETBALL HERE IN MAURICEVILLE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL! NEW ORLEANS! NORTHWESTERN STATE! FOR A BID TO THE BIG DANCE!"
Okay so I just read this in history class and found something... it turns out "the barn at coal creek" is not a barn, it is a wedding reception venue in the middle of nowhere, oklahoma.
The perfect spot for some big 12 basketball.