Big East Tournament to change?

That's at least what SNY.tv is reporting.

Last season was the first since the Big East expanded that all 16 teams were invited to MSG to participate in the Big East Tournament. The way it was set-up, the 9-16 seeds played Tuesday, with those winners advancing to play the 5-8 seeds. The 1-4 seeds got a two round bye.

The new schedule would have the 1-4 seeds playing the 13-16 seeds on Tuesday, with the winners getting a day off before playing Thursday.

Personally, I believe the proposed tournament structure is much more fair, especially in a league as deep, balanced, and talented as the Big East. Usually, there is not going to be too much of a difference between the teams that finish 9th or 10th in the league and the teams that finish 4th and 5th. Most seasons, the teams that would be forced to play five games in five days will still be fighting for a tournament berth.

The new method would still give the higher seeds an advantage (they get the day off before the second round), but it wouldn't give them such an overwhelming advantage. Playing your third game in three days against a fresh Villanova/UConn/Georgetown/etc. team is almost unfair.