Big Ten Men's Basketball Tourney To Be Held At MSG In 2018

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — The Big Ten keeps moving eastward.

Commissioner Jim Delany said Tuesday the men's basketball tournament will be played at none other than Madison Square Garden in 2018.

Delany says league play will start in December during the 2017-2018 season— earlier than usual — to accommodate the Garden. The arena has a long-term deal with the Big East for its men's basketball tournament. That means there will be a week between the Big Ten championship and the NCAA tournament's Selection Sunday.

The Big Ten tournament will be in Chicago in 2015, Indianapolis in 2016 and Washington in 2017.

Delany also announced the Big Ten will begin an annual basketball-hockey doubleheader at the Garden starting in 2016.

Delany was joined at the Garden news conference by two New York Rangers players — Carl Hagelin, who attended Michigan, and Derek Stepan, who attended Wisconsin.

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