Northwestern's Chris Collins Criticizes Big Ten Tournament Format

Collins' squad is fighting late in the year after two major injuries.

Feb 11, 2025; Eugene, Oregon, USA; Northwestern Wildcats head coach Chris Collins watches his team during the second half against the Oregon Ducks at Matthew Knight Arena. Mandatory Credit: Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images | Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images

Following the Big Ten's expansion from 14 to 18 teams, the conference adapted its postseason tournament format to keep it as close to the previous iteration as possible.

While all 14 Big Ten teams used to make the competition with the chance to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament with a championship win, each team in the Big Ten no longer gets that opportunity. Instead, the bottom three team's seasons will end after their final regular season game and the top 15 teams will continue playing in the single-elimination event.

This is the first year of the Big Ten's new tournament format, and Northwestern head coach Chris Collins is opposed to the change.

"I’m not a fan of it at all," Collins said at a media availability session on Thursday. "I just think the positives [of including every team] far outweigh the negatives. I think it’s a disservice to the players."

After winning consecutive games over Ohio State and Minnesota, Northwestern is tied for 13th in the Big Ten with a 6-11 record in conference play. The Wildcats have the head-to-head tiebreaker over USC and Minnesota directly below them, but remain beneath Iowa due to the Hawkeyes' deep buzzer beater win in December. NU could even the season series against Iowa with a home win on Friday night.

Northwestern still has three games left — home to Iowa and UCLA, then at Maryland — to ensure it makes the Big Ten Tournament. However, the road will not be easy, as both the Bruins and Terrapins are in line to be playing in March Madness.