Best places to stay for Big Ten Tournament + ticket strategy

Don’t have any advice on hotels, but I actually got tickets online the morning of for the championship game last year and they were still fairly reasonable. ($90ish each I believe.)  Not sure if it being in Indy this year will be different than Chicago. And waiting that late will probably depend on who is playing. But I can’t imagine there being a match up any bigger than Mich vs MSU in terms of the number of fans willing to travel, unless Indiana makes it. 

I'd say and recommend the Econo Lodge South but I don't think it quite exists anymore.  Can't imagine why. 

(Stayed there in '05 as a poor 20 year old college student.  Ooof.  Fun trip I guess but not being 21 and staying out there makes it a questionable one, too.  Watched Michigan get trounced by Minnesota...went with Iowa fans and forget if they won a few games or not)

Personally, I’m holding on tickets until seeing the matchups. My hope is that the secondary market starts to open up after teams get eliminated though I’m in a slightly different boat living in an Indy suburb. I’d pocket the extra cash and save on the hotel room if I were you. Don’t just get a drink at St. Elmo’s with the money, get a steak and shrimp cocktail.

It's very walkable. Lived there for 15 years...loved walking the downtown area. 

I went last year in Chicago for the tournament. Thursday tickets probably won’t move much either way - they should be fairly cheap for okay seats. It’s somewhat dependent on what teams are in the games and the size of their fanbases. If you are planning on going to all the games, or expect Michigan to go far, I suggest saving money for later games. 
 

Friday tickets are fairly similar to Thursday for the earlier games. Friday night games will be more expensive. Saturday will be much more expensive given the teams will be better and it’s a weekend. Championship game might take a step down in price from Saturday. 

Going to all the games is an expensive endeavor. Keep your eye on Stubhub, Seat Geek, etc. as tournament tickets can move quickly one way or another as the tournament unfolds. 
 

Enjoy the trip, it’s a lot of fun. 
 

You pretty much have to wait on tickets unless you want to go to both sessions no matter what.  There's still an outside shot they have to play Wednesday as well.  Thursday traditionally has been very cheap.  That could be different this year if IU and Purdue play each other.

Different venue this year, but last year in Chicago a number of primary market premium seats were released the Wednesday night that the tournament started. No idea why on that timing, but I got a pair in the first row for Friday and Sunday at face value.  There were some for Saturday, too, but they were gone by the time I tried to add to the cart. They were all gone in a few minutes, but I happened to be looking just at the right time.  For Sunday, we were first row between the Michigan bench and center court. Best seats I have ever had for any sporting event.