Indiana's loss to Michigan on Friday in the Big Ten men's basketball tournament "probably decreased attendance by more than 2,000" for the rest of the weekend, according to Anthony Schoettle of the INDIANAPOLIS BUSINESS JOURNAL. The tournament had a record total attendance for Bankers Life Fieldhouse of 117,051, "thanks largely to the expanded conference" and an extra session. The per-session average of 16,722 "was down from the previous five years," and the championship game between Michigan State and Purdue "drew 16,429." The total would have likely been near 18,400 "had No. 1 seeded IU made it to the title game." But had Purdue not made it, that number "could have been even lower than it was." Saturday's semifinals had the "second highest attendance of any session, bringing in 18,339." The most attended session was Friday afternoon, featuring the IU-Michigan and Purdue-Illinois games hat drew 18,355. Though the tournament drew more than the 111,592 it had for the "last time it was at Bankers Life Fieldhouse" in '14, attendance was below last year's tournament at Chicago's United Center, which drew 118,496 (IBJ.com, 3/14).
