If Michigan beats No.1 seed Villanova for the national championship, it will be a bit of validation for Big 10 commissioner and UNC alum Jim Delany. He was roundly criticized for hurting league teams’ NCAA chances by staging their conference tournament a week early.
That accelerated schedule enabled the Big 10 to stage its tournament at Madison Square Garden, where it preceded the Big East’s annual event.
Delany aced the ACC in starting a league network in 2007, raking in enhanced revenues for more than a decade while its southern counterpart is still getting its effort underway.