What to know about the Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament in Minneapolis

The 2023 Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament tips off at Target Center Wednesday.

What's happening: The winner of the tournament gets an automatic bid in the NCAAW March Madness bracket.

• It's also a chance for some teams to improve their seedings in the national tournament.

State of play: The 12th-seeded Gophers open the tourney against Penn State at 1pm Wednesday.

• Minnesota's chances of getting into the national bracket are essentially dead if they don't win the Big Ten title.
• They went 4-14 in conference play this season and finished with an 11-18 record.

Details: Individual game tickets are $12 to $20, or $75 for a pass to the full tournament. College students get in free with a valid student ID, and discounts are available for families and seniors.

• Related events, including a youth clinic and a panel on women in sports journalism, are scheduled throughout the week.

What they're saying: Andrea Graham, co-executive director of this year's tournament, told Axios that hosting the event following the Women's Final Four last year will help solidify the metro's reputation as "a mecca for women's basketball."

• Tickets are "flying out the door," she added, with sales of a package covering all the games outselling 2022 totals by 443% as of Monday.

Of note: It's Minneapolis' first time hosting the tournament, which has been held in Indianapolis since 2015.

• Both the men's and women's conference tournaments will be held in the Twin Cities next year.