Frankly I'm all for us bowing out of the big ten tournament. Way too high of a risk for us with absolutely no reward. 8K people all under 1 roof for 4 straight games has to be the dumbest fucking idea yet from Kevin Warren and company.
#2 seed Illinois gets 2 byes in the Big Ten Tournament (as do the other Top 4 seeds). So the Illini would have to win 3 straight games to claim the championship.
While I understand why you might think that way, the team needs to play a few games in the Big Ten Tournament to stay sharp. If I was head coach, I would not make winning the conference tournament championship a priority at this point. If it happens, it happens. Rather, I'd want to make sure the rotation is set and key players are rested & healthy. Oh, and work on free throw shooting.