Buy your Big East tourney tickets now!

[QueRico]

What do tickets for the whole tournament cost? or can they be bought for individual games only?

The policy in the past was for the entire tournament.
I expect pricing is far from set. You are losing 2 huge draws in UConn & Syr who have massive alumni bases working in NYC & fans that travel.
The BET has been a hard-ticket-only event, so the resale market for individual games was Craig's List, on-site scalpers & StubHub. StubHub has a physical location a block away fr/ MSG. Early round tickets are generally reasonable. A number out of town fans have sold cheap & enjoyed an NYC vacation once their team lost. The first year needs to be a strong statement to keep it as a Premium Event.

[QueRico]

New York City Virgin here....if someone were to start looking for hotel options what would someone with knowledge of the area close to the Garden recommend?

Thanks in advance for the advice!

I actually can't help you w/ Midtown hotels, but a bit of advice for anyone thinking about a trip on a budget.
Penn Station is literally underneath MSG and there are a dozen subway lines & a PATH train station w/in a block or 2.
This opens up your hotel location options and if you don't mind a short train ride hotels in NJ are substantially cheaper.