The UW men's basketball team advanced to the Final Four with four lopsided wins in the East. But being qualified is another thing. acquisition Getting to Phoenix wasn't easy.
After a series of travel nightmares, the Huskies were still on campus as of 8 p.m. Wednesday night, waiting to find a flight to Arizona and play Alabama in Saturday's semifinals. 8:40pm. The other semifinalists, Alabama, Purdue and North Carolina State, are already on the ground in Phoenix.
The NCAA had made all the travel arrangements for the tournament, and the plane was scheduled to depart from Bradley International Airport at 6 p.m. Players and coaches met for a team dinner before departure. According to them, they learned. Matt Norlander of CBSSports.com The flight from Kansas City reportedly experienced logistical and mechanical issues that caused significant delays. Norlander, who spoke with coach Dan Hurley, reported that the plane would not be able to arrive and take off in Connecticut until 10 a.m. Thursday because the crew's hours exceeded the time limit. After midnight, small planes must stop for refueling.
BREAKING: UW has no flights to Arizona at this time, says Dan Hurley @CBS Sports. Scheduled to take off at 6:00 ET, the flight was delayed significantly due to logistical/mechanical issues with the plane arriving from Kansas City. The NCAA handles all NCAAT tracing. more …
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) April 3, 2024
So the Huskies will lose a day getting used to the three-hour time difference and arrive in Phoenix hours before their scheduled practice and press conference on Thursday, with little chance of getting a night's sleep. As officials rushed to the plane, the team returned to campus for dinner, packed their bags, and waited for word to board the bus to the airport.
At last year's West Regional, the team found that hotel arrangements in Las Vegas were inadequate, forcing them to travel during the game. During the final week of the regular season, UW's traveling group was stranded in Milwaukee after a game against Marquette due to plane trouble, and had to turn back at short notice before a game in Providence.
Of course, these past issues haven't affected UConn's on-court performance. The Huskies, the No. 1 overall seed in the Field of 68, will play their first and second round games in Brooklyn and their Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games in Boston, both teams within driving distance. .
Last year, the Huskies made it to the Final Four in Houston on Patriots-owned jets. A school spokesperson said the Patriots have since terminated their contract with Eastern Airlines, so that is not an option this time.
