The University of Connecticut men’s basketball team was hit with a travel nightmare on its way to the Final Four of the NCAA tournament.
Plane problems forced half the traveling contingent to take a 2 a.m. flight to Phoenix, Arizona, to the centerpiece of this weekend.
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And the rest of UConn The contingent is stuck in Connecticut and has been forced to delay its trip.
This throws off their preparation for this weekend NCAA The Final Four at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, descends into chaos.
The Huskies are scheduled to face Alabama in the second semifinal on Saturday night.
The entire traveling group was scheduled to leave Connecticut at 6 p.m. ET Wednesday evening.
But they experienced mechanical problems with their plane and then struggled to get their hands on a big enough plane.
The team finally departed at 11:30 p.m. ET and is expected to land at 2:00 a.m. PT.
They are scheduled to practice and be available with the media Thursday in Arizona.
And they were also forced to split up, with some members of the group waiting for later flights.
“In collaboration with the school and charter airlines, the NCAA has worked to develop several alternative travel options to Phoenix,” the NCAA said in a statement.
“We are very disappointed that UConn is arriving later than expected and it is unfortunate that the team’s travel experience has been impacted.”
The team tweeted about the travel disruptions Wednesday evening.
They shared an image of a team bus with overlaid tweets and the caption “UConn vs. The World.”
They confirmed a few hours later that they had a plane.
A tweet posted at 11:40 p.m. ET showed players boarding a plane with the caption “Phoenix, we have a plane.”
Coach Dan Hurley tweeted just after 1 a.m. ET saying, “The wheels are not up.”
NCAA tournament schedule
March 19-20 – First Four
March 21-22 – First round
March 23-24 – Second round
March 28-29 – Sweet 16
March 30-31 – Elite Eight
April 6 and 8 – Final Four (at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona)
UConn is the defending champion and looking to become the first team to repeat since Florida in 2006 and 2007.
Purdue will face NC State in the first semifinal in Arizona on Saturday.
The finale will take place Monday night at the same venue that hosted last year’s Super Bowl.
Victory this weekend in Glendale would be UConn’s sixth national title, adding to successes in 1999, 2004, 2011, 2014 and 2023.
Their women’s team, led by Paige Bueckersis also in the Final Four this weekend in ClevelandOhio and can achieve a remarkable double success.
