Selection Sunday is less than two weeks away, with teams mounting final pushes to clinch their spots in the Big Dance. The road to this year’s men’s NCAA tournament has featured plenty of surprises, as favorites fell and unsuspecting underdogs climbed the ranks. With the college basketball postseason about to heat up, now is as good a time as any to look back at how the 2022–23 campaign unfolded. Using the SI Tickets reservation system, we’ve taken a look at who started the year as college basketball darlings and who exceeded expectations, analyzing shifts in Final Four ticket prices.
The Biggest Final Four Ticket Price Changes
Increases:
It’s no surprise that Final Four ticket reservation prices for No. 5 Purdue skyrocketed from the start of the season, with seat costs jumping a whopping 303%. The Boilermakers are on the cusp of a Big Ten title, boasting a 13–5 conference record, and are among the favorites to cut down the nets in April. Unranked in the Associated Press top 25 preseason poll, Purdue has enjoyed a Cinderella run, with its only major blunder a pair of losses to in-state rival Indiana.
No. 2 Alabama’s dream season has been engulfed in controversy after police testified that Crimson Tide forward Brandon Miller provided former teammate Darius Miles with a gun used to kill Jamea Harris in Tuscaloosa on Jan. 15. The news comes amid a compelling on-court run, with Final Four ticket reservation prices skyrocketing 260% from the start of the season, when the Crimson Tide were ranked 20th in the AP poll. How the case will impact Alabama’s playoff aspirations remains to be seen, with the team likely to be a lightning rod come tourney time.
No. 14 UConn is making moves at the right time, climbing four spots up the AP poll after big wins over No. 20 Providence, St. John’s and DePaul. Unranked at the outset of the campaign, the Huskies’ Final Four ticket reservation prices have shot up 217% over the course of the season. Gritting out a 12–7 conference record, UConn has finished the year with a persuasive winning streak, setting the Huskies up for success entering the NCAA tournament.
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Decreases:
North Carolina’s fall from grace has been well documented at this point, with the preseason No. 1 now on the bubble heading into March Madness. With a 19–11 record, the Tar Heels’ Final Four ticket reservation prices have dropped 86% as the team attempts a final charge to secure a place in the NCAA tournament. According to Sports Illustrated’s Kevin Sweeney, “The Tar Heels’ missing the tournament would be historic: Since the NCAA tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, no preseason No. 1 team has ever missed the Big Dance, while more than half ended up as No. 1 seeds.”
The outlook for Duke is much better than that of the Tar Heels, with the Blue Devils enjoying a five-game winning streak to cap off the season. However, the 2022–23 campaign hasn’t been straightforward for Duke, currently unranked after starting the season at No. 7 in the preseason poll. Final Four ticket reservation prices for the team dropped 70% throughout the year, but perhaps the Blue Devils’ new and improved form can carry the group to an impressive March Madness showing.
No. 23 Kentucky has endured a streaky season, tumbling down the rankings after slotting in at No. 4 in the preseason poll. Given the early high hopes for the Wildcats, it’s perhaps unsurprising that the team’s Final Four reservation price fell 68% as the group struggled to achieve consistent results. After a strong February, notching victories over teams like No. 12 Tennessee, the Wildcats fell to Vanderbilt on Wednesday in a strange loss that blunted a four-game win streak heading into the postseason.
