Why National Championship ticket prices took a major hit by UConn defeating Illinois

2026-04-05 · Yahoo Sports

Why National Championship ticket prices took a major hit by UConn defeating Illinois originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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UConn celebrated another trip to the National Championship Game by beating Illinois 71-62 on Saturday night.

The Final Four national semifinal game was close towards the end, but the Huskies ran away in the final two minutes for the third title game appearance in Dan Hurley's tenure. While the Fighting Illini were sent home, they might not be the biggest losers of the NCAA Tournament.

After Illinois was defeated by UConn, ticket prices on the secondary markets plummeted, with the venue being in Indianapolis. This is 120 miles from Illinois' campus in Champaign, and the fans brought a sea of orange to Lucas Oil Stadium. However, this means the local interest was a draw for ticket prices.

As former ESPN writer Arash Markazi pointed out on X, with Illinois out and if Michigan falls to Arizona, the level of interest will drop off significantly. Arizona and UConn don't typically bring a traveling fan base compared to big-time powerhouses. The matchup either way would be interesting, but enough to fill up an NFL stadium with 100,000-plus fans?

Nonetheless, UConn moves on to Monday night's National Championship Game against the winner of Michigan and Arizona. Hurley's team is a perfect 11-0 in the Sweet 16 or later during his tenure at Storrs.

As of halftime of the Michigan-Arizona game, the get-in price is the lowest it has been this week at $153 per ticket on Stubhub.

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