Michigan State Among 2015 Finalists Generating Record-Setting Final Four Ticket Prices
Provided by TiqIQ
They may be considered an underdog, but the Michigan State Spartans have proved their weight in gold during this year’s NCAA Tournament. Tom Izzo’s team has reached the Final Four for the ninth time in school history and is now set to play Duke this Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. For those hoping to attend, however, Final Four tickets won’t be cheap on the secondary market.
According to TiqIQ, the average secondary price for 2015 Final Four tickets is $1,151.98. Those tickets honor both games on Saturday, including the night’s later game between Kentucky and Wisconsin. The cheapest available ticket is currently listed for $327.
Such exorbitant prices set a record high for secondary tickets in the tournament’s penultimate round. Prior to this year, the most expensive Final Four tickets were in 2013, when tickets averaged $1,032.48 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.
Pending a win against Duke on Saturday, Michigan State would enter its fourth championship game in school history. Ahead of both Final Four games this weekend, the average secondary price for NCAA Tournament championship game tickets is $761.74 and the get-in price starts at $205. The title game will be played on Monday night.
An All-Sessions pass for the Final Four, includes access to both Final Four games and the championship game. It currently only costs slightly more than the Final Four session itself with an average price of $1,540.78 on the secondary market.
Relatively short travel distances from each school’s campus are also dictating big secondary ticket prices this year. Situated just under 200 miles outside of Indianapolis, Kentucky is the closest school to this year’s Final Four. Michigan State and the University of Wisconsin-Madison are 254 and 330 miles away, respectively. Duke has the farthest commute at 606 miles, though no distance is too far for fans when the chance to hoist the championship trophy is on the line.
Michigan State is the only team without a No. 1 seed behind them in this year’s Final Four, but seeding has meant little thus far into the tournament. As the No. 7 team in the East, the Spartans clawed their way past Louisville to claim the title as regional champions and now direct their attention to knocking off Duke for a spot in this year’s title game.
They’ll have to get past freshmen standouts Jahlil Okafor, Tyus Jones and Justise Winslow first, who have allowed the Blue Devils to breeze through the tournament’s first four rounds with relative ease. Higher seeds haven’t been a problem for MSU, however, and the Spartans enter Saturday’s game after trouncing Virginia, Oklahoma and Louisville in succession – all who boasted higher ranks.
Michigan State and Duke last met on November 17 in Durham. With the Blue Devils taking a 81-71 victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium, few could have anticipated a preview of what was to come in tournament play. Saturday’s matchup will be a meeting of powerhouse head coaches in Tom Izzo and Duke’s Coach K, who makes his 12th appearance in the Final Four and ties record holder John Wooden for most all-time.
It will be Izzo who holds the underdog card this weekend, but expect the Spartans to give Duke their toughest challenge yet when they tip off at 6:09pm.
