Defending national champion UConn finally touched down in Arizona for the Final Four at 3:15 a.m. MST on Thursday after a long delay and a red-eye flight.
After the plane they were supposed to depart on at around 6 p.m. local time on Wednesday had mechanical issues getting to the East Coast, the Huskies took off in a smaller Allegiant Air plane from Bradley International Airport near Hartford at about 1:30 a.m. Thursday for the flight to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
The team was supposed to leave at 11:30 p.m. after the initial issues, but the NCAA said in a statement that weather in Connecticut and a minor mechanical issue that was resolved by the onboard mechanic delayed the replacement aircraft for an additional two hours.
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"The delays were the result of an unfortunate set of circumstances," The statement from the NCAA said.
Allegiant said the NCAA contacted them late Wednesday, asking if they had a charter available to bring the UConn men’s basketball team to Phoenix for their Final Four appearance, Then they got a crew, a plane and support staff to Bradley Airport as soon as they could.
“Though Allegiant was not originally selected to fly the team, we were thrilled to help out, even on short notice. We scrambled to get a crew, a plane and support staff to Bradley International Airport as soon as possible. The earliest we could schedule a flight for departure was 11:30 p.m. local time. Unfortunately, a weather system moved in and the flight was delayed 90 minutes due to deicing. The flight departed BDL at 12:40 a.m. local time and arrived in PHX at 3:11 a.m. local time,” Allegiant said in a statement.
Dog House
No. 1 seed UConn is scheduled to play fourth-seeded Alabama on Saturday night in the semifinals at State Farm Stadium in Glendale.
The championship game is Monday night.
Alabama and Purdue arrived in Arizona on Tuesday night, and North Carolina State came in Wednesday afternoon.
The NCAA said in a statement that it worked with UConn and a charter company to develop several alternatives.
“We are very disappointed that UConn will arrive later than anticipated and it’s unfortunate the team's travel experience has been impacted,” the NCAA said.
The Huskies had not been on a plane since just after their March 6 game with Marquette, when they had to spend an extra day in Milwaukee because of a canceled flight. They took buses to the Big East Tournament and first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, both in New York, and the East Regional in Boston.
Fans gathered Wednesday at Gampel Pavilion to send off the men's basketball team. The send-off, which was going to be outside on Jim Calhoun Way, but was moved inside due to the weather.
No. 1 UConn will play No. 4 Alabama on Saturday at 9:20 p.m.
The UConn women's basketball team is also in the Final Four. No. 3 UConn will play No. 1 Iowa at 9:30 p.m. on Friday.
