Travel issues for the Connecticut men's
basketball team are forcing changes to their schedule for Thursday. Per ESPN's Pete Thamel , UConn is working with the NCAA to push back its practice and media obligations after arriving in Phoenix after 3 a.m. local time. Huskies head coach Dan Hurley told CBS Sports' Matt Norlander flight that was scheduled to take off at 6 p.m. ET was delayed due to mechanical issues with the plane. The NCAA issued a statement announcing arrangements were made to get the Huskies in the air at 11:30 p,m. ET. The NCAA has issued a statement on UConn's travel issues. pic.twitter.com/pJ3qklJdxZ Connecticut's X account posted a video of the players walking off the plane after landing in
Arizona at 6:54 a.m. ET. On the ground in AZ 🌵#MadeForMarch | #MixForSix pic.twitter.com/X4WfcWncPI Norlander reported the Huskies had to cut down their travel party because the plane they found to use was smaller than the original and they wanted to fly directly into Phoenix rather than having to stop to refuel. Pat Eaton-Robb of the Associated Press noted this was the first time Connecticut had to take a plane to travel for a game since returning home after a March 6 win over Marquette at Fiserv Forum. The Huskies were able to travel by bus for the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden (New York City) and first two weekends of the NCAA tournament at Barclays Center (Brooklyn) and TD Garden (Boston). According to Norlander, the other final four teams arrived in Arizona earlier this week.
Alabama and Purdue flew in on Tuesday, followed by North Carolina State on Wednesday afternoon. Even though the travel was suboptimal, the Huskies have time to get back on schedule before they actually play a game. They will square off with Alabama on Saturday night at 8:49 p.m. ET with a berth in the national title game on the line. Connecticut has dominated the tournament thus far. Each of its four wins have come by at least 17 points with an average margin of victory of 27.8 points per game. The Huskies are seeking to become the first men's team to win back-to-back national titles since
Florida in 2005-06 and 2006-07.