After No. 8 North Carolina ended the Cinderella run of No. 15 Saint Peter’s on Sunday evening to advance to the Final Four, ticket prices exploded in anticipation of the first NCAA tournament tilt between UNC and rival Duke. It’s not hard to see why.
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski’s final season has culminated on an unbelievable note, with a Final Four appearance that brings him two victories away from his sixth career national title.
Coach K’s final tournament is in itself a great story line; but add in the fact that Duke is playing North Carolina for the first time in the NCAA tournament, and it’s no surprise why ticket prices have skyrocketed in advance of the game Saturday.
According to Ticket Club, the price of the Final Four doubleheader went up by more than 50% when UNC defeated Saint Peter’s on Sunday. An upper-level ticket could have been purchased at 3:42 p.m. ET for $486, but after the North Carolina victory, the minimum for that same seat was $759.
For lower-level seats, a similar bump in price was seen, as tickets went for $1,617 before Carolina’s win and $3,941 afterward.
While North Carolina and Duke are seen as the primary driver of ticket prices for the Final Four, Kansas and Villanova have something to do with the high cost as well. Villanova has won two national titles in the last six years, and Kansas is in its fourth Final Four under coach Bill Self.
The blueblood Final Four could end up as one of the most expensive in recent history, as college basketball fans pack the arena in the national semifinal for the first time since 2019.
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