Delays hinder UConn men
Huskies take smaller plane, arrive in the middle of the night
HARTFORD, Conn. — The UConn men’s basketball team made it to the Final Four with four one-sided victories in the East Regional. But qualifying is one thing; getting to Phoenix was no easy task.
The Huskies, who have had a string of travel nightmares, were still on campus as of 8 p.m. Wednesday, waiting as a plane was found and made available to fly them to Arizona, where they are to play Alabama in a semifinal Saturday night. The other semifinalists, Alabama, Purdue and North Carolina State, were already on the ground in Phoenix.
After the plane they were supposed to take around 6 p.m. 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. for the flight to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
The NCAA handles all travel arrangements for the tournament.
The players and coaches met for a team dinner before their original flight. They learned, according to CBSSports.com’s Matt Norlander, that logistical and mechanical issues with the plane, which was coming from Kansas City, caused significant delays. Norlander, who spoke with coach Dan Hurley, reported that because the flight crew was over its hours limit, the plane wouldn’t be able to get to Connecticut and take off until 10 a.m. Thursday. That’s when they changed flight plans.
So the Huskies lost a day to get acclimated to the three-hour time difference and arrived in Phoenix at 3:15 a.m. local time (5:15 Eastern), just hours before their scheduled workouts and press conferences Thursday with little chance for a full night’s sleep.
Last year at the West Regional, the team found its hotel arrangements in Las Vegas inadequate and had to move during the stretch. During the last week of the regular season, the UConn traveling party was stranded in Milwaukee due to problems with the plane after playing Marquette, with a quick turnaround before playing at Providence.
None of these past problems, of course, have affected UConn’s on-court performance. The No.1 overall seed in the tournament, the Huskies played their first- and second-round games in Brooklyn, the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games in Boston, both sides within driving distance.
Last year, the Huskies got flown to the Final Four in Houston on a jet owned by the New England Patriots. That’s not an option this time, a school spokesman said, because the Patriots have since terminated their agreement with Eastern Airlines.