NCAA Tournament Preview

With only about three weeks left in the NCAA Basketball regular season, Championship Week and March Madness are right around the corner. The first round for the field of 64 begins March 20, with the Sweet 16 kicking off March 27 in Memphis and Anaheim and March 28 in Indianapolis and New York City. The Final Four, hosted in the “House That Jerry (Jones) Built” in Arlington, TX, will provide a grand stage for the finale to an interesting NCAA Men’s Basketball season April 5 and 7. With Syracuse as the only remaining undefeated team in a power conference, crashing the ACC’s traditional North Carolina party, a lot can happen between now and the announcement of the 68-team field. Plenty more excitement will follow in the three weekends after the bracket is posted.

The teams for the initial sites won’t be set in stone until that final committee meeting after conference tournaments are completed, but three of the top seeds seem probable at this time: No. 1 Syracuse in the East, No. 2 Arizona in the West, and No. 4 Witchita State in the Midwest. No. 3 Florida still has two games left against No. 14 Kentucky, one in Rupp Arena, and another three road games to endure before punching their ticket as the top seed in the South region. Based on those headliners and the venues themselves, early Sweet 16 ticket prices are showing some separation.

East Region full strip tickets at Madison Square Garden, providing access to all three games, begin at $383, more than the price of full strips to the South ($178) and West ($183) Regions combined! The Midwest Region at Lucas Oil Field is a distant fourth, with full strip tickets starting at $132. As the teams are finalized and Cinderella stories develop, expect to see more movement in demand as the games get closer. It’ll be really interesting to see how those MSG tickets compare to Final Four package tickets, currently starting at $474 for both days in Texas. SeatGeek will keep you updated on the latest trends in March Madness ticket prices as the field narrows!

NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Tickets & Prices

2014 Sweet 16 Preview and Cities

While the Big East as we once knew it has been dissolved, there’s big potential for a reunion of former members in the once-hallowed conference tournament grounds of Madison Square Garden in New York City. If the likes of Syracuse, Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati are matched with VCU and Iowa State, the East Region could prove a tough battleground for even a strong wire to wire performer like Syracuse to emerge.

Region/
Dates		 Seed Team City State Venue
East 1 Syracuse New York NY MSG
3/28, 30 2 Villanova New York NY MSG
3 Iowa State New York NY MSG
4 Cincinnati New York NY MSG
Midwest 1 Wichita State Indianapolis IN Lucas Oil Stadium
3/28, 30 2 Duke Indianapolis IN Lucas Oil Stadium
3 Michigan State Indianapolis IN Lucas Oil Stadium
4 Kentucky Indianapolis IN Lucas Oil Stadium
South 1 Florida Memphis TN FedEx Forum
3/27, 29 2 Kansas Memphis TN FedEx Forum
3 Michigan Memphis TN FedEx Forum
4 Virginia Memphis TN FedEx Forum
West 1 Arizona Anaheim CA Honda Center
3/27, 29 2 San Diego State Anaheim CA Honda Center
3 Creighton Anaheim CA Honda Center
4 Wisconsin Anaheim CA Honda Center

Final Four Predictions

The Final Four of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament will make its first visit to AT&T Stadium (formerly Cowboys Stadium) on April 5 and 7, 2014. While there are never any guarantees that the selection committee’s seeding will foretell all of the No. 1 seeds making the Final Four, it’s hard to imagine the Syracuse Orange not making it after a successful inaugural campaign in the ACC. The Arizona Wildcats have only one narrow loss on their own record, and the Witchita State Shockers appear strong enough to qualify over more traditional powers like the Duke Blue Devils. The Kansas Jayhawks and Michigan Wolverines seem like strong potential No. 2 and No. 3 seeds, respectively, and we’ll give the nod to the Jayhawks, long and loaded with NBA talent.