As is seemingly the case each year, the ride throughout March Madness has been a wild and crazy one, featuring plenty of buzzer-beaters, monumental upsets, and timeless moments that make the NCAA Tournament as legendary as it is. The competition has whittled down to four familiar basketball programs, who will play in the 2016 Final Four at Houston’s NRG Stadium on Saturday. On one side of the bracket the storied University of North Carolina will square off against Syracuse while Villanova takes on Oklahoma for a place in the Championship Game on Monday night.
With just one win separating each school from playing on the tournament’s biggest stage, it’s no surprise that Saturday’s games are posting massive ticket demand on the secondary market. Below is a price breakdown of Final Four Session 1 tickets, which grant access to both Semi-final games this weekend. All pricing information is provided by TiqIQ:
4/2/16 | Villanova vs. Oklahoma | 6:09 p.m. ET | NRG Stadium | Avg. Ticket Price: $983.03 | Get-in: $209
A battle of No. 2 seeds will kick off the Semi-final round when Villanova takes on Oklahoma in the earlier game Saturday night. While most teams have labored to reach the penultimate stage of the tournament, Villanova has had a relatively easy ride. The Wildcats coasted through the first rounds, winning by an average of 24 points per game before disposing of the No. 1 seed of the Southern Region, the Kansas Jayhawks, by five points.
Oklahoma also decisively made it through their journey, winning three of their four games by double-digits, and in the one where they did not, it was a four-point win against the No. 10 seed Virginia Commonwealth. In other words, both teams should be at the top of their games when they clash for a Championship Game berth.
While tickets are understandably expensive, fans can fortunately save when making their travel arrangements to Houston. For Oklahoma fans looking to make the trek, roundtrip Oklahoma City flights to Houston start at $519. Additionally, Hipmunk sports affordable hotel rooms in Houston, with three-star hotels having bookings available for as little as just $55.
4/2/16 | North Carolina vs. Syracuse | 8:49 p.m. ET | NRG Stadium | Avg. Ticket Price: $983.03 | Get-in: $209
The nightcap game will feature two classic basketball programs in UNC and Syracuse vying for a spot in the title game Monday. The Orange, a No. 10 seed, were widely considered a team that should not have been in the NCAA Tournament to begin with. Not only did they narrowly get in, but they’ve taken this year’s tournament by storm, prevailing in the Midwest Region with wins over Dayton, Middle Tennessee, Gonzaga and their unforgettable comeback victory against Virginia. Before they write the next chapter to their fairytale story, however, they will have to better a surging North Carolina team. The No. 1 seed from the Eastern Region breezed through their competition, winning all four of their matchups by more than 10 points. The closest the Tar Heels came to defeat was their 14-point win over Notre Dame in the Elite Eight.
Given the pedigree of both of these schools, the second Semi-final game has potential to be an instant classic, and it’s just another reason tickets are posting such high prices on the secondary market. Luckily, that’s where Hipmunk will provide savings on roundtrip airfare to Houston from both Raleigh and Syracuse. From Raleigh, roundtrip flights start at $853 while Syracuse roundtrip flights to Houston begin at $807. Additionally, Hipmunk features four-star hotels in Houston ranging from $219 to $665.