STORRS, Conn. — After long delays and red-eye flights, defending national champion UConn finally touched down in Arizona for the Final Four at 3:15 a.m. MST Thursday.
The Huskies departed from Bradley International Airport near Hartford at around 1:30 a.m. EDT after the plane, which was scheduled to depart around 6 p.m. EDT, encountered a mechanical problem arriving on the East Coast. They took off on a small Allegiant Air plane. Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
Top-seeded UW is scheduled to play fourth-seeded Alabama in the semifinals Saturday night at State Farm Stadium in Glendale. The championship game is Monday night.
Alabama and Purdue arrived in Arizona on Tuesday night, and North Carolina arrived on Wednesday afternoon.
The NCAA said in a statement that it has worked with UConn and the charter company to develop several alternatives.
“We are extremely disappointed that UW’s arrival is later than expected and regret that the team’s travel experience has been affected,” the NCAA said in a statement.
The Huskies have not been on a plane since immediately after the March 6 game against Marquette. His flight was canceled at the time, so he had to spend an extra day in Milwaukee.
They took a bus to the Big East Tournament and the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament in the East Regional Tournament in New York and Boston.
The travel issue was first reported by CBS Sports, who were informed of the issue by coach Dan Hurley.
