Report: UConn delayed in flight to Final Four due to multiple plane issues
Three days before UConn is set to take on Alabama in the Final Four, the Huskies are struggling to get to Glendale. Their plane was supposed to take off at 6 p.m. ET on Wednesday, but the plane coming in from Kansas City had mechanical and logistical issues, head coach Dan Hurley told CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander.
UConn is the only Final Four team not in Arizona, and it could be a while before it gets there, Norlander said. The flight crew for the incoming flight from Kansas City would go over its hours if it flew the Huskies out right away, and their earliest contingency plan would be to fly a smaller plane in from Kansas City with a 12:45 a.m. ET takeoff time. That would get UConn to Glendale around 5 a.m. ET, which is 2 a.m. PT after a fuel stop, and a charter flight isn’t available in the next five hours.
If the Huskies wait for the plane to fly in from Kansas City, Hurley told Norlander the crew can’t fly until 10 a.m. ET on Thursday. They are supposed to meet with reporters Thursday, as well, ahead of Saturday’s game against Alabama at 8:49 p.m. ET.
UConn – the NCAA Tournament’s No. 1 overall seed – has left no room for doubt during its journey to the Final Four. The Huskies have yet to allow 60 points in a tournament game, and in the Elite Eight against Illinois, opened up a 30-0 run to start the second half.
Hurley’s group looks like the clear frontrunner to win the whole thing again, and Alabama coach Nate Oats knows his team is the underdog. He’s embracing that mentality, though, especially considering the Tide have been dealing with it the whole tournament.
“Nobody’s gonna pick us to win,” Oats said. “We’re kind of playing with house money a little bit, if you will. We weren’t supposed to beat Clemson. We weren’t supposed to beat North Carolina. A lot of people were picking against us against Grand Canyon.
“… We’re not gonna be picked to win, I know that, but sometimes the best team, the one that’s picked, doesn’t always win. We were the underdog against Carolina – not as big as we are now – but we figured out a way to win. I don’t think our guys are gonna relax to the point where they’re not gonna play hard and be ready to play. We played hard these last four games.”