Need Advice, Opinions, Guidance & Feedback On Tournament Strategy

[hhcdave]

If it feels like I'm overwhelmed with possibilities and thus asking you to allow me to lay on your couch, unload my thoughts/worries and pray that you'll give me answers - you're right. That's the exactly what I'm asking. Haha.

 

I have made a lifelong commitment to myself that NO MATTER WHAT - I will BE THERE when we win our first NCAA Tournament game.

 

Background on me - I'm a 43 year old radio host in Kansas City. Single, no kids, so I have some financial freedom and the ability with my job to essentially get off work whenever I need to. I have requested the Wed-Fri off the week of the first round in order to travel on Wed and be at whichever site we end up at until Sunday night. I realize there's a 15% chance the Sunday night things could ruin our Round of 32 game but I have enough freedom where I could also call in on Monday if need be.

 

What do I do in preparation? I see many on here have bought tickets in Omaha in case we go there - many have booked some flights that are cancelable to certain sites - I guess I'll just ask a whole bunch of questions below and I'm hoping some people would be kind enough to quote and answer all of these. The more the merrier as I devise my strategy.

 

Tiny more background - I am a ticket snob and want to be on the floor. Behind the baskets if I have to but hopefully on baseline or at worst, in corner. So I know I'm going to have to pay a pretty penny. I may or may not have friends going with me - others don't seem as keen on spending the amount of money this might take. So I might be going solo. Has anyone ever done this?

 

OK - I'm asking your advice if YOU were ME. What would YOUR strategy be on:

 

1. Do we think the odds of us in Omaha are higher than the 12.5% (1/8) that math dictates? I'm guessing its more like 25-30% we end up there - although maybe they truly don't want to give us a home game. Anyone have any clue on our odds in Omaha?

 

2. I see good seats in Omaha are roughly $700-$900 per ticket for ALL THREE sessions. Is this already priced way up where I just wait it out and DON'T buy them now? As in - if we don't go there, am I going to have a tough time breaking even on that purchase price? I'm guessing they double from that if we do go there. Thoughts on strategy here?

 

3. While we're on the topic of tickets and sessions - would you BUY ALL THREE SESSIONS NOW or ONLY buy one and two? (in case we lose)

 

4. Is the NCAA website (linked to Ticketmaster) the official place to buy them? That's what it's appearing like to me. I'm guessing they aren't face prices and they're all third party listings at this point, correct?

 

5. Is that the best site to buy them at?

 

6. How would you handle flights if you were me? Just wait until Selection Sunday? I don't really want to book 5 flights and cancel 4. Seems risky.

 

7. How would you handle hotels if you were me? I'm guessing these are easier to cancel? Any suggested site for this?

 

8. Last, how would you handle other friends that "want to go" but "aren't sure yet?" Do I just wing this Selection Sunday or try to buy stuff now?

AWWW this is stressful.

 

Any guidance, thoughts, advice, other feedback is appreciated.

Dave

 

 

[AuroranHusker]

I'd probably put the odds on Omaha at around 30%. And I'd probably drive to most of the 1st rd. sites from K.C. But that's just me talkin' in a vacuum. I've secured seats to both Thursday sessions in Omaha a month ago, basically before Nebraska won a bunch of games by 15+!!

 

if I  were you, buy 2 tickets to the session, and hope a buddy is "on board" come time to go!! If you're fine going solo, Omaha has a ton of single tickets available throughout the arena when I checked a while back, but maybe they've been scooped up by now. Memphis or Salt Lake are other seemingly plausible destinations, but that's a wild-ass guess. We really have no idea, tbh.

 

Edited February 27, 2024 by AuroranHusker

[TourneyBound]

We got some guys going wherever as well so this is some of the decisions We are facing as well....

 

1.)  We are still debating on this as we arent sure if we say buy them on ticketmaster can you then sell them back on ticketmaster after the sites are announed??  We need up to 8 possible tickets so that is a huge risk as we would want lower bowl tickets.  Have thought about possibly having some tickets selected as selection show is going so we have them secured right as its announced but maybe website closes down during show...

 

Another factor is if we are an 8 or 9 seed we more than likely wont be in omaha..  Unless Kansas/Iowa St. should climb to a 1.

 

2.) My thoughts are if Iowa St. And Kansas both end up in omaha prices will go up!  If not they might stay the same.  I would say chances of going up are better than decreasing though.

 

3.)  All 3 sessions

 

4.)  Not Sure

 

5.) Not Sure

 

6.)  We are waiting on flights

 

7.)  We got hotels on expedia that we can cancel after selection show.

 

8.)  Tell them they need to commit soon to get things lined up.  Im expecting prolly close to $2,000 person unless we are in omaha.

Edited February 27, 2024 by TourneyBound

[unl]

Here’s mine:

 

It’s going to be me and my wife. Twin 7 yr olds only if I find a cheap deal (like, Groupon tickets to Indianapolis $40 lol). 
 

Like Dave, I am pretty much committed to going no matter what. But I can’t buy tickets to all these places and then have to sell. 
 

And, the closer the better, but I’ll sit in the rafters if it means I get to see “it” finally happen. 

I’ll take any suggestions for this scenario as well. 

[Cornhoopers]

8 minutes ago, TourneyBound said:

1.)  We are still debating on this as we arent sure if we say buy them on ticketmaster can you then sell them back on ticketmaster after the sites are announed??

Yes, you can turn around and sell them on Ticketmaster. Ticketmaster collects fees on every transaction, so they would love it if you did this and therefore make it easy to do.

[TourneyBound]

1 minute ago, Cornhoopers said:

Yes, you can turn around and sell them on Ticketmaster. Ticketmaster collects fees on every transaction, so they would love it if you did this and therefore make it easy to do.

This is good to know.  Thanks

[HuskerBB]

Obviously the NCAA does not make this easy.   I have talked about this in other threads as well - but I am an advocate of using Southwest to book multiple flights because you know you can cancel and get full credit for future flights.   But I am also someone who flies on SW quite often so using the credit is not an issue - FWIW it used to expire in a year but they now don't have an expiration on the credit.   Even better though - I accumulate SW points just for this reason because you can book a flight with points and cancel it and you just get the points back (and $5.60 of credit for the little portion you have to pay in cash even when you book a flight with points).  But obviously that is not something you can do now if you don't already have the points built up.    I would also say your window for this is already likely closing.   Would have been better to book the SW flights a month ago probably when you might have caught a sale price.   But if you wait until the selection it is almost certain the flights will be far more expensive even than they are now.

 

Maybe to limit the flight bookings you can combine them in fly/drive packages.   For example book a flight to Salt Lake and figure if necessary you could use the flight for Salt Lake - or as a base to drive the rest of the way to Spokane.  Or maybe better book a flight to Boise and figure you can drive from there to either Salt Lake or Spokane. 

 

On the ticket thing I would say in most places you can wait and buy the ticket as soon as the selections are made as long as you are willing to bite the bullet and pay whatever it costs.   But Omaha might be an exception to that for reasons others have noted.  First Omaha is a venue that is going to be well attended regardless just because that is what Nebraskans do - tickets always sell well here.   But also if Nebraska does get to Omaha the ticket price will explode - and even more so if Kansas and/or Iowa State are also there.   So I think it is best to buy the Omaha tickets now and figure you won't lose money as long as at least one of those three teams are there.    For others I would probably risk it knowing there is a risk involved if for example BYU ends up in Salt Lake with Nebraska.   

 

I would say that I think that if buying tickets ahead you are actually less likely to lose money if pay for the good seats now.   People are always going to want lower bowl tickets and will pay a premium to get them even if there are no nearby teams.   I always get lower bowl NCAA Final 4 volleyball tickets and have always made money on those when we did not go even if Nebraska doesn't go and the venue doesn't sell out.

 

Should be very easy to book hotels that you can cancel without penalty so I would go ahead and do that to any location you are certain you would go to - but at the same time for larger cities you will be able to find a hotel somewhere without paying an outrageous price - so that really depends about how picky you are about hotel location or quality.

 

If you are buying tickets in advance I would probably just buy the first session - particularly if you are not certain you would want to stay for round two (if god forbid NU loses).   Omaha might be an exception but again kind of depends.   If the nearby teams happen to lose in the first round then lots of 2nd session tickets will become available all of the sudden.   That maybe is not likely with ISU or KU in Omaha - but could happen with BYU in Salt Lake maybe.

 

 

  

Edited February 27, 2024 by HuskerBB

[Nebrasketball1979]

My son and I have traveled to a few different NCAA first/second round matchups.  As far as tickets are concerned, if you want to watch all 6 games across all 3 sessions, then it is certainly cheaper to buy the all session pass.  However, if you just want to watch the two game pod Nebraska is in, wait until selection Sunday and see if they are in the 1st or 2nd session.  You'll pay probably 30-40% of the all session price but you get to hedge your risk.  If Nebraska loses in the first round (unlikely ) then you don't have to pay to watch additional sessions.  If Nebraska wins in the first round, then it will depend which teams advance to session 3.  If there are upsets and some schools with smaller fan bases, ticket prices will come down.  If you have some blue bloods with strong fan support, tickets will rise.  If ticket prices go up, you're likely paying another 40%+ or so of the total all session pass.  So, if the third session prices do rise, you could end up paying around 80-100% to see both Nebraska sessions as opposed to 100% of the cost to see all 3.  We've bought tickets off all of the secondary sites (Stub hub, seatgeek, vivid seats, ticketmaster) so you can save a little money if you look around.  However, we won't buy tickets until the location is announced.  Too much brain damage for me in trying to resell them.

 

As far as flights/hotels, we're waiting until selection Sunday if we need to fly.  If you think you are going alone, I'd also wait to buy single session tickets as those will definitely be cheaper as they are harder to sell.  If we have an odd number go in our group, I'll send you a DM to see if you want to join our group.   It's likely just my son and I but it's possible we have a third join us.  Buying tickets in odd numbers, unless it's 1, is really difficult.

 

 

[Ron Mexico]

I'm not as convinced as others on us ending up in Omaha, UNLESS ISU ends up there and that is for the obvious storyline.

Another thought is that they, the committee, know that we as a fan base will travel and thus they could place us as a site that would be more favorable to ensure attendance.

 

I don't know how often a site that would be close to a home team ends up there.

i.e. BYU going to Salt Lake Site

 

 

[cornfed24-7]

Holysmokes, I too am a 43yo that has made that same blood oath! You asked all the questions that have been rattling around in my brain as of late.

 

I'm in San Diego and my worst fear is Brooklyn. I have 2 small children and can't justify the gamble in where the game may end up. So I have to leave it up to fate. My hope is Omaha then Salt Lake. 

 

When I first met my now wife, on our second date, I told her my two deal breakers in a realationship.

(1) I would be going to wherever Nebraska played if they made the tournament because I will see their 1st tournament win. I tell her every year that this is the year! San Antonio was easy because we were childless. Shit has got real for her this last couple weeks knowing she's gonna have the kids alone for 5ish days. 

(2) When I could buy a house I will have another Mastiff...his name is William. He's 5 and between 245 - 255 depending on the day

[hhcdave]

8 hours ago, Nebrasketball1979 said:

My son and I have traveled to a few different NCAA first/second round matchups.  As far as tickets are concerned, if you want to watch all 6 games across all 3 sessions, then it is certainly cheaper to buy the all session pass.  However, if you just want to watch the two game pod Nebraska is in, wait until selection Sunday and see if they are in the 1st or 2nd session.  You'll pay probably 30-40% of the all session price but you get to hedge your risk.  If Nebraska loses in the first round (unlikely ) then you don't have to pay to watch additional sessions.  If Nebraska wins in the first round, then it will depend which teams advance to session 3.  If there are upsets and some schools with smaller fan bases, ticket prices will come down.  If you have some blue bloods with strong fan support, tickets will rise.  If ticket prices go up, you're likely paying another 40%+ or so of the total all session pass.  So, if the third session prices do rise, you could end up paying around 80-100% to see both Nebraska sessions as opposed to 100% of the cost to see all 3.  We've bought tickets off all of the secondary sites (Stub hub, seatgeek, vivid seats, ticketmaster) so you can save a little money if you look around.  However, we won't buy tickets until the location is announced.  Too much brain damage for me in trying to resell them.

 

As far as flights/hotels, we're waiting until selection Sunday if we need to fly.  If you think you are going alone, I'd also wait to buy single session tickets as those will definitely be cheaper as they are harder to sell.  If we have an odd number go in our group, I'll send you a DM to see if you want to join our group.   It's likely just my son and I but it's possible we have a third join us.  Buying tickets in odd numbers, unless it's 1, is really difficult.

 

 

Please keep me in mind and keep me updated!!!

[hhcdave]

8 hours ago, HuskerBB said:

Obviously the NCAA does not make this easy.   I have talked about this in other threads as well - but I am an advocate of using Southwest to book multiple flights because you know you can cancel and get full credit for future flights.   But I am also someone who flies on SW quite often so using the credit is not an issue - FWIW it used to expire in a year but they now don't have an expiration on the credit.   Even better though - I accumulate SW points just for this reason because you can book a flight with points and cancel it and you just get the points back (and $5.60 of credit for the little portion you have to pay in cash even when you book a flight with points).  But obviously that is not something you can do now if you don't already have the points built up.    I would also say your window for this is already likely closing.   Would have been better to book the SW flights a month ago probably when you might have caught a sale price.   But if you wait until the selection it is almost certain the flights will be far more expensive even than they are now.

 

Maybe to limit the flight bookings you can combine them in fly/drive packages.   For example book a flight to Salt Lake and figure if necessary you could use the flight for Salt Lake - or as a base to drive the rest of the way to Spokane.  Or maybe better book a flight to Boise and figure you can drive from there to either Salt Lake or Spokane. 

 

On the ticket thing I would say in most places you can wait and buy the ticket as soon as the selections are made as long as you are willing to bite the bullet and pay whatever it costs.   But Omaha might be an exception to that for reasons others have noted.  First Omaha is a venue that is going to be well attended regardless just because that is what Nebraskans do - tickets always sell well here.   But also if Nebraska does get to Omaha the ticket price will explode - and even more so if Kansas and/or Iowa State are also there.   So I think it is best to buy the Omaha tickets now and figure you won't lose money as long as at least one of those three teams are there.    For others I would probably risk it knowing there is a risk involved if for example BYU ends up in Salt Lake with Nebraska.   

 

I would say that I think that if buying tickets ahead you are actually less likely to lose money if pay for the good seats now.   People are always going to want lower bowl tickets and will pay a premium to get them even if there are no nearby teams.   I always get lower bowl NCAA Final 4 volleyball tickets and have always made money on those when we did not go even if Nebraska doesn't go and the venue doesn't sell out.

 

Should be very easy to book hotels that you can cancel without penalty so I would go ahead and do that to any location you are certain you would go to - but at the same time for larger cities you will be able to find a hotel somewhere without paying an outrageous price - so that really depends about how picky you are about hotel location or quality.

 

If you are buying tickets in advance I would probably just buy the first session - particularly if you are not certain you would want to stay for round two (if god forbid NU loses).   Omaha might be an exception but again kind of depends.   If the nearby teams happen to lose in the first round then lots of 2nd session tickets will become available all of the sudden.   That maybe is not likely with ISU or KU in Omaha - but could happen with BYU in Salt Lake maybe.

 

 

  

Am I losing it or did you earlier say it might be better to buy tickets LATER if I'm going solo? I think Omaha is only site I'd buy now. But if it looks as if I'm going solo, you still think its better to wait on that for Omaha?

[HuskerFever]

Just now, hhcdave said:

Am I losing it or did you earlier say it might be better to buy tickets LATER if I'm going solo? I think Omaha is only site I'd buy now. But if it looks as if I'm going solo, you still think its better to wait on that for Omaha?

 

In general... You can get incredible discounts to any major event if you're just looking for a single ticket. It's hard to sell because most people are looking for 2+ tickets, so those selling usually need to sell the one for a lower price.

[hhcdave]

But does it matter WHEN I buy the single? Still better to buy early?

[hhcdave]

Great thoughts and insight in here. Keep the thoughts coming!!!

[hhcdave]

8 hours ago, cornfed24-7 said:

Holysmokes, I too am a 43yo that has made that same blood oath! You asked all the questions that have been rattling around in my brain as of late.

 

I'm in San Diego and my worst fear is Brooklyn. I have 2 small children and can't justify the gamble in where the game may end up. So I have to leave it up to fate. My hope is Omaha then Salt Lake. 

 

When I first met my now wife, on our second date, I told her my two deal breakers in a realationship.

(1) I would be going to wherever Nebraska played if they made the tournament because I will see their 1st tournament win. I tell her every year that this is the year! San Antonio was easy because we were childless. Shit has got real for her this last couple weeks knowing she's gonna have the kids alone for 5ish days. 

(2) When I could buy a house I will have another Mastiff...his name is William. He's 5 and between 245 - 255 depending on the day

Love that she's letting you keep your pact AND love that dog. hahha GBR

[HuskerBB]

8 minutes ago, hhcdave said:

Am I losing it or did you earlier say it might be better to buy tickets LATER if I'm going solo? I think Omaha is only site I'd buy now. But if it looks as if I'm going solo, you still think its better to wait on that for Omaha?

Don't think I said - that was in another person's post I think.  FWIW I think as the other person indicated that you have a better chance finding a decent deal if buying a single ticket later than you would if you were trying to buy two together later- and as also stated by others reselling a single ticket you buy now would likely be more difficult.

[cornfed24-7]

On 2/27/2024 at 6:35 PM, hhcdave said:

Love that she's letting you keep your pact AND love that dog. hahha GBR

Welp the Basketball Gods have reared their sinister heads. It's looking highly probable I will not be witnessing our 1st Tournament win. 

 

In 2020 I was having some odd cardiac issues. Had a complete workup. Everything looked great. Except the heart monitor I wore for 2 week caught 2 short runs of Vtac. For the medically uninformed that's no bueno and why I was feeling like I was about to pass out. The treatment is to place an internal defibrillator. Which my Cardiologist and I thought was a little drastic. Being a nurse, and like many men in general, I waited waaaaay too long before I actually saw a Dr. and by the time I did it had gotten much better.

 

Well guess what has come back in the last two weeks? Spent the morning in the Emergency Room. Damn near passed out driving home from the grocery store today. See the Cardiologist on Mar 19. Obviously health is most important. But I really must have pissed off the bball gods in a past life because the timing of this feels personal

 

[tcp]

I love reading about how the other half lives....lol

 

I'm a disabled vet so I'm happy if I can even hear a game on a radio!!!

 

I live vicariously thru you guys! As long as someone goes whre the game is and gives a full trip report, I'm happy...:)

 

[HuskerBB]

1 hour ago, cornfed24-7 said:

Welp the Basketball Gods have reared their sinister heads. It's looking highly probable I will not be witnessing our 1st Tournament win. 

 

In 2020 I was having some odd cardiac issues. Had a complete workup. Everything looked great. Except the heart monitor I wore for 2 week caught 2 short runs of Vtac. For the medically uninformed that's no bueno and why I was feeling like I was about to pass out. The treatment is to place an internal defibrillator. Which my Cardiologist and I thought was a little drastic. Being a nurse, and like many men in general, I waited waaaaay too long before I actually saw a Dr. and by the time I did it had gotten much better.

 

Well guess what has come back in the last two weeks? Spent the morning in the Emergency Room. Damn near passed out driving home from the grocery store today. See the Cardiologist on Mar 19. Obviously health is most important. But I really must have pissed off the bball gods in a past life because the timing of this feels personal

 

Prayers for a safe recovery/treatment and good health in the future!.   Much more important than seeing the Huskers in person.   Hopefully we can get to a point like the short run in the mid-90's when tournament births were the annual expectation not viewed as generational events :). 

[hskr4life]

On 2/27/2024 at 11:59 AM, cornfed24-7 said:

.

(1) I would be going to wherever Nebraska played if they made the tournament because I will see their 1st tournament win. I tell her every year that this is the year!

She can’t be mad, this is a money saver over the years!

[hskr4life]

6 hours ago, cornfed24-7 said:

Welp the Basketball Gods have reared their sinister heads. It's looking highly probable I will not be witnessing our 1st Tournament win. 

 

In 2020 I was having some odd cardiac issues. Had a complete workup. Everything looked great. Except the heart monitor I wore for 2 week caught 2 short runs of Vtac. For the medically uninformed that's no bueno and why I was feeling like I was about to pass out. The treatment is to place an internal defibrillator. Which my Cardiologist and I thought was a little drastic. Being a nurse, and like many men in general, I waited waaaaay too long before I actually saw a Dr. and by the time I did it had gotten much better.

 

Well guess what has come back in the last two weeks? Spent the morning in the Emergency Room. Damn near passed out driving home from the grocery store today. See the Cardiologist on Mar 19. Obviously health is most important. But I really must have pissed off the bball gods in a past life because the timing of this feels personal

 

Im sorry to hear this!  Prayers for a safe recovery and good news.  Thankfully, in 2024, you’ll have the opportunity to 100% see it (even if it isn’t in person).

[jayschool]

I just hope the first game isn't Thursday between 3:30 and 4:45 p.m. EDT.

 

If it is, I hope my New Media Communication class likes basketball.

[Cazzie22]

10 minutes ago, jayschool said:

I just hope the first game isn't Thursday between 3:30 and 4:45 p.m. EDT.

 

If it is, I hope my New Media Communication class likes basketball.

They will!

[TourneyBound]

Its looking more and more likely we are in the 8-9 game IMO so that kinda helps narrow it down some but still not a for sure deal right now.  If we are in the 8-9 game we are looking at 3 locations.  Memphis with Houston as 1, Brooklyn with UCONN as the 1 or Charlotte with Tennessee or North Carolina as the 1.  Just my thoughts, if anyone else thinks differently feel free to share. Hoping Charlotte!!