When thinking about the storied college basketball programs that are perennially a factor come March Madness time, there’s no doubt that Michigan State is somewhere near the top of that list, especially with what they’ve accomplished in recent years. They’ve appeared in six Final Fours in the past 16 years, which is quite remarkable if you really think about it, nabbing one national championship in the process, while consistently being one of the top contenders in the Big Ten Conference year in and year out.
That same trend has continued into the 2014-15 campaign, as the Spartans wrapped up another excellent regular season, finishing with a 21-10 record (12-6 conference), which should lead them to grabbing a nice seed for the NCAA Tournament. Before we get there, however, Michigan State has to first compete in the annual Big Ten Conference tournament, and as expected, tickets are already at a premium for when the slate begins this week. According to TiqIQ, the highest priced day thus far is March 11th, which is the first round of the tournament. The average ticket price is $211.58 with a walk-in price is $5. The two matchups are Penn State vs. Nebraska and Minnesota vs. Rutgers. The highest-priced day when Michigan State is involved is on March 13th which is the quarterfinals of the tournament, with an average ticket price of $174.91 with a walk-in price of $38. The highest-priced ticket of all is an all sessions pass, which has a $634.23 average ticket price.
Under legendary head coach Tom Izzo, who is now in his 20th season with the club, the Spartans are expected to make some sort of postseason push, just as they always do. This year, they’ve been paced by two players, senior point guard Travis Trice and junior shooting guard Denzel Valentine. Trice led the team with 14.8 points per game, despite shooting paltry 38.9 percent from the field, but he did also top all Spartans with 5.4 assists a night. Valentine, meanwhile, was right behind him with 14.5 points, while also being second on the roster in rebounds (6.1) and assists (4.2). Senior forward Branden Dawson led the club with 9.3 rebounds, while adding 11.6 points on 54.3 percent shooting.
The Spartans have fan support wherever they play, and you can bet the stands will have plenty of green when they take the court on March 13th. Hipmunk.com can get any Sparty fan, or any other Big 10 fan, to the games with Chicago flights and an array of hotels in Chicago incase your favorite team goes on a run to the finals.
Last year, the Spartans enjoyed a nice run, as they almost made the National Championship for the first time since 2009. Instead, they fell to the eventual champion UConn Huskies, 60-54, in a very engaging Elite Eight matchup, which followed a streak of consecutive losses in the Sweet Sixteen in the prior two campaigns. Of course, with a veteran roster, now they’re looking to exceed that and bring Michigan State its third national title.
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