UConn Huskies arrive in Arizona for the Final Four

After a seven-hour delay, the UConn Huskies arrived in Phoenix early on Thursday morning. The Huskies were originally scheduled for take off at 6 p.m. EST on Wednesday evening, but they didn’t board the flight until 11:30 p.m.

Their first NCAA-arranged flight was stalled due to bad weather on the East coast and its flight crew, who were not allowed to fly because of FAA regulations on flying hours.

Eventually, the Huskies charted a smaller Allegiant Air airplane from Bradley International Airport near Hartford at around 1:30 a.m. EST and touched base at 6 a.m.

As a result, UConn had delayed media-day activities, which only began later in the evening. Speaking on the incident, coach Dan Hurley said:

“It was therapeutic to watch the de-icing. There was a real mindful exercise from like, 11:30-1:45 on the tarmac. I got two hours of sleep on the plane, and I got two at the hotel. That’s why God made caffeine.” (via FOX)

“Who doesn’t deal with problems with airlines? It’s something people deal with during the holidays. It s**ked. But once you get past complaining and cursing and muttering, you don’t really deserve to show entitlement. We’re lucky to be here and lucky to compete in the Final Four,” he added.

The UConn Huskies take on the Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday. Coach Nate Oats also joked about the situation:

“It wasn’t me. I didn’t send anybody over there to mess with the mechanics. I did get a good night’s sleep last night, so that’s nice.” (via FOX).

“I am glad I’m not the ops person for the University of Connecticut basketball team during this trip, that’s for sure. I’m sure Dan (Hurley) will be fired up and ready to go Saturday. It will be fun.”

What are the odds for UConn to win this game?

As the defending champions, UConn has huge pressure to live up to expectations, and it has carried itself exceptionally so far. Going into the Final Four, the Huskies are -200 favorites on ESPN BET and 12-point favorites via SportsLine consensus.

They are the No. 1 team in the country right now and have the best pieces in place to go back-to-back. The delays have also reinforced Hurley’s ‘Us vs the World’ mentality, and the Huskies will be fired up more than ever on Saturday.

The game is scheduled to tip off at 8:49 p.m. EST at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, and will be broadcast on TBS.