It’s been a wild start to the 2015-16 college basketball season, as two powerhouses, Duke and Kentucky, have seen themselves free-fall down the ranks. Just like that, last year’s champion and a yearly threat to the throne don’t appear to be getting the love everyone thought they’d be getting.
That may just show how early it still is and how much ground some of the elite teams can (or have to) cover, or it can truly tell us that unlikely elites like Oklahoma, Maryland, Miami, SMU, Providence and others are here to stay.
We won’t know for sure for another month or even much longer, as the dust won’t truly settle until March Madness arrives. We do get another killer week of college basketball coming our way starting Monday, however, so let’s buckle down and see what that could bring us via the top-priced games on the docket, according to secondary market data from TiqIQ:
1/23/2016 – Kansas Jayhawks vs. Texas Longhorns at Allen Fieldhouse | Avg: $244.93 | Get-in: $85
College basketball tickets are at their most expensive state for a bitter rivalry clash this week, as the Kansas Jayhawks battle the Texas Longhorns in Kansas. Jayhawks tickets understandably carry all of the weight here, as Kansas is routinely one of the best teams in the nation, and at the moment, hold the top spot in the Top 25 polls. That could change with a recent loss to West Virginia, but they’re still arguably the best team in the country as they prepare to take on a Big 12 conference rival Saturday. Texas hasn’t been awful this year (11-6) and it will be quite interesting to see if Longhorns coach Shaka Smart can pull any magic out of his sleeve to stage the huge upset. That alone could make Jayhawks and Longhorns tickets worth paying up for this week, while fans looking for a nice discount should get it with the cheap seats costing a healthy $85. Additionally, Kansas fans looking to make a weekend out of the team’s trip can find Austin hotels on Hipmunk starting at under $50 per night.
1/18/2016 – Duke Blue Devils vs. Syracuse Orange at Cameron Indoor Stadium | Avg: $228.22 | Get-in: $135
Any time Duke is associated with a game, there is a decent chance the ticket price is sky-high, but Blue Devils tickets are actually a fairly reasonable $228 on average ($135 to get in the door) for Monday’s battle with the Syracuse Orange. Not only is this an intense ACC battle and a coaching legend meetiing between Coach K and Jim Boeheim, but it’s also simply a rare event. The Orange and the Blue Devils have met up just eight times prior to this week’s battle, with Duke claiming a 5-3 record. It’s anyone’s guess which way this week’s showdown will go, but it’s worth noting that Duke hasn’t lost three straight games to unranked foes since 2007. That would indeed take place if they found a way to trip up against Syracuse this week.
1/23/2016 – Kentucky Wildcats vs. Vanderbilt Commodores at Rupp Arena | Avg: $218.53 | Get-in: $71
John Calipari’s Wildcats have not shown off championship material like they have in years’ past, but that doesn’t stop Kentucky Wildcats tickets from carrying some serious weight into the new week. Saturday’s showdown with the Vanderbilt Commodores may be more about Kentucky’s prowess than a matchup with Vanderbilt, but the Commodores could potentially be a challenge at 10-7 coming into this anticipated contest. The Wildcats certainly can’t afford to lose, however, as they enter the new week as just the 14th best team in the nation and another bad loss could send them free-falling out of the Top 25, altogether. Needless to say, Calipari’s hope for Kentucky to put together a “full game” could be fulfilled in front of the Wildcats’ home crowd at Rupp Arena.
1/23/2016 – Texas A&M Aggies vs. Missouri Tigers at Reed Arena | Avg: $190.33 | Get-in: $3
Texas A&M has been a pleasant surprise so far in college basketball, as they’ve stormed out to a 15-2 start and have dominated the SEC (5-0) to this point. On Saturday they’ll look to extend that dominance against conference rival Missouri, who have struggled to an 8-9 start and are just 1-3 inside the SEC. It’s been a down year for SEC basketball with the Kentucky Wildcats sliding and only South Carolina looking like the other real threat inside the conference, but that shouldn’t take anything away from what Texas A&M has accomplished to this point. Their hot start has beefed up Aggies tickets a bit, but even by making this top-5 list they still seem to present value with this game costing just $190 on average. It’s the cheap seats that everyone will be all over, though, as Aggies and Tigers tickets are as low as $3 just to get in the door. That means everyone can enjoy this SEC battle and look on as Texas A&M tries to get their 16th win of the year and Missouri tries to play spoiler.
1/23/2016 – Michigan State Spartans vs. Maryland Terrapins at Jack Breslin Arena | Avg: $158.40 | Get-in: $66
It doesn’t look like the Big Ten is going to be a cakewalk during the 2015-16 college basketball season. Sparty just lost a heartbreaker to an average Wisconsin Badgers team, and even with a stout 16-3 start to the year, are off to a rough start (3-3) inside the Big Ten conference. Looking up at both Indiana and Iowa (both are undefeated), the Spartans can’t really afford any slip-ups. The bad news? Maryland is far from an easy game, as the Terrapins have also stormed out to a 5-1 run in the conference and have been the most dominant team out of the Big Ten this year so far (16-2).
Spartans tickets always carry solid weight with legendary coach Tom Izzo running the show, but Terrapins tickets will also be in high demand – especially given the magnitude of this matchup. That’s what makes the fifth most expensive college basketball game for this week such a bargain buy, as fans can get in the door for just $66 and this game is not even $160 on average. That means fans can find great premium seating at a bit of a discount and then take in one of the better conference clashes of the week.
