Kansas State vs Michigan State is the Sweet 16 matchup that nobody saw coming — which means any MSU fan who wants to attend the big game at Madison Square Garden is probably scrambling for some last-minute airfare or a sizable RV to make the journey from East Lansing.
Well, we’ve got bad news. Even if you can secure a spot on Magic Johnson’s private jet and travel for free, the ticket prices to this event are still fairly expensive — and, as the first game in a two-game set Thursday night, Michigan State fans can’t even pull the old “skip the first game, get sneaky cheap tickets to the second one” trick.
If you’re interested in repping either the Spartans or Wildcats at MSG and don’t have your tickets yet, prepare to set aside some coin.
Kansas State vs Michigan State March Madness Ticket Prices
According to SeatGeek, the get-in price for this event (including fees) reaches about $200, with the lowest-priced option currently sitting at $196. This is trending downward, if you’re looking to be more hopeful; earlier in the week, the get-in price was closer to $240. TickPick cites the average price for Thursday’s action as a skyrocketing $418, which might mean a Shake Shack dinner rather than a five-star meal at Eleven Madison Park.
Although the Duke Blue Devils and Purdue Boilermakers both flamed out en route to this particular Regional Semifinal (as did the Marquette Golden Eagles), Michigan State still represents the type of Blue Blood Energy that costs a pretty penny. Add in the New York of it all, and this was always destined to be the most expensive regional.
In fact, don’t look across the country if you don’t want to feel some sticker shock. This is the second-most expensive region behind the Las Vegas portion of the tourney that features “hometown” UCLA and Gonzaga; the get-in price there is $251 each. In Louisville, though, you can see Alabama and Princeton for just $59, while Texas and Houston fans can enter the arena in Kansas City for just $35.
New York, New York! The city so expensive they named it twice.