(13) Valpo vs. (4) Maryland NCAA 'Second' Rd Fri 3/20 4:40 PM EDT TNT

[a3uge]

Hmm, Valpo ticket office said they'd call me back, but hasn't called yet. Took my credit card info and everything. If we somehow can't get tickets were just going to scalp - shouldn't be too bad since its the later of the first session.

[talksalot]

All of the other schools are "taking orders"... and contacting people ~~after 7pm~~ on their ticket order request.   Just hope some big donor didn't request 20 tickets...   

[HC]

I can't find anyone to take the ride down there, don't really want to ride the Valpo bus.

[talksalot]

try posting to the Valpo Men's Basketball facebook page?   Or there is the greyhound from Broadway Cafe to the Ohio State University Student Union...

https://www.greyhound.com/farefinder/step2.aspx?SessionId=d91078d4-5215-4723-b6f7-a121a6b77e12

$99 one way...but if it's on time... it might work!

[HC]

I can drive, lol...

[talksalot]

If you haven't taken that trip before... here are the easiest directions.

US 30 to Fort Wayne
North on I-69 to I-469 around the city to US-30 east again.  One traffic light right after you get on US-30... next light is 2.5 hours later in "Waldo" Ohio... all 65-70 MPH with nice clean rest areas.
Stay on US 30 all the way to Upper "Jake Diebler Home Town" Sandusky and then, stay on US-23 right into Columbus...when you get to I-270 go one-exit west (about 1/4 mile), then south on Ohio-315 (high-speed limited access hwy) to the Arena District...

There are other ways that may be a little shorter... but I make this trip 5 or 6 times per year to visit my daughter who works at OSU so I have found a few shortcuts.

[agibson]

Ticketmaster is the official vendor at Nationwide... and they are showing some nosebleed tickets for $76 + fees... I didn't get that far into it to see what that totals...

http://www.ticketmaster.com/2015-ncaa-div-i-mens-basketball-columbus-ohio-03-20-2015/event/05004E339DDF25A2?artistid=1239566&majorcatid=10004&minorcatid=7&tm_link=venue_msg-0_05004E339DDF25A2

They might actually be $76.  I see $66.00 face value + $10.90 in fees = $76.90.

But, I didn't actually buy them.

It does seem a bit light in terms of what I'd expect from Ticketmaster fees.  Maybe an additional charge would jump on at the last minute, in the last phase of purchase.

[valpo84]

Groupon was advertising ticket specials for CBus and Pitt last week. Remember the session is 2 games -- WVa/Buffalo and Valpo/MD.

[a3uge]

Ticketmaster is the official vendor at Nationwide... and they are showing some nosebleed tickets for $76 + fees... I didn't get that far into it to see what that totals...

http://www.ticketmaster.com/2015-ncaa-div-i-mens-basketball-columbus-ohio-03-20-2015/event/05004E339DDF25A2?artistid=1239566&majorcatid=10004&minorcatid=7&tm_link=venue_msg-0_05004E339DDF25A2

They might actually be $76.  I see $66.00 face value + $10.90 in fees = $76.90.

But, I didn't actually buy them.

It does seem a bit light in terms of what I'd expect from Ticketmaster fees.  Maybe an additional charge would jump on at the last minute, in the last phase of purchase.

What's the cheapest ticket going for

I scoured around the various sites...

All of the teams are the same... $100/ticket (WVA says $76 for their students... IF available)
MD and UBuff are seeding their tickets by the amount of money you donated.  Looks like all of the schools received about 300 tickets.

Ticketmaster is the official vendor at Nationwide... and they are showing some nosebleed tickets for $76 + fees... I didn't get that far into it to see what that totals...

http://www.ticketmaster.com/2015-ncaa-div-i-mens-basketball-columbus-ohio-03-20-2015/event/05004E339DDF25A2?artistid=1239566&majorcatid=10004&minorcatid=7&tm_link=venue_msg-0_05004E339DDF25A2

Buying tickets straight from the venue is 99% of the time a bad idea. For this, I would call the Valpo box office. If you want multiple sessions, or want different seats, I'd use either Stubhub or Seatgeek.com. Seatgeek you can see tickets from various sites (incl fees) and it'll tell you if its a good deal or not.

[vurich]

If you haven't taken that trip before... here are the easiest directions.

US 30 to Fort Wayne
North on I-69 to I-469 around the city to US-30 east again.  One traffic light right after you get on US-30... next light is 2.5 hours later in "Waldo" Ohio... all 65-70 MPH with nice clean rest areas.
Stay on US 30 all the way to Upper "Jake Diebler Home Town" Sandusky and then, stay on US-23 right into Columbus...when you get to I-270 go one-exit west (about 1/4 mile), then south on Ohio-315 (high-speed limited access hwy) to the Arena District...

There are other ways that may be a little shorter... but I make this trip 5 or 6 times per year to visit my daughter who works at OSU so I have found a few shortcuts.

That is a good route, Talksalot.  Just one quick note.  They are reconstructing the US-23/I-270/OH-315 interchange and depending on the time of day, traffic there can get a little crazy.  If you are coming into Columbus via US-23 South, you can by-pass that interchange by turning left (east) on OH-750, which is also known as Polaris Parkway.  You can take this east to I-71 South, which you can take all the way downtown, then just follow the signs to Nationwide Arena.

The other good route is taking the IN Tollroad across Northern Indiana and through Ohio to I-75.  Then take I-75 South to OH-15 south which will turn into US-23 south and then the directions are the same as above.  This route is all interstate (70 mph) or restricted access highway (65 mph) all the way until you get about 30-40 miles outside of Columbus.  Downside is that a portion of it is toll.  I have EZPASS so I don't remember exactly how much it is, but I want to say about $6-$7 total, one way.

I personally would not recommend the I-65 S to I-70 E route.  In my experience it takes much longer since you have to navigate Indianapolis and I-70 in western Ohio is quite honestly a pain.

[valpo4life]

Per Oren,

Tevonn is practicing at full speed and Darien did not break his nose just really swollen. No mask will be needed.

Good news on both fronts.

[talksalot]

Thanks for the heads-up about the construction... I was really looking for a "Where's Waldo" comment...

OK... just to show off a little, but the route I usually take is... US-30 east of VanWert/Delphos to "Thayer Road", south through 3 stop signs then left on Ohio 117... bypasses Lima traffic... 117 to Huntsville (stopping at the Trolley for a burger) to US-33- East near  Bellefontaine (Bell-Fountain is the pronunciation) and then 270-south to 70 east to 3rd street north...

That route is about 3/10 of a mile shorter than US-30 to VanWert, south on US-127 to Mercer, then left on US-33.  Watch the intersection at St. Mary's... stay on US-33 to Columbus.  Note:  There are no decent eateries within eye-shot on this route between VanWert and Dublin.

[valpo4life]

And looking at SeatGeek, the tickets are at least $130 each. If I purchase a ticket I'm going through the main site the NCAA uses which is TicketMaster. I'll save myself $50-$60 to sit one section higher up.

[a3uge]

And looking at SeatGeek, the tickets are at least $130 each. If I purchase a ticket I'm going through the main site the NCAA uses which is TicketMaster. I'll save myself $50-$60 to sit one section higher up.

Wow, the tickets were much more reasonable this morning, had a 10th row behind basket (chair section) for $118. Looking at Ticketmaster though, the only seats they have left is behind the basket, last three rows, which are probably terrible. Seatgeek and stub hub aren't much better. I'd really contact Valpo and try to get the $100 tickets. I'm sure they're near club level like last time.

[valpo4life]

Just called the ticket office to get tickets. They said they've been taking orders, but don't know how many they've taken. And will call back within 24 hours to notify me if I have tickets or not. Like what?!?

[a3uge]

Just called the ticket office to get tickets. They said they've been taking orders, but don't know how many they've taken. And will call back within 24 hours to notify me if I have tickets or not. Like what?!?

Yeah that's what all of us are getting too. If they happen to sell more than 300, they'll probably end up having to draw for some. I'd honestly just try to scalp before tip if you don't get in, the tickets will be cheap since its after the first game. They told me they didn't anticipate selling out, probably because they didn't last time around.

[Donjon VU07]

I like Lunardi's Tournament preview video for Valpo.  It's essentially "Valpo's good, I'm not going to say they won't pull an upset; I just don't know."
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=12492726

And the Maryland video has that tinge of "F--- it, whoever makes the S16's gonna lose to Kentucky anyway."

Maybe there in Columbus we can benefit from some mid-major crowd-love after Buffalo beats WVU.

[a3uge]

I like Lunardi's Tournament preview video for Valpo.  It's essentially "Valpo's good, I'm not going to say they won't pull an upset; I just don't know."
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=12492726

And the Maryland video has that tinge of "F--- it, whoever makes the S16's gonna lose to Kentucky anyway."

Maybe there in Columbus we can benefit from some mid-major crowd-love after Buffalo beats WVU.

Man, ending Kentucky's perfect season is going to be awesome!

[LaPorteAveApostle]

dangit, talksalot, there goes my contribution as an alumnus of Ohio Wesleyan.

well done though.

[bbtds]

I personally would not recommend the I-65 S to I-70 E route.  In my experience it takes much longer since you have to navigate Indianapolis and I-70 in eastern Ohio is quite honestly a pain.

If you are passing through Indy from midmorning to noon on Friday I don't think you will run into much traffic. I would go through downtown if before 4 p.m. eastern. The northeast corner of I-465 (at intersection of I-69) can get pretty tight at rush hour but you should be in Columbus by then anyway.

[talksalot]

nd I-70 in eastern Ohio is quite honestly a pain.

and if you're in eastern Ohio you certainly don't need these directions... you need tickets to the Pittsburgh site...

[silently correcting in my head]...

[vurich]

nd I-70 in eastern Ohio is quite honestly a pain.

and if you're in eastern Ohio you certainly don't need these directions... you need tickets to the Pittsburgh site...

[silently correcting in my head]...

Excellent catch!  I've corrected that. LOL. That's what I get for trying to type on my phone. The ol' fingers got ahead of my brain.

[vu72]

Hope this hasn't been posted yet as I don't have the time to check.  In any event, Paul Oren tweeted that Tevonn practiced at full speed today for the first time since the tourney.  Also, Darian did not break his nose, just a bad bruise, and won't have to wear a mask for the game.  Both very good news with several days till game time.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

There are obviously multiple keys to the game, but one keeps coming back to mind.

It's time for Peters to be the horse we know he can be, to show the country.  If he's going to get some of the press and attention of Doug McDermott, it starts Friday evening.  He has a good matchup in Layman, even if they won't always be on one another.

It doesn't need to be a "freshman year vs. Evansville" kind of game, just solid.  Your winners have to win their match ups and lead the way.

[vu72]

As I read all the stuff and see a little video on Maryland I'm thinking back to 2013 and what they lacked against a BIG opponent. To me, our biggest difference is in our guards.  Erik was very quick, but slight. Dority was strong but short.  Bogan was a good shooter but slow. I could go on.  We were undersized, relatively slow and lacked muscle.

Enter this years team.  Just looking at guys like T and D Walker and you see both speed and muscle.  Much more BIG like.  Then throw in a freak guard like T and a speedy sure handed Keith and we have the personnel at the guard spots to compete.

As others have said, the key to a win will be Alec and Vashil, as well as Jabril and David.  If they can control the boards and make some shots we can definitely be in this game.