Tag: NCAA Final Four

GCU Havocs steal the show at Slam Dunk and 3-Point Championships

by Adnan Alam
  • Slug: Sports-GCU Havocs
  • photo available, thumbnail below

By SAMANTHA PELL
Cronkite News

PHOENIX — Grand Canyon University’s DeWayne Russell already had the hometown crowd in his pocket before stepping onto the court Thursday night at the 29th annual State Farm College Slam Dunk and 3-Point Championships at GCU.

By competing in the men’s three-point portion of the event on the floor he played on for three seasons after transferring from Northern Arizona, Russell knew what GCU’s student section, the Havocs, had in store.

The rest of the college basketball basketball world knows, too, after the Havocs stole the show during the competition and almost lifted Russell to victory. He lost in the final to Iowa’s Peter Jok.

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Final Four has arrived and tickets are available and cheap

by Adnan Alam
  • Slug: Sports-Fan Guide, 1000 words.
  • Photos available, thumbnail below.

By ANNALIESE LEON
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – The Final Four has arrived in Arizona for the first time and festivities are already underway. There’s good news for anybody interested in attending the games on Saturday and Monday at University of Phoenix Stadium. Tickets on the secondary market are relatively inexpensive.

“As of right now, the championship game, you could get a tickets for lower than $100,” said Ralph Garcia, director of social media and public relations for TicketIQ, a secondary market ticket broker. “That’s dropped pretty steadily throughout the week.”

In addition to the semifinals and championship games at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, there is Fan Fest at the Phoenix Convention Center as well as a free three-day music festival at Margaret T. Hance Park in downtown Phoenix. Continue reading “Final Four has arrived and tickets are available and cheap”

Four on the Floor: Final Four stage is set at University of Phoenix Stadium

by Adnan Alam
  • Slug: Sports-Final Floor, 840 words
  • Photos available (thumbnails, captions below)

By Fabian Ardaya
Cronkite News

GLENDALE — It’s been built. Now, it’s time to see who will come to play on it.

The NCAA Final Four court was installed at University of Phoenix Stadium on Friday, literally setting the stage for one of the premier events in sport.

Friday’s court installation was one of the final steps of a two-week setup process that included hanging a scoreboard above the court. The venue designed primarily for football will become the first facility in the western U.S. to host the NCAA Tournament’s national semifinal and championship games since 1995 when Seattle’s Kingdome, later demolished, played host to the Final Four.

University of Phoenix Stadium has played host to notable events before, including the Super Bowl and the College Football Playoff National Championship in the past two years, respectively. But nothing quite like this.

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Road to Final Four could lead Oregon’s Casey Benson home to Arizona

by Adnan Alam
  • Slug: Sports-Benson homecoming, 585 words.
  • Photo available (thumbnails, captions below)

By RYAN CLARKE
Cronkite News

LAS VEGAS — The NCAA tournament looms ahead for Oregon guard Casey Benson, and his road to the Final Four could lead him right back home.

If the Ducks advance to University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Benson would be playing just down the road from where he grew up.

“It’s cliché, but it would be a dream come true,” Benson said. “To be able to play at home in the Final Four with an opportunity to go to a national championship would be surreal.”

Continue reading “Road to Final Four could lead Oregon’s Casey Benson home to Arizona”