NCAA basketball Sweet 16 tickets

As the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament enters its second weekend, the frenzy for tickets remains strong. Part of the beauty of the 65-team tournament, which takes place throughout the country, is that as one team exits another moves on, and fans are eager to find ticket deals on both sides.

The focus has shifted to the Sweet 16 with games set to tip off tonight and Friday in Charlotte, Houston, Phoenix and Detroit. Tickets are averaging about $259 each on StubHub for the four locations combined, the highest sale to date for a regional game is $2,969.

"The NCAA Tournament is among the most passionately followed sporting events in the country," Don Vaccaro, CEO of TicketNews’ parent company TicketNetwork, said in a statement. "We are pleased to offer fans essentially a slam-dunk when it comes to purchasing the most competitively priced tickets to supporting their favorite college basketball teams. TicketNetwork.com's prices are consistently lower than our competitors, and we encourage March Madness fans to comparison shop online.”

In Charlotte, the Number One-ranked University of North Carolina Tar Heels will play tonight, and again on Saturday should they beat Washington State, and tickets have become a hot commodity, especially after fellow ACC team Duke lost last weekend. The other teams in the Charlotte regional are Tennessee and Louisville.

Published reports this week placed ticket sales as high as $800 with seats generally selling for close to $500 each. Fans of UNC are considered some of the most dedicated in college basketball, and they are typically willing to pay to see their team play, particularly in their backyard.

The regionals are not the only place ticket buyers can find action on the tournament. Los Angeles ticket broker PrimeSport this week was offering “deluxe packages” for the Final Four in San Antonio for $3,395 per person, which includes “five-day/four-night accommodations, lower level seats behind the basket for Saturday and Monday’s games and exclusive entrance to the stadium and more.” Roundtrip airfare was not included, although all other taxes and fees were included in the package.