With the 2019 college basketball season in full swing, we’re starting to get a sense of who may be competing for a spot in the postseason and who will be on the outside looking in. While less impactful on their March Madness hopes, ticket prices for 2019-20 college basketball are also an interesting measure of how excited fans are about their teams’ prospects in 2020. TicketIQ tracks prices across the secondary market for every major college basketball team and all major postseason tournaments, including March Madness.
Based on current data, No. 4 Duke leads the nation in ticket prices. With an average asking price of $670 Duke, is the most expensive team by more than $400. The next priciest is for No. 19 Kentucky, where basketball tickets at Rupp Arena have an average price of $235. While demand is a factor in Duke’s high prices, supply may be the biggest factor. Cameron Indoor Arena seats only 9,300 fans compared to 23,500 for Rupp Arena. Duke has about a 75 percent fewer tickets available for their home games than the average quantity of other TicketIQ top-25 teams.
No. 5 Kansas rounds out the top-three most expensive markets. Of the teams in TicketIQ’s top 10, three are not ranked in the AP Top 25—North Carolina, Indiana and Florida.
For the full TicketIQ top 25 college basketball breakdown, including information on unsold face-value tickets, season tickets and mini-plans for each team, visit the TicketIQ Blog.
1. Duke
- Secondary market average asking price: $670
- Most expensive game: March 7, 2020 vs North Carolina – Tickets starting at $1,550
- Cheapest game: November 26 vs Stephen F. Austin – Tickets starting at $75
- Primary availability: Tickets can be requested via the Duke website, but not actually purchased, and primary-market prices start at $82 for the Winthrop game and go up to $130 for the UNC game. Tickets requested through Duke must be picked up at Will Call and there are not seats assigned.
2. Kentucky
- Secondary market average asking price: $235
- Most expensive game: December 28 vs Louisville – Tickets starting at $198
- Cheapest game: November 18 vs Utah Valley State – Tickets starting at $12
- Primary availability: Single-game tickets are available via Ticketmaster and start as low as $30 for seats on the upper level for most games.
3. Kansas
- Secondary market average asking price: $198
- Most expensive game: February 1, 2020 vs Texas Tech – Tickets starting at $69 and February 15, 2010 vs Oklahoma – Tickets starting at $55
- Cheapest game: November 19 vs East Tennessee State – Tickets start at $17
- Primary availability: Single-game and five-game mini packs are still available via Paciolan.
4. North Carolina
- Secondary market average asking price: $152
- Most expensive game: February 8, 2020 vs Duke – Tickets start at $626
- Cheapest game: November 20 vs Elon – Tickets start at $10
- Primary availability: Six games, including February 8 against Duke, are sold out on the primary market, but tickets for all other games start at $25 for upper-level seats via Paciolan.
5. Indiana
- Secondary market average asking price: $145
- Most expensive game: February 8, 2020 vs Purdue – Tickets start at $142
- Cheapest game: November 20 vs Princeton – Tickets start at $3
- Primary availability: Single-game tickets via Paciolan only remain for four more games.
6. Michigan
- Secondary market average asking price: $122
- Most expensive game: February 8, 2020 vs Michigan State – Tickets start at$130
- Cheapest game: November 22 vs Houston Baptist – Tickets start at $3
- Primary availability: Single-game tickets start as low as $15 for the lower-interest games, and at $50 for the highest-interest game against Michigan State. Tickets are available via the MGoBlue website.
7. Michigan State
- Secondary market average asking price: $115
- Most expensive game: December 3 vs Duke – Ticket prices start at $199
- Cheapest game: November 18 vs Charleston Southern – Tickets start at $4
- Primary availability: Tickets for games are available via Paciolan
8. Florida
- Secondary market average asking price: $101
- Most expensive game: March 7, 2020 vs Kentucky – Tickets start at $85
- Cheapest game: November 29 vs Marshall – Tickets start at $11 and December 28 vs Long Beach State – Tickets start at $11
- Primary availability: Single-game tickets are available on Ticketmaster starting as low as $10 in the 200 sections for non-conference games and up to $55 against Kentucky. In other sections, seats start at $15 on the corners and behind the baskets in the 100 sections and $25 in the 100 sections along the sidelines or the in the floor sections behind the baskets. Mini plans are sold out. Season tickets are available for between $300-$375, depending on location, as well as a required seat booster contribution.
9. Syracuse
- Secondary market average asking price: $96
- Most expensive game: February 8, 2020 vs Wake Forest – Tickets start at $16
- Cheapest game: November 20 vs Cornell – Tickets start at $4
- Primary availability: Single-game tickets are also available on Ticketmaster, starting as low as $20 for 300 level seats for lower-interest games.
10. Villanova
- Secondary market average asking price: $92
- Most expensive game: December 21 vs Kansas – Tickets start at $110
- Cheapest game: November 16 vs Ohio – Tickets start at $6
