The Duke basketball season tips off in earnest Tuesday night at the Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden against Kentucky, where fans can buy seats to see that game and Kansas vs Michigan State for $50.
But don’t let that price fool you.
Of the top-10 most expensive men’s college basketball games this year, Duke is playing in all of them, all on their home court at Cameron Indoor.
It’s the first time anything like this has ever happened.
The reasons are simple. First, Duke starts with a top-10 team. Next, there’s the small capacity of their home court (9,314 fans). Then there’s the pent up demand from a season without fans because of COVID.
Finally, it’s Mike Krzyzewski’s final season.
Duke and it’s rival North Carolina switch off what time of year they host the home-and-home series and, in a perfect storm, the Blue Devils host UNC in the last regular season game of the year.
That combined with the farewell to Coach K, who has been at Duke for 40 years, has resulted in a get-in price of $7,227, according to ticket marketplace TickPick.
For perspective, the last time Duke played UNC at Cameron in front of fans was March 7, 2020 and the average purchase price for that game, TickPick notes, was $1,742 a seat.
The year before, in 2019, the Duke-UNC game at Duke was the a $3,000 get-in, the previous record holder for a secondary price for a regular season college basketball game. President Barack Obama was at the game, which became known as the game Zion Williamson blew out his shoe less than a minute into the game.
The highest price paid on TickPick for the final game is $6,500 for a ticket, but the site notes that should rise and more purchases come through. The highest listed price for Coach K’s farewell is for a center court seat in Row A. Cost: $38,760.
Most Expensive College Basketball Tickets for 2021-22
By Average Purchase Price. Source: TickPick
| Matchup | Date |
|---|---|
| North Carolina at Duke | March 5 |
| Syracuse at Duke | January 22 |
| Miami at Duke | January 8 |
| Clemson at Duke | January 25 |
| Virginia Tech at Duke | December 22 |
| Campbell at Duke | November 13 |
| Lafayette at Duke | November 19 |
| Citadel at Duke | November 22 |
| Army at Duke | November 12 |
| Appalachian State at Duke | December 16 |
