Alabama’s Final Four Opponent Delayed

The Alabama Crimson Tide left for Phoenix, Arizona on Tuesday for the NCAA Men's Tournament Final Four. The Tide don't play until Saturday, but they decided it was better to get to Arizona early and begin getting used to the time zone change as well as the practice facilities. Alabama head coach Nate Oats talked about eliminating distractions that surround the Final Four, and getting used to the aura of the games can be a part of that.

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It appears the Tide may have an advantage after being in Arizona so early. Alabama's opponent, the UConn Huskies, was unable to travel from Connecticut to Arizona when they had originally planned. Matt Norlander, who has been covering the situation since the initial news of UConn's plane troubles, said the Huskies were expected to take off at 6:00 p.m. ET.

The plane was supposed to come in from Kansas City, Missouri. However, the flight crew were over the FAA hours allowed to fly, so they would have been unable to fly the team directly to Arizona.

As a result, a smaller plane from Cincinnati had to come over to take the team to Arizona. UConn had to trim down their travel party, but they eventually took off at 1:33 a.m. ET.

The Huskies arrived in Phoenix at 2:12 a.m. MST, or 6:12 a.m. ET. A bit of a disaster travel-wise for the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament.  Does this benefit the Crimson Tide in any way?

According to Better Health, the body takes one day to adjust to one hour of a time zone change, although the body does get less confused when traveling west, "traveling west ‘prolongs’ the body clock’s experience of its normal day-night cycle (the normal tendency of the body clock in most of us is slightly longer than 24 hours). Traveling eastwards, however, runs in direct opposition to the body clock."

The Tide will be fully acclimated to Mountain Standard Time by the time they tip off at 7:49 CT, 5:49 MST on Saturday. UConn will try to adjust in a much shorter time.

Tide 100.9 will be on-site in Phoenix for coverage of the NCAA Men's Tournament Final Four. Coverage is sponsored by the Sportsbook at Pearl River Resort. Located at Golden Moon Hotel & Casino, they offer traditional sports betting in which guests can bet on all professional league sports and major collegiate sporting events.