March Madness: SDSU flight delayed by President Biden while Grand Canyon’s luggage gets lost
SDSU #SDSU
San Diego State’s and Grand Canyon’s 2023 NCAA men’s basketball tournaments got off to a bit of a rocky start before either game even tipped off.
Both team’s trips were disrupted by two different flight-related incidents: SDSU’s charter flight to Orlando, Florida, was delayed two hours Tuesday because of the presence of Air Force One in California and Grand Canyon lost 12 bags of luggage filled with team practice gear, uniforms and shoes.
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Air travel is always disrupted when Air Force One is in town because of the extra security needed. In this case, President Joe Biden visited San Diego to meet with the prime ministers of the United Kingdom and Australia before leaving Tuesday for Monterey Park, California.
SDSU eventually landed in Orlando after midnight on Wednesday morning, school spokesman Richard Stern told ESPN. That gave the No. 5 Aztecs about 18 hours of prep time before the team played No. 12 College of Charleston in the first round Thursday at 3:10 p.m.
No. 14 Grand Canyon had a different problem on its hands.
The Antelopes arrived in Denver, Colorado, on Wednesday without 12 bags of team equipment and were prepared to practice in T-shirts from the Western Athletic Conference championship. Fortunately, Regis University — where Grand Canyon practiced yesterday — provided some gear as did Baylor, which is coached by Scott Drew, the brother of Grand Canyon’s coach Bryce Drew.
“We’re gonna hook ’em up,” Baylor’s Drew told CBS Sports. “What are big brothers for!”
The bags eventually arrived in Denver late Wednesday night, well in advance of the Antelopes’ 7:35 p.m. game against No. 3 Gonzaga.