Clayton Hughes never hid his love for Arizona men's basketball, which was probably harder said than done growing up in the shadow of ASU.
The Gilbert resident got turned onto the University of Arizona in fifth grade and never looked back.
"I've been watching the team since I was 10 years old," said Hughes, a UA junior health sciences major who said he's been to almost every home game this season.
Clayton Hughes has been a fan of the Wildcats since he was 10, growing up in the heart of Sun Devil country in Gilbert.
On Saturday, he'll be in the student section of Indianapolis's cavernous Lucas Oil Stadium cheering the Wildcats on against Final Four foe Michigan.
"It's truly just been an amazing experience watching us finally make it this far to the Final Four," he said.
Hughes and his roommate snagged $40 student tickets on Monday; on Tuesday, they learned that they were getting their money back after UA alumn and Alkeme CEO Curtis Barton picked up the tab.
But then came the big issue: How to get to Indy?
Last-minute flights don't come cheap — some flights out of Tucson were going for more than $2,000 on Monday. Even with the money he saved from his part-time job as a fitness instructor he couldn't cover that.
So Hughes took to the internet.
"I just looked at every single website I could. I was asking ChatGPT, looking at every single Google website for the cheapest possible option," he said.
He landed on a $600 flight out of Phoenix that lays over in Tampa, Florida, before arriving in Indianapolis.
Total time: 11 hours.
"It's a long, long wait, but I know it'll definitely be worth it," he said.
Win or lose, Hughes plans to return late Sunday night and be back in Tucson for Monday's championship game.
"If we do make it to the national championship, or when we do, I want to be able to experience that game on University Boulevard," he said.
