NC State men's basketball heads to Phoenix for Final Four to face Purdue and Zach Edey

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- It is sendoff day for the NC State men's basketball as they make their way to Phoenix for the Final Four.

Fans showed up at the Dail Basketball Center at 12:15 on Wednesday afternoon to see the team off.

"It's just fun to bring this back. The guys have had this. Why not us? Don't quit," Allison Harris said from the send-off party.

Colton Robbins and his mom drove four hours into Raleigh this morning from Rutherford County to see the men's team off.

"I get to get all my NC State stuff made to put to the players and just have fun in Raleigh," Robbins said.

The send-off party was all the more popular because of how hard it was to get tickets to the game in Phoenix. The cheapest resale tickets as of Wednesday afternoon were priced at more than $500 -- that doesn't even include the cost of travel and lodging.

Former NC State basketball sharpshooter Scott Wood was able to procure tickets for himself and his family. He said he couldn't possibly miss a chance to see his alma mater playing in the Final Four.

Because of that, he and his family packed their bags and left their Holly Springs home to drive the 32 hours to Phoenix.

"I've drove all over the place, and I did a lot of flying when I played basketball overseas, so I just got tired of flying honestly and I just looked at my wife and said 'Let's just pile them all in and do it all over again,'" Wood said.

The Wolfpack will take on #1 seed Purdue on Saturday afternoon.

The women's team has already started their journey to Cleveland as they face #1 seed South Carolina on Friday.

ABC11's Kate Rogerson will be with the women's team and Travon Miles will be covering the men's team.

Team coverage of the Final Fours will start Thursday.

On Tuesday, two stars of the team D.J. Horne and D.J. Burns Jr. signed autographs for hours for excited Wolfpack fans.

"We feel good," Burns told ABC11 after the signing and before he ducked out the back.