NCAA Location Advantages
March 15, 2016
While most of the NCAA tournament games will generally be played in unfamiliar venues and spacious arenas with mixed fan bases, it is worth taking a look at the travel required and the groupings of teams in each pod. Here is a brief look at some of the advantages and disadvantages presented by the selection committee this season with regards to location in the opening games.
Providence, Rhode Island:
The team most thrilled to be in Providence has to be Yale, hailing from New Haven, Connecticut just about 100 miles southwest of Rhode Island’s capital city. With Yale ending a long NCAA Tournament drought this season, the afternoon session tickets on Thursday featuring the NC-Wilmington/Duke matchup and the Yale/Providence matchup are hot tickets. Duke should get solid support in this grouping with a fan base that is well populated in the major northeast cities nearby, but like ACC counterpart Miami, the team has to be a bit disappointed to not be in Raleigh where #1 seeds North Carolina and Virginia will be playing Thursday. Buffalo fans have a manageable drive to Providence to support the #14 seeded MAC Tournament champions, but the evening sessions won’t likely have one overwhelming fan base. Arizona seems the most out of place in this group as the #6 seed facing long travel for a Thursday game in which they won’t know the opponent until Tuesday night, facing off with the winner of the highly anticipated Vanderbilt/Wichita State matchup in the First Four.
Raleigh, North Carolina:
ACC squads North Carolina and Virginia get a favorable placement in Raleigh with a very short trip for the Tar Heels in what should feel like a home game and the venue is less than 250 miles from the Virginia campus as well. While both of those #1 seeds are heavy favorites in the opening games, it is worth remembering that both teams really struggled in the first round games last season, barely escaping with victories playing in favorable venues in Charlotte and Jacksonville. Assuming the top seeds move on, the location edge may be more important on Saturday as the 8/9 matchup teams are all making long trips with North Carolina set to face the winner between Providence and USC and Virginia slated to face the winner of the Butler/Texas Tech game.
Des Moines, Iowa:
Three schools from Iowa are in the NCAA Tournament, but none finished with a high enough seed to earn a favorable spot in Des Moines. #1 overall seed Kansas had three attractive nearby options for the opening weekend games and Des Moines is the closest, just a few dozen miles closer to campus compared to St. Louis or Oklahoma City. Blue should dominate the seats on Saturday with Kentucky also in this grouping and even though it is close to a 10-hour drive from Lexington the Wildcats are always well supported. Indiana fans, like Kentucky fans, were certainly hoping to get a St. Louis draw as both teams have to feel a little snubbed by the committee both in seeding and location as well as staring at each other in a potential headlining matchup Saturday just to reach the Sweet 16. Connecticut vs. Colorado figures to be a great opening round 8/9 matchup and while Des Moines is a reasonable trip from Boulder, none of the other schools in this grouping figure to have much impact in making a dent on the Kansas crowd.
Denver, Colorado:
With no double-digit spreads in the four Thursday games in Denver, this grouping might be one to watch for potential upsets. None of the eight schools in this group are set particularly close to Denver, but flights are rather easy from Salt Lake City to the Mile High City in March as Utah is probably the biggest beneficiary to the Pepsi Center draw. Up tempo squads Iona and Iowa State face off in the early game Thursday and it will be interesting to if the altitude has an impact. Also of note with regards to the altitude will be how teams that are fairly reliant on lumbering big men will handle the thin air with Purdue and Gonzaga most noteworthy to watch. Utah is also led by star center Jakob Poeltl, but the elevation jump from Salt Lake City to Denver isn’t that dramatic compared with say West Lafayette to Denver. Iona and Seton Hall are the only eastern schools that were shipped out to Denver with Seton Hall as a #6 seed facing #11 seed Gonzaga perhaps drawing one of the bigger location disadvantages in the tournament relative to the seeding as the slight favorite status of the Bulldogs displays.
Brooklyn, New York:
There is a lot of college basketball played in the greater New York City area, but it has been a while since a prominent team emerged and this Brooklyn venue won’t provide any sort of dramatic home court edge to the schools in play. #2 seed Villanova can‘t complain about this landing spot, but they did not wind up in the East region which would have meant games in Philadelphia next week if the Wildcats can advance. West Virginia fans also have a reasonable trip as do Temple fans for an intriguing set of Friday games. Ultimately the big city setting may favor the powerful fan bases from the Midwest with Notre Dame and Iowa support likely to be strong and should Michigan survive Wednesday’s First Four matchup the Wolverines would face the Irish in a rivalry better known on the gridiron in what would be a highly-anticipated game. West Virginia would draw the winner of that game if they get by a dangerous #14 seed in Stephen F. Austin.
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma:
While the Sooners had a bit of late season slide, they were still handed a favorable NCAA Tournament draw, still getting a #2 seed ahead of #3 seed West Virginia who finished ahead of the Sooners in the standings and beat Oklahoma in the Big XII semifinals. Oklahoma is opposite an Oregon squad most consider to be the least proven of the #1 seeds in the West region and the opening weekend games are in Oklahoma City, just a half hour drive from Norman as crimson and cream figure to dominate Chesapeake Energy Arena. That could be overwhelming for Cal State Bakersfield in the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance as well as potential second round foes VCU and Oregon State who are playing far from home. In the other pod, Texas and Texas A&M figure to receive strong support with a reasonable drive north for both fan bases in what could be a great second round storyline in a rematch from earlier this season between former conference foes.
St. Louis, Missouri:
Michigan State wasn’t given a #1 seed and the St. Louis venue is still a nearly eight-hour drive from East Lansing. That was the best option the Spartans had with only Des Moines as a venue at a similar distance. If Michigan State survives the opening weekend, they will be rewarded with games in Chicago which could really pay off in potential matchups with Utah or Virginia. While Michigan State should be well supported in St. Louis, the Gateway City will likely also receive a great deal of travelers taking I-70 from Dayton and Cincinnati. It is also a reasonable trip south from Madison as #7 seeds Wisconsin and Dayton received favorable placement for coin-flip opening round 7/10 matchups against Pittsburgh and Syracuse teams with more distance to cover. Weber State and Syracuse have the most substantial travel as most of the schools in this group should get fans at the Scotttade Center with #2 seeds Michigan State and Xavier likely bringing the most enthusiasm.
Spokane, Washington:
Nothing is terribly close by out west, but Oregon was dealt a favorable venue in Spokane, a seven-hour drive from Eugene and even closer trip from Portland where plenty of alumni reside. Oregon isn’t expected to have a tough time in the opening round vs. a Wednesday First Four winner and the potential second round matchup would feature an eastern squad Cincinnati or St. Joseph’s to give the Ducks a big advantage. Hawaii and California are technically western squads and Spokane certainly is the closest opening round venue available, but that is far from a short trip for those schools and #4 seeded Bears would travel much further east to Louisville should they advance. South Dakota State and Maryland also will have long journeys to get fans to Veterans Arena as this looks like a venue that will be overtaken by Ducks fans.
March 15, 2016
While most of the NCAA tournament games will generally be played in unfamiliar venues and spacious arenas with mixed fan bases, it is worth taking a look at the travel required and the groupings of teams in each pod. Here is a brief look at some of the advantages and disadvantages presented by the selection committee this season with regards to location in the opening games.
Providence, Rhode Island:
The team most thrilled to be in Providence has to be Yale, hailing from New Haven, Connecticut just about 100 miles southwest of Rhode Island’s capital city. With Yale ending a long NCAA Tournament drought this season, the afternoon session tickets on Thursday featuring the NC-Wilmington/Duke matchup and the Yale/Providence matchup are hot tickets. Duke should get solid support in this grouping with a fan base that is well populated in the major northeast cities nearby, but like ACC counterpart Miami, the team has to be a bit disappointed to not be in Raleigh where #1 seeds North Carolina and Virginia will be playing Thursday. Buffalo fans have a manageable drive to Providence to support the #14 seeded MAC Tournament champions, but the evening sessions won’t likely have one overwhelming fan base. Arizona seems the most out of place in this group as the #6 seed facing long travel for a Thursday game in which they won’t know the opponent until Tuesday night, facing off with the winner of the highly anticipated Vanderbilt/Wichita State matchup in the First Four.
Raleigh, North Carolina:
ACC squads North Carolina and Virginia get a favorable placement in Raleigh with a very short trip for the Tar Heels in what should feel like a home game and the venue is less than 250 miles from the Virginia campus as well. While both of those #1 seeds are heavy favorites in the opening games, it is worth remembering that both teams really struggled in the first round games last season, barely escaping with victories playing in favorable venues in Charlotte and Jacksonville. Assuming the top seeds move on, the location edge may be more important on Saturday as the 8/9 matchup teams are all making long trips with North Carolina set to face the winner between Providence and USC and Virginia slated to face the winner of the Butler/Texas Tech game.
Des Moines, Iowa:
Three schools from Iowa are in the NCAA Tournament, but none finished with a high enough seed to earn a favorable spot in Des Moines. #1 overall seed Kansas had three attractive nearby options for the opening weekend games and Des Moines is the closest, just a few dozen miles closer to campus compared to St. Louis or Oklahoma City. Blue should dominate the seats on Saturday with Kentucky also in this grouping and even though it is close to a 10-hour drive from Lexington the Wildcats are always well supported. Indiana fans, like Kentucky fans, were certainly hoping to get a St. Louis draw as both teams have to feel a little snubbed by the committee both in seeding and location as well as staring at each other in a potential headlining matchup Saturday just to reach the Sweet 16. Connecticut vs. Colorado figures to be a great opening round 8/9 matchup and while Des Moines is a reasonable trip from Boulder, none of the other schools in this grouping figure to have much impact in making a dent on the Kansas crowd.
Denver, Colorado:
With no double-digit spreads in the four Thursday games in Denver, this grouping might be one to watch for potential upsets. None of the eight schools in this group are set particularly close to Denver, but flights are rather easy from Salt Lake City to the Mile High City in March as Utah is probably the biggest beneficiary to the Pepsi Center draw. Up tempo squads Iona and Iowa State face off in the early game Thursday and it will be interesting to if the altitude has an impact. Also of note with regards to the altitude will be how teams that are fairly reliant on lumbering big men will handle the thin air with Purdue and Gonzaga most noteworthy to watch. Utah is also led by star center Jakob Poeltl, but the elevation jump from Salt Lake City to Denver isn’t that dramatic compared with say West Lafayette to Denver. Iona and Seton Hall are the only eastern schools that were shipped out to Denver with Seton Hall as a #6 seed facing #11 seed Gonzaga perhaps drawing one of the bigger location disadvantages in the tournament relative to the seeding as the slight favorite status of the Bulldogs displays.
Brooklyn, New York:
There is a lot of college basketball played in the greater New York City area, but it has been a while since a prominent team emerged and this Brooklyn venue won’t provide any sort of dramatic home court edge to the schools in play. #2 seed Villanova can‘t complain about this landing spot, but they did not wind up in the East region which would have meant games in Philadelphia next week if the Wildcats can advance. West Virginia fans also have a reasonable trip as do Temple fans for an intriguing set of Friday games. Ultimately the big city setting may favor the powerful fan bases from the Midwest with Notre Dame and Iowa support likely to be strong and should Michigan survive Wednesday’s First Four matchup the Wolverines would face the Irish in a rivalry better known on the gridiron in what would be a highly-anticipated game. West Virginia would draw the winner of that game if they get by a dangerous #14 seed in Stephen F. Austin.
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma:
While the Sooners had a bit of late season slide, they were still handed a favorable NCAA Tournament draw, still getting a #2 seed ahead of #3 seed West Virginia who finished ahead of the Sooners in the standings and beat Oklahoma in the Big XII semifinals. Oklahoma is opposite an Oregon squad most consider to be the least proven of the #1 seeds in the West region and the opening weekend games are in Oklahoma City, just a half hour drive from Norman as crimson and cream figure to dominate Chesapeake Energy Arena. That could be overwhelming for Cal State Bakersfield in the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance as well as potential second round foes VCU and Oregon State who are playing far from home. In the other pod, Texas and Texas A&M figure to receive strong support with a reasonable drive north for both fan bases in what could be a great second round storyline in a rematch from earlier this season between former conference foes.
St. Louis, Missouri:
Michigan State wasn’t given a #1 seed and the St. Louis venue is still a nearly eight-hour drive from East Lansing. That was the best option the Spartans had with only Des Moines as a venue at a similar distance. If Michigan State survives the opening weekend, they will be rewarded with games in Chicago which could really pay off in potential matchups with Utah or Virginia. While Michigan State should be well supported in St. Louis, the Gateway City will likely also receive a great deal of travelers taking I-70 from Dayton and Cincinnati. It is also a reasonable trip south from Madison as #7 seeds Wisconsin and Dayton received favorable placement for coin-flip opening round 7/10 matchups against Pittsburgh and Syracuse teams with more distance to cover. Weber State and Syracuse have the most substantial travel as most of the schools in this group should get fans at the Scotttade Center with #2 seeds Michigan State and Xavier likely bringing the most enthusiasm.
Spokane, Washington:
Nothing is terribly close by out west, but Oregon was dealt a favorable venue in Spokane, a seven-hour drive from Eugene and even closer trip from Portland where plenty of alumni reside. Oregon isn’t expected to have a tough time in the opening round vs. a Wednesday First Four winner and the potential second round matchup would feature an eastern squad Cincinnati or St. Joseph’s to give the Ducks a big advantage. Hawaii and California are technically western squads and Spokane certainly is the closest opening round venue available, but that is far from a short trip for those schools and #4 seeded Bears would travel much further east to Louisville should they advance. South Dakota State and Maryland also will have long journeys to get fans to Veterans Arena as this looks like a venue that will be overtaken by Ducks fans.
