March Madness. It's a whirlwind of buzzer-beaters, bracket-busters, and... serious travel.
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March Madness is a whirlwind of upsets, Cinderella stories, and for some teams, a whole lot of travel. As the 2025 tournament brackets fill out, we at Betway are taking a close look at the miles these teams will be racking up – because in the NCAA Tournament, travel fatigue is a real opponent.
We’ve crunched the numbers and analysed the current projected matchups and it’s clear that some colleges are facing a significantly longer journey than others.
Let’s dive into who’s racking up the most miles:
Sweet Sixteen Teams Travel Time:
Of the men’s teams to reach the last-sixteen, here are the four teams with the longest travel distances:
Maryland: Maryland scraped past Colorado in the previous round and now has the longest distance to travel as they make the 2,810-mile journey to the Chase Center in San Francisco to face Florida. The journey would take over 41 hours in a car, but their rivals also face a monstrous travel schedule.
Florida: That’s right – Florida is the team with the second longest distance to travel with their route to San Francisco equating to more than 2,706 miles in distance. Were the team to travel by car, it is estimated that it would take almost forty hours. After bagging a big win against UConn in the previous round, they will surely be in high spirits coming into this one, no matter the journey duration.
Arizona: Arizona completes the top three as the distance between Tucson and the Prudential Centre in Newark is roughly 2,394 miles. They are unlikely to feel the journey, however, as they ride the wave of a thrilling 87-83 victory over Oregon in the second round. The Caleb Love-inspired outfit now has Duke on the horizon – a side who defeated Baylor 89-66 in the last 32 round.
BYU: BYU, meanwhile, has the fourth longest distance to contend with as the team makes the journey from Provo, Utah to Newark in New Jersey. BYU overcame Wisconsin 91-89 in the second round and now takes on Alabama at the Prudential Center.
Meanwhile, supporters of the women’s teams also face some crazy travel distances!
UConn: The University of Connecticut meet Oklahoma in Spokane, WA for their Sweet Sixteen contest. No remaining fanbase in the tournament will face a longer travel distance than the 2,701.7 miles facing UConn’s supporters. It will take a whole 40 hours of driving before fans reach the Spokane Arena, meaning a potential defeat would take the concept of a “long journey home” to a whole new level.
NC State: Also making the lengthy journey to Spokane Arena is NC State. Their travel distance from Raleigh in North Carolina is 2,571 miles over 38.4 hours. Their opponents LSU face a similar haul, however.
LSU: Fans of the Louisiana outfit face the third-longest distance on their way to Spokane. Drivers must travel for more than 34 hours for the game against NC State, with the distance clocking up to 3,505 miles.
Ole Miss: Mississippi outfit Ole Miss face UCLA in the Sweet Sixteen round and fans must travel 2,092 miles from Oxford, MS to see them in action. Ole Miss got the better of Baylor in the round of 32 but know a stern test faces them later this week.
The Long Haulers:
Based on our data, here are the top 5 teams who have travelled the most miles since the start of the tournament.
Maryland: College Park to Seattle (2,752 Miles) – The Terrapins faced the longest travel out of any team in the country ahead of their first-round game against the Grand Canyon Antelopes.
Liberty: Lynchburg to Seattle (2,642 Miles) – Like Maryland, the Liberty Flames faced a tough journey to Seattle where they faced the Oregon Ducks who have to travel just 279 miles in comparison.
Akron: Akron to Seattle (2,476 Miles) – The Zips faced a tough task as they headed into their first-round matchup in Seattle against the Arizona Wildcats as big underdogs.
Memphis: Memphis to Seattle (2,217 Miles) – The Tigers made the 2,217-mile journey to Seattle to face off against the Colorado State Rams.
UCLA: Los Angeles to Lexington (2,162 Miles) – UCLA round off the top 5 teams who have travelled the most miles for their first-round games. However, the Bruins can take consolation in the fact that their opponents in the Utah State Aggies also have to travel a fair distance (1,653 miles) to the matchup in Kentucky.
Women’s Tournament
Here’s a look at the top 5 teams that have travelled the most based on our data, ranked by distance:
Washington: Seattle to Chapel Hill (2,700 Miles) – The Huskies face the longest journey, a 2,700-mile trek to North Carolina.
Richmond: Richmond to Los Angeles (2,600 Miles) – The Spiders, who secured their tournament bid by capping off another historic season, faced No. 9-seed Georgia Tech in the first round in Los Angeles on the campus of UCLA.
Utah: Salt Lake City to Columbia (2,100 Miles) – Indiana began the NCAA Tournament against the Utah Utes at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, S.C. The Utes crossed a significant portion of the country for the 2,100-mile journey.
Oklahoma State: Stillwater to Storrs (1,500 Miles) – The Cowgirls headed to the East Coast for a 1,500-mile trip to face the South Dakota State women’s basketball team who returned to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years!
William & Mary: Williamsburg to Austin (1,600 Miles) – After earning the program’s first-ever berth to the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, the William & Mary women’s basketball team received word that they will take on High Point in the First Four on March 20, in Austin, Texas. A 1,600-mile trip sends the Tribe to Texas. Last year, William & Mary had a strong showing, and sophomore point guard Monet Dance was a key player.
The Impact of Travel
We all know travel can take its toll. Jet lag, fatigue, and disruption to routine can all affect a team’s performance. For these long-distance travellers, the challenge is not just about the opponent on the court, but also the opponent in the sky.
Of course, travel isn’t the only factor to consider. Matchups, team form, and coaching strategy all play a crucial role in determining the outcome of games.
Methodology:
Projected Tournament Teams: After Selection Sunday we analysed the projected teams. Sources for these projections include:
The locations of the March Madness tournament sites were obtained from the NCAA’s official website. This study assumes that teams will travel from their university’s main campus. Distances are calculated based on driving routes, not flight routes.
Data is correct as of 19.3.25
