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There has been a lot of talk about the location advantage various teams will enjoy in the NCAA tournament. Given the rotation of tournament sites and the intention to give top seeds a geographical advantage, some teams will inevitably have a more favorable road. Of course a favorable path to the final four means nothing if a team is upset early and there are several recent examples where a big fuss was made after the brackets came out only to become completely irrelevant. Here are some of the teams that may have an edge based on geography in the tournament.

East Region

North Carolina

1^st & 2^nd Round: Raleigh 27 miles, Regional: Charlotte 143 miles, Final Four: San Antonio 1,369 miles

The Tar Heels enjoy the most obvious advantage of any team in the tournament in the first two rounds and as the #1 overall seed they may deserve it. Not having to leave the home state for any of the first four potential games makes things easy for the team and fans, and the familiarity with the venues is also a huge plus. The first opponent for the Tar Heels will not have to travel far from home as both play-in teams are Maryland based but that advantage is negated by the travel to Dayton for Tuesday’s opening game. In a potential sweet 16 match-up the top contenders to face the Tar Heels would be far from home with Notre Dame or Washington State but if there is a Cinderella run for George Mason or Winthrop those teams will have some support in Charlotte. In a regional final in Charlotte likely candidates Tennessee and Louisville would face manageable but more significant travel than the Heels.

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Tennessee

1^st & 2^nd Round: Birmingham 257 miles, Regional: Charlotte 246 miles, Final Four: San Antonio 1,121 miles

The Volunteers felt they deserved a #1 seed but they may be better off as a #2 seed in Charlotte than in one of the other regions as it will be a reasonable drive for the team and fans for the first two sites. The problem is that the region’s #1 seed North Carolina has a dramatically more favorable advantage in the location. Still, being a #1 seed in Detroit would be a lot less appealing for fans to travel to from Knoxville and Tennessee should expect to have strong support in the tournament. If North Carolina is upset before the regional final, playing in Charlotte could be a huge advantage for the Volunteers and all the complaints towards the selection committee would have to be retracted.

South Alabama

1^st & 2^nd Round: Birmingham 258 miles, Regional: Charlotte 575 miles, Final Four: San Antonio 663 miles

Much is being made of Butler as a #7 seed having to play in Alabama against 10^th seeded South Alabama and the Bulldogs do have a legitimate complaint. Although the game is in Alabama, Birmingham is still a hefty journey from Mobile so the advantage to the fan base won’t be as significant as it sounds. It is still about 200 miles closer for South Alabama than for Butler and obviously most neutral fans in Birmingham will be taking the cause of the underdog Jaguars.

Midwest Region

Kansas

1^st & 2^nd Round: Omaha 207 miles, Regional: Detroit 830 miles, Final Four: San Antonio 779 miles

The Jayhawks should be well supported in the first two games in Big 12 country and Kansas will enjoy a significant location advantage against both of the first two opponents. None of the regional venues offer a great location for Kansas so they were not hurt by being the fourth #1 seed and taking the leftover region. Fortunately for Kansas, no team in the bracket has much of an advantage playing in Detroit though Wisconsin would probably have the best support there if that match-up would occur.

Wisconsin

1^st & 2^nd Round: Omaha 429 miles, Regional: Detroit 429 miles, Final Four: San Antonio 1,301 miles

The Badgers are almost exactly the same distance away from the first two sites. Many thought Wisconsin was snubbed for a #2 seed in the tournament but the committee did award the Badgers the two closest possible venues. Unfortunately for Wisconsin there were no close venues such as Milwaukee or Chicago, although Wisconsin ended up losing second round games playing in both of those locations in recent tournaments. In Detroit the Badgers might have an edge in regional games against the top two seeds, so if Wisconsin can survive an upset in round one and a tough second round game things could be looking up.

Davidson

1^st & 2^nd Round: Raleigh 159 miles, Regional: Charlotte 143 miles, Final Four: San Antonio 1,249 miles

The Wildcats will have about 2,500 mile location advantage in the opening match-up against Gonzaga and in an arena dominated by Tar Heel fans Davidson could have what it takes for the upset after a narrow miss last season. Another edge will be playing the West coast Bulldogs in the early game, what would normally be just after 9:00 AM for Gonzaga. Davidson also would have a big fan support edge in a potential game against Georgetown as the Hoyas were the team that knocked North Carolina out of the tournament last season.

Kansas State

1^st & 2^nd Round: Omaha 194 miles, Regional: Detroit 649 miles, Final Four: San Antonio 756 miles

The Wildcats have a young emotional team that could be greatly aided by a location edge in the first two rounds. The state of Kansas will be sending a great representation to Omaha and if rival fans of K-State and KU can join together they can create a big edge for both squads. The Wildcats will face a very tough opening match-up against USC and then would face a tough Wisconsin squad but the talent is there to make a run and the location edge could be a factor.

South Region

Memphis

1^st & 2^nd Round: Little Rock 135 miles, Regional: Houston 568 miles, Final Four: San Antonio 725 miles

The Tigers will face an unfair disadvantage if they advance to the regional final and have to face Texas but the alternative regions did not present any great advantage for Memphis. Recall that last season #3 seed Texas A&M was actually favored and a very popular pick to beat the #2 seed Tigers playing in San Antonio in the sweet 16 match-up but Memphis was able to win that game. Memphis will enjoy a short trip for the first two games and there is certainly no guarantee that Texas will be the team that ends up in Houston.

Texas

1^st & 2^nd Round: Little Rock 514 miles, Regional: Houston 165 miles, Final Four: San Antonio 79 miles

If Texas can keep winning they will move closer and closer to home with the region and the Final Four in the state of Texas. It will certainly not be an easy road but it would be a huge advantage should the Longhorns get that far. In a second round game against Miami or St. Mary’s expect a Memphis crowd to be rallying against Texas in Little Rock so that could be a tougher game than many might expect. If Texas advances to the Houston, expect to see a lot of burnt orange in the stands and it may be enough to carry Texas to the Final Four, which would also be in Texas.

Stanford

1^st & 2^nd Round: Anaheim 383 miles, Regional: Houston 1,902 miles, Final Four: San Antonio 1,708 miles

The Cardinal would certainly prefer to be in the Phoenix region but losing three times to UCLA prevented that option as the Bruins earn the top seed out West. Playing in Anaheim should provide an advantage as the other three teams in that group face significant travel but a potential regional semifinal in Houston facing Texas will be very close to a true road game.

West Region

UCLA

1^st & 2^nd Round: Anaheim 26 miles, Regional: Phoenix 372 miles, Final Four: San Antonio 1,353 miles

The Bruins enjoy a favorable path to make a third consecutive final four appearance and it is tough to see the Bruins failing in nearby Anaheim against teams that will face far more significant journeys. There is a chance that a match-up with Arizona in Phoenix could occur in the regional final but that would take a great unexpected run from the Wildcats. UCLA would have a regional advantage in any of the other potential match-ups in Phoenix barring a Cinderella run from San Diego, but even so UCLA’s fan base would be more significant. Each of the past two seasons UCLA did not have to leave the state of California, playing in San Diego, Oakland, Sacramento, and San Jose but Anaheim certainly presents one of the greatest advantages of any team in the tournament. A potential opening Final Four game against Texas would be problematic in terms of a venue advantage however.

Duke

1^st & 2^nd Round: Washington D.C. 257 miles, Regional: Phoenix 2,126 miles, Final Four: San Antonio 1,478 miles

The Blue Devils don’t receive nearly the advantage that ACC rival North Carolina has in this year’s tournament but playing in D.C. is an edge as the Devils will get good support from that area and it is still a reasonable trip from Durham. It would be a big advantage in the second round against Arizona but not as much against West Virginia. Playing Phoenix would not be a great spot for Duke in the regional especially against a team like the heavy favorite UCLA. Duke is a team that fans either love or hate so if an underdog like Belmont or the second round opponent makes a run at the upset the neutral crowd could jump onto that team’s side.

West Virginia

1^st & 2^nd Round: Washington D.C. 211 miles, Regional: Phoenix 2,197 miles, Final Four: San Antonio 1,372 miles

West Virginia enjoys a sizable edge against Arizona in terms of travel as the Mountaineers should enjoy solid support in the nation’s capitol. A second round game against Duke might not offer as much of an edge but given the popularity of Duke and a fan base that is willing to travel. Playing in Big East territory West Virginia might find some support in the first two rounds and the relatively short bus trip will help.

The reality is a home region advantage is not as significant in the big dome stadiums where the Final Four and regional finals generally are played. In the Final Four the majority of the tickets are allocated to corporate sponsors as well and individual schools get fairly small allotments that are generally filled with high-priced donors and not crazy, loud college kids. It can make more of a difference in the early rounds however when tickets are more manageable and people are excited about the chances of the team and more willing to travel.