After Selection Sunday, we know where each of the 68 teams in the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament are headed for the first weekend. So, in search of a possible college basketball betting edge, RotoWire.com is breaking down numbers on which squads got the best (or worst) breaks for travel to first- and second-round March Madness sites.
To see which teams will have the longest (and shortest) NCAA Tournament travel distance to their respective contests as the Men's NCAA Tournament gets underway this week, check out our deep dive below:
| # | Team | Venue | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | (13) Hawaii | Portland, OR — Moda Center | 2,594 mi |
| 2 | (5) St. Johns | San Diego, CA — Viejas Arena | 2,432 mi |
| 3 | (16) LIU | San Diego, CA — Viejas Arena | 2,423 mi |
| 4 | (7) UCLA | Philadelphia, PA — Xfinity Mobile Arena | 2,398 mi |
| 5 | (8) Villanova | San Diego, CA — Viejas Arena | 2,352 mi |
| 6 | (12) High Point | Portland, OR — Moda Center | 2,300 mi |
| 7 | (14) Kennesaw State | Portland, OR — Moda Center | 2,153 mi |
| 8 | (11) NC State | Portland, OR — Moda Center | 1,977 mi |
| 9 | (11) Texas | Portland, OR — Moda Center | 1,977 mi |
| 10 | (10) Santa Clara | St. Louis, MO — Enterprise Center | 1,722 mi |
| 11 | (5) Wisconsin | Portland, OR — Moda Center | 1,641 mi |
| 12 | (4) Arkansas | Portland, OR — Moda Center | 1,616 mi |
| 13 | (12) Northern Iowa | San Diego, CA — Viejas Arena | 1,498 mi |
| 14 | (7) Saint Marys | Oklahoma City, OK — Paycom Center | 1,369 mi |
| 15 | (4) Kansas | San Diego, CA — Viejas Arena | 1,290 mi |
| 16 | (15) Idaho | Oklahoma City, OK — Paycom Center | 1,273 mi |
| 17 | (5) Texas Tech | Tampa, FL — Benchmark Intl Arena | 1,213 mi |
| 18 | (9) Iowa | Tampa, FL — Benchmark Intl Arena | 1,077 mi |
| 19 | (7) Miami | St. Louis, MO — Enterprise Center | 1,062 mi |
| 20 | (11) South Florida | Buffalo, NY — KeyBank Center | 1,043 mi |
| # | Team | Venue | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | (13) California Baptist | San Diego, CA — Viejas Arena | 82 mi |
| 2 | (10) Missouri | St. Louis, MO — Enterprise Center | 117 mi |
| 3 | (1) Florida | Tampa, FL — Benchmark Intl Arena | 118 mi |
| 4 | (2) UConn | Philadelphia, PA — Xfinity Mobile Arena | 201 mi |
| 5 | (6) North Carolina | Greenville, SC — Bon Secours Wellness Arena | 202 mi |
| 6 | (1) Duke | Greenville, SC — Bon Secours Wellness Arena | 211 mi |
| 7 | (2) Purdue | St. Louis, MO — Enterprise Center | 214 mi |
| 8 | (3) Virginia | Philadelphia, PA — Xfinity Mobile Arena | 221 mi |
| 9 | (1) Michigan | Buffalo, NY — KeyBank Center | 251 mi |
| 10 | (15) Tennessee State | St. Louis, MO — Enterprise Center | 251 mi |
| 11 | (3) Michigan State | Buffalo, NY — KeyBank Center | 284 mi |
| 12 | (3) Gonzaga | Portland, OR — Moda Center | 290 mi |
| 13 | (2) Iowa State | St. Louis, MO — Enterprise Center | 297 mi |
| 14 | (7) Kentucky | St. Louis, MO — Enterprise Center | 311 mi |
| 15 | (11) VCU | Greenville, SC — Bon Secours Wellness Arena | 333 mi |
| 16 | (10) Texas A&M | Oklahoma City, OK — Paycom Center | 342 mi |
| 17 | (16) Howard | Buffalo, NY — KeyBank Center | 350 mi |
| 18 | (16) UMBC | Buffalo, NY — KeyBank Center | 350 mi |
| 19 | (8) Ohio State | Greenville, SC — Bon Secours Wellness Arena | 358 mi |
| 20 | (1) Arizona | San Diego, CA — Viejas Arena | 359 mi |
This research comes from RotoWire.com, where you will find the best March Madness betting promos as one of the biggest sports betting events in America gets underway.
Which Teams Will Travel The Furthest in 2026?
Naturally, the longest journey in this week's Round of 64 is in store for the lone Division I team outside the Lower 48. The Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors of the Big West will have the most March Madness first-round travel mileage in 2026.
The Rainbow Warriors will venture 2,594 miles from Honolulu to Portland's Moda Center, where the 13th seed in the West region will face SEC champion Arkansas.
After that, the men's team with the most NCAA Tournament travel miles is coach Rick Pitino and St. John's. The Red Storm will venture some 2,432 miles from New York to sunny Southern California to take on 12th seed Northern Iowa in San Diego. At Hard Rock Bet Sportsbook, St. John's has +900 odds to win the East Region and reach the Final Four for the first time since 1985.
In total, Pitino and the Johnnies will look to improve the Big East Tournament champ's all-time record in the Big Dance to 29-33 with a win over the Missouri Valley Conference champions. St. John's seeks its second straight first round victory after last year's 83-53 rout of 15th seeded Omaha; that was the Red Storm's first victory in the Big Dance since 2000.
Five other teams in this year's field will have to travel more than 2,000 miles for their first-round games, for sportsbook apps customers who want to factor in jet lag when they analyze matchups. The 16th seed Long Island is going to San Diego to play West Region top seed Arizona. UCLA is traveling the other direction for a journey of 2,398 miles to take on East Region No. 10 seed UCF in Philadelphia.
The other members of the "2,000 Mile Club" this year are Villanova (which will travel 2,352 miles from Philly to San Diego to face West No. 9 seed Utah State); No. 12 seed High Point (2,300 miles from North Carolina to Portland to face West No. 5 seed Wisconsin) and 14th seed Kennesaw State (2,153 miles from Georgia to Portland to play West No. 3 seed Gonzaga).
All told, we'll have to wait to see how each team's trips impact March Madness college basketball odds betting edges. But we can bet that jet lag will definitely play a role in the early parts of each contest involving the seven teams mentioned above.
The 20 Shortest NCAA Tournament Trips
The WAC Tournament champions from California Baptist got a gift from the NCAA Tournament selection committee: A drive that won't even take a full tank of gas.
The Lancers only have to travel 82 miles down Interstate 15 from the school's Riverside campus to San Diego's Viejas Arena. The first-time tournament team drew fourth seeded Kansas in the first round of the East Region. Customers using the BetMGM bonus code can get +125 odds on the Jayhawks winning their first two games in San Diego and reaching the Sweet 16.
After Cal Baptist, the next closest first round draw is the 117-mile journey that the Missouri Tigers will take across I-70 to play Miami (FL) in the opening round. Then we have the South Region's top seed, the Florida Gators, driving 118 miles down I-75 from their Gainesville campus to Tampa for their opener against either Lehigh or Prairie View A&M.
No other team in this year's field has a first-round journey that's less than 200 miles. But UConn (201 miles from Storrs to Philadelphia) and North Carolina (202 miles from Chapel Hill to Greensville, S.C.) are close.
Eight other teams have journeys less than 300 miles one way from their respective campuses. That list ranges from Duke's 211-mile jaunt from Durham to Greensville to Iowa State's 297-mile trek from Ames to St. Louis. Iowa State has +340 odds at FanDuel Sportsbook to reach the Final Four for the first time since 1944.
All of those teams traveling 300 miles or less enjoy close to a home-court advantage in the first two rounds, potentially helping them either avoid an upset (in the case of high seeds such as Duke and Florida) or spring one (in Cal Baptist's case).
All 32 Games Ranked by Travel Edge
Big 12 champion Arizona enjoys the biggest edge when it comes to the difference that two first-round foes must face. The Wildcats have 2,064 fewer miles to trek than their opponent; Arizona's Tucson campus is a spritely 359 miles from San Diego, compared with the Sharks' 2,423-mile odyssey from NYC.
Unsurprisingly, oddsmakers see Arizona winning the team's opener with ease. The bet365 sportsbook lists the Wildcats as a 31.5-point favorite as of Monday morning.
St. John's has a much longer distance to travel than first-round foe Northern Iowa at Viejas Arena, but the Big East Tourney champs still come in as a 9.5-point favorite at bet365, perhaps reinforcing the belief that talent trumps travel distance.
One upset pick that appears to illustrate this year's March Madness betting edges concerning travel is the 8/9 clash between Villanova and Utah State (not that a No. 9 seed beating an 8 is a huge upset). The Aggies are a two-point favorite at bet365 over the Big East program, and USU is 1,668 miles closer to its destination.
The Cal Baptist Lancers, with that short trip to San Diego for their first-ever NCAA Tournament game, have the seventh-largest travel edge of any team (1,208 miles). That could benefit the WAC champs as they look to spring the upset (BetRivers Sportsbook lists KU as a 14.5-point favorite).
Which First Four Teams Have Travel Edge?
The First Four contests in Dayton, Ohio, to be held Tuesday and Wednesday, feature one team that is practically at home.
The Miami RedHawks (31-1), the MAC regular-season champions, are just 41.6 miles from Dayton. That ranks well ahead of the next closest school, that being North Carolina State, which will journey 385 miles to play in the Buckeye State.
Throw in the two at-large teams from Texas, in the SMU Mustangs (861 miles from Dallas) and the Longhorns (944 miles from Austin) and you have this year's at-large pool covered. The Longhorns face the Wolfpack on Tuesday; at Caesars Sportsbook, that's the only pick 'em game on the board for the entire men's NCAA Tournament.
As for the four 16 seeds vying for a spot in the 64-team main field, the UMBC Retrievers have the shortest trip. Their campus in Catonsville, Maryland, is 335 miles from Dayton, ranking just ahead of Howard's campus in the Nation's Capital (372 miles). Lehigh's Pennsylvania campus is roughly 410 miles from Dayton and Prairie View A&M has the longest trip to Dayton of any First Four team, at 960 miles.
When it comes to stacking up First Four betting odds, it appears that oddsmakers from DraftKings Sportsbook aren't worried about jet lag, as the RedHawks are listed as a 7.5-point underdog against the Mustangs as of Monday morning.
The Battle for the Beltway between UMBC and Howard shows the Retrievers as a 2.5-point favorite on DraftKings. Patriot League champion Lehigh is a 2.5-point favorite over SWAC tournament winner Prairie View A&M.
Venue-by-Venue Breakdown
We analyzed which of the eight venues for first- and second-round games welcomes teams traveling the farthest. That's the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, where three teams will travel 2,000 miles or more to reach. The eight teams headed to the Rose City will total 13,237 miles.
San Diego will see 11,120 miles of travel from the eight teams playing at Viejas Arena.
Relatively speaking, Greenville, South Carolina, is the most centrally located, The cumulative distance for the eight teams going there is 3,703 miles. St. Louis, has a total mileage figure of 4,543 miles.
All told, we'll have to wait a few weeks to see which team cuts down the nets in Indianapolis and pay off their backers at sports betting sites. But the distance data above can help us glean which ones will be in the best position to put some quality work in during the opening round of the Big Dance.
Methodology Note
Distances are calculated using the haversine formula from each team's campus coordinates to the venue coordinates (straight-line miles). First Four play-in teams (marked with *) calculate from Dayton, Ohio (UD Arena) rather than campus, since that's their actual departure point. "Travel edge" is the mileage differential between opponents — a contextual data point, not a predictive model.
