Bracketography: The Road to the Final Four for All 68 NCAA Tournament Teams

Dan LevyMar 19, 2013

The NCAA tournament isn't just a series of games to determine college basketball's national champion. The NCAA tournament is a journey back and forth across this nation for three weeks, with all roads either leading back home or to Atlanta for the Final Four.

The season has been a long and winding road for all 68 tournament participants, with only four continuing their treks all the way to the Georgia Dome.

How long will the road last for each team in the tournament? Seriously, how long in actual miles?

We sought to find out, chronicling each team's road to the Final Four in actual driving miles.

Travel has become a big issue in the NCAA tournament, so much that the committee changed the way teams are placed for the first weekend to give fans a better chance to see their teams play live.

The coaches care about the travel too. Before the bracket was announced, Georgetown coach John Thompson III told CBS, "Oh, it's a very big deal how far we travel," while Indiana coach Tom Crean said, "I would hope we'd be able to stay as close to home as possible so our guys can miss that little of school as possible."

Yeah, coach. That's why.

Regardless of the reasons, playing close to home is a big deal for tournament teams. As you will see throughout this piece, we recorded every team's potential trip between its home arena and its site for each round of the NCAA tournament in the case any of the 68 teams make it all the way to Atlanta.

The distances and maps were created using Google Maps. While the distances to the second/third-round and regional sites shown on the subsequent pages are one-way mileage, the total "Road to the Final Four" distance accounts for trips back to campus between game weekends.

Last, you will notice a link for each team on the "Road to the Final Four." That link will take you to a specific map for each team, showing road by country road how to get from here to the Final Four. (For the really big map, nerds, here's a link to the spreadsheet.)

Come along for a pretty interesting ride…

The Midwest Region Bracketography

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Reminder: The "Road to the Final Four" for each team links to a map of its required road travel.

No. 1 Louisville

Road to the Second/Third Round: 76.4 miles

Road to the Regional in Indianapolis: 115 miles

Road to the Final Four in Atlanta: 803 miles

Analysis: Being the top overall seed surely has its advantages. Louisville has the shortest road through the tournament to get to the Final Four by more than 650 miles. Surely, the proximity to Atlanta helps, but the Cardinals will not travel more than 115 miles from campus until they pack their bags for the Final Four.

No. 2 Duke

Road to the Second/Third Round: 396 miles

Road to the Regional: 607 miles

Road to the Final Four: 2,386 miles

Analysis: Duke may not have a No. 1 seed, but it does have the shortest total road of any of the No. 2 seeds. Duke's road to the Midwest Regional is more than 400 miles shorter than any other No. 2 seed. The Blue Devils may have the toughest draw of the No. 2 seeds, but at least the drive isn't as far.

No. 3 Michigan State

Road to the Second/Third Round: 87.5 miles

Road to the Regional: 261 miles

Road to the Final Four: 1,461 miles

Analysis: East Lansing may not be close to Atlanta, but Tom Izzo's trip to earn a berth to Atlanta is extremely favorable for a No. 3 seed. The Spartans have one of the shortest trips in the tournament for the first weekend, and their trip to the Midwest Regional in Indianapolis is less than half the distance of the No. 2 seed Duke.

No. 4 Saint Louis

Road to the Second/Third Round: 2,080 miles

Road to the Regional: 244 miles

Road to the Final Four: 5,203 miles

Analysis: On the plus side for the Billikens, the Midwest Regional is just a few hours away. On the down side for the Atlantic 10's top team, it has to get there first, and the trip to San Jose for the second/third-round games is one of the longest trips of any team in the entire tournament.

The disparity of travel on the No. 4-seed line is, frankly, ridiculous. Remember that for the next few regions.

No. 5 Oklahoma State

Road to the Second/Third Round: 1,649 miles

Road to the Regional: 704 miles

Road to the Final Four: 5,559 miles

Analysis: Of the 68 teams in the tournament, the Cowboys have the ninth-longest road to the second/third-round games. That said, if Oklahoma State faces Saint Louis, the Cowboys will be more than 400 miles closer to their campus than their opponent.

The NCAA cannot really try to tell us the pod system was put in to give more schools the opportunity to play close to home and have a 4-5 matchup between two schools in the middle of the country that must travel over 1,600 miles each to play.

No. 6 Memphis

Road to the Second/Third Round: 774 miles

Road to the Regional: 465 miles

Road to the Final Four: 2,862 miles

Analysis: Let's be honest, most people don't have Memphis going to the Final Four. If you look at the Tigers' road up to that point, compared with the other seeds in their region, it's a rather manageable trip.

No. 7 Creighton

Road to the Second/Third Round: 1,215 miles

Road to the Regional: 606 miles

Road to the Final Four: 4,630 miles

Analysis: Creighton is one of two No. 7 seeds being sent to Philadelphia, having to travel more than 1,200 miles to face a No. 10 seed that has a road half as far. Seems fair, doesn't it?

No. 8 Colorado State

Road to the Second/Third Round: 1,239 miles

Road to the Regional: 1,138 miles

Road to the Final Four: 6,210 miles

Analysis: Colorado State is the No. 8 seed, but the only thing that gives the Rams in the 8-9 game in the Midwest is the ability to wear white jerseys. They are certainly not the home team.

No. 9 Missouri

Road to the Second/Third Round: 460 miles

Road to the Regional: 359 miles

Road to the Final Four: 2,316 miles

Analysis: The Tigers don't even have to leave SEC country as a No. 9 seed. While 460 miles isn't exactly a drive to the grocery store, it is a far more manageable trip than the 1,200-plus miles their opponent—and better-seeded team—has to make. If they can get past the Rams and somehow beat Louisville, the trip for Mizzou to the regional is even shorter.

No. 10 Cincinnati

Road to the Second/Third Round: 575 miles

Road to the Regional: 111 miles

Road to the Final Four: 1,836 miles

Analysis: Cincinnati might have preferred a trip to Dayton over the quick hit to Philadelphia, but as No. 10 seeds go, the trip to, and through, the regional is as short as it could possibly hope for.

The Bearcats have the shortest road in the entire NCAA tournament from their campus to their regional. Now they just have to beat Creighton and the winner of Duke-Albany to get a bigger home-court advantage than anyone else.

No. 11 Middle Tennessee State

Road to the First/Second/Third Rounds: 599 miles

Road to the Regional: 321 miles

Road to the Final Four: 2,054 miles

Analysis: The Blue Raiders didn't make it out of their play-in game Tuesday in Dayton, losing to St. Mary's. If they had, their road to the regional would have been rather short, even with the extra stop.

No. 11 St. Mary's (Calif.)

Road to the First/Second/Third Rounds: 2,624 miles

Road to the Regional: 2,261 miles

Road to the Final Four: 12,018 miles

Analysis: St. Mary's has the longest road to the Final Four of any team in the tournament. Yes, the extra stop adds an additional 244 miles from Dayton, Ohio, to Auburn Hills, Mich., but the 2,380-mile trip to get to Dayton for the First Four is longer than 15 schools would have to travel for the entire tournament.

No. 12 Oregon

Road to the Second/Third Round: 560 miles

Road to the Regional: 2,272 miles

Road to the Final Four: 8,273 miles

Analysis: Sure, the Ducks got a bad seed, and yes, the trip from Oregon to the regional is very far, but their first game is against a No. 5 seed that must travel more than 1,000 miles farther than them.

That's not a terrible road for a No. 12 seed.

No. 13 New Mexico State

Road to the Second/Third Round: 1,101 miles

Road to the Regional: 1,392 miles

Road to the Final Four: 6,464 miles

Analysis: The difference between being a No. 3 seed from New Mexico and a No. 13 seed from New Mexico? About 2,300 miles, round trip.

No. 14 Valparaiso

Road to the Second/Third Round: 260 miles

Road to the Regional: 157 miles

Road to the Final Four: 1,537 miles

Analysis: Valpo has a shorter trip through the regional—in road miles—than almost every team in the tournament has to any one stop along the way.

No. 15 Albany

Road to the Second/Third Round: 245 miles

Road to the Regional: 781 miles

Road to the Final Four: 3,058 miles

Analysis: In terms of distance, Albany has a relatively short trip for its first game. In terms of time spent in the tournament, sadly, it could be a short trip as well.

No. 16 North Carolina A&T

Road to the First/Second/Third Rounds: 574 miles

Road to the Regional: 560 miles

Road to the Final Four: 2,447 miles

Analysis: A No. 16 seed has never beaten a No. 1 seed. After beating Liberty in a play-in game Tuesday, N.C. A&T now has an NCAA tournament win, and it didn't have to travel too far to get it.

No. 16 Liberty

Road to the First/Second/Third Rounds: 556 miles

Road to the Regional: 542 miles

Road to the Final Four: 2,497 miles

Analysis: Short trip, short tournament.

The West Region Bracketography

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Reminder: The "Road to the Final Four" for each team links to a map of its required road travel.

No. 1 Gonzaga

Road to the Second/Third Round: 718 miles

Road to the Regional in Los Angeles: 1,207 miles

Road to the Final Four in Atlanta: 6,263 miles

Analysis: The nature of being in Spokane, Wash., leads Gonzaga to expect travel during the NCAA tournament. Truth be told, getting a trip under 1,000 miles is not terrible for the Zags, and while it's nearly 550 miles farther than most of the other No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, they still get to travel a shorter distance than No. 2 Miami, so there's that.

No. 2 Ohio State

Road to the Second/Third Round: 78.2 miles

Road to the Regional: 2,247 miles

Road to the Final Four: 5,217 miles

Analysis: Did Ohio State get lucky or screwed by the selection committee? Well, a little from column A and a little from column B.

The Buckeyes' trip to Dayton is one of the shortest trips of any school in the tournament, but their trip to the West Regional is ridiculously far for a No. 2 seed to travel, with only five teams in the entire tournament having a longer potential trip to their respective regional.

Let's not forget, the Buckeyes' likely opponent in the West Regional is No. 3 New Mexico, which has a decent hike of its own to Los Angeles, but one that's nearly 1,500 miles shorter than Ohio State's. Oh, and let's not forget that Michigan State, while saddled with perhaps a tougher draw in the bracket, has a far shorter trip from campus than its Big Ten rivals.

So, would you rather have a longer trip and get to face New Mexico and Gonzaga, or a short trip to face Duke and Louisville? That's the type of question that makes the tournament so much fun to watch.

No. 3 New Mexico

Road to the Second/Third Round: 598 miles

Road to the Regional: 791 miles

Road to the Final Four: 4,166 miles

Analysis: New Mexico, given where it is in the country, got a pretty favorable road to travel, especially when you consider it is the only team of the No. 2-5 seeds to be sent to the same location as the No. 1 seed in its region, giving it a great chance to scout its potential regional opponent live.

No. 4 Kansas State

Road to the Second/Third Round: 125 miles

Road to the Regional: 1,512 miles

Road to the Final Four: 4,197 miles

Analysis: Someone in the selection committee must have wanted the Wildcats to be a better seed, because their first two games sure seem like someone in the room was trying to help them out. The Wildcats get the first-round winner of La Salle and Boise State a mere 125 miles from campus, the seventh-shortest trip of any team in the tournament.

No. 5 Wisconsin

Road to the Second/Third Round: 485 miles

Road to the Regional: 1,978 miles

Road to the Final Four: 5,793 miles

Analysis: Wisconsin gets a sleeper in Ole Miss in the first round then ostensibly a road game in the third round against Kansas State. The only thing Badgers fans can hope for is that maybe Kansas fans gobbled up all the tickets and will root against their state rival on principle.

If they do make it past Kansas State, the Badgers get a nice 2,000-mile trip for the regional. Sounds fun.

No. 6 Arizona

Road to the Second/Third Round: 826 miles

Road to the Regional: 488 miles

Road to the Final Four: 4,363 miles

Analysis: The problem with teams out West this year is that not enough of them warranted top seeds in the bracket, which leads to weird situations like these Wildcats having a shorter distance for their regional than their second- and third-round games as a No. 6 seed. Yes, that was East Coast bias.

No. 7 Notre Dame

Road to the Second/Third Round: 258 miles

Road to the Regional: 2,098 miles

Road to the Final Four: 5,377 miles

Analysis: Notre Dame is a No. 7 seed and gets one of the shortest trips possible for its first two games. That said, the committee got this one right, because it kept a team close to home but still farther from the site than the team it could face in the second game—Ohio State.

As with most of the West Region teams, the second trip will be a doozy.

No. 8 Pittsburgh

Road to the Second/Third Round: 1.845 miles

Road to the Regional: 2.432 miles

Road to the Final Four: 9.239 miles

Analysis: This is the second region in a row where the No. 8 seed has a significantly longer road trip than the No. 9 seed. Remember, this is based on driving distances, so maybe it's a faster flight from Pittsburgh to Salt Lake City, but on straight miles, it's not even close. Really, 820 miles is not close.

No. 9 Wichita State

Road to the Second/Third Round: 1,025 miles

Road to the Regional: 1,384 miles

Road to the Final Four: 5,795 miles

Analysis: Fun fact: If they drove 1,025 miles at 60 miles an hour without stopping, Shocker fans could get to Salt Lake City in just over 17 hours. That means they could probably do it in 12.

No. 10 Iowa State

Road to the Second/Third Round: 616 miles

Road to the Regional: 1,720 miles

Road to the Final Four: 5,605 miles

Analysis: Iowa State has an average trip for its first game but will certainly be in hostile territory for both games, should it advance past Notre Dame. It is not a fortuitous draw for the Cyclones. Though as a No. 10 seed, it shouldn't be.

No. 11 Belmont

Road to the Second/Third Round: 1,630 miles

Road to the Regional: 2,007 miles

Road to the Final Four: 7,523 miles

Analysis: Belmont is one of the schools that can use the NCAA officials' idea of student-athletes and cram it in their faces. Belmont is facing a round trip of more than 3,200 miles to play one or two college basketball games. That is a failure of the system for schools like this.

No. 12 Ole Miss

Road to the Second/Third Round: 534 miles

Road to the Regional: 1,879 miles

Road to the Final Four: 5,153 miles

Analysis: I wish Google Maps could tell me how far it would be in nautical miles to travel by boat up the Mississippi River to St. Louis, then hitch across Missouri to Kansas City. Oops, I hope I didn't give Marshall Henderson any travel ideas.

No. 13 Boise State

Road to the Second/Third Round: 2,553 miles

Road to the Regional: 893 miles

Road to the Final Four: 7,874 miles

Analysis: "Hey guys, we got into the tournament! But we have to play in the First Four in Dayton, and it will take us more than 2,500 miles to get to Kansas City's games if we make it there at all. Guys? Guys...?"

No. 13 La Salle

Road to the Second/Third Round: 1,146 miles

Road to the Regional: 2,712 miles

Road to the Final Four: 8,475 miles

Analysis: Hey, if you name your team the Explorers, you should expect the seventh-longest road trip to the Final Four, with more stops than any of the teams with longer trips. You brought that on yourselves.

No. 14 Harvard

Road to the Second/Third Round: 2,361 miles

Road to the Regional: 2,981 miles

Road to the Final Four: 11,762 miles

Analysis: Dear NCAA, Harvard has a round trip, per Google Maps, of 4,724 miles to play a basketball game. That's a great use of resources and time.

No. 15 Iona

Road to the Second/Third Round: 633 miles

Road to the Regional: 2,809 miles

Road to the Final Four: 7,771 miles

Analysis: Other than Harvard, Iona would have the longest trip to its regional site. But neither team should have to worry about that trip.

No. 16 Southern

Road to the Second/Third Round: 1,664 miles

Road to the Regional: 1,822 miles

Road to the Final Four: 7,504 miles

Analysis: Southern is probably excited to just be in the tournament with a chance to play a team like Gonzaga, but the setup of how far it must travel really makes the case for the First Four games being the lower automatic qualifiers. Isn't the point of those games being in Dayton that it's in the middle of the country? Sending a No. 16 from Louisiana to Utah seems, well, ridiculous.

The South Region Bracketography

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Reminder: The "Road to the Final Four" for each team links to a map of its required road travel.

No. 1 Kansas

Road to the Second/Third Round: 43.7 miles

Road to The Regional in North Texas: 523 miles

Road to the Final Four in Atlanta: 1,974 miles

Analysis: Kansas has a shorter road to travel than I've driven for a really good sandwich.

No. 2 Georgetown

Road to the Second/Third Round: 133 miles

Road to the Regional: 1,347 miles

Road to the Final Four: 3,597 miles

Analysis: Georgetown has a short trip for its first two games then a longer journey for the regional by nature of bracket politics. The NCAA doesn't put a No. 1 and No. 2 seed from the same conference in the same region, so the Hoyas couldn't go to the Midwest. They couldn't go to the East because their home arena is hosting the East Regional this year, and that is frowned upon as well.

Considering that, Georgetown got a pretty sweet deal for a No. 2 seed.

No. 3 Florida

Road to the Second/Third Round: 1,347 miles

Road to the Regional: 999 miles

Road to the Final Four: 4,357 miles

Analysis: Florida probably wishes it were Michigan State or New Mexico, because two trips of 1,000 miles is a rather far for such a high seed. Its overall road isn't too terrible, but that's more a product of its proximity to Atlanta than any help from the committee.

No. 4 Michigan

Road to the Second/Third Round: 54.6 miles

Road to the Regional: 1,183 miles

Road to the Final Four: 3154 miles

Analysis: Michigan is basically getting two home games against South Dakota State and VCU. The Wolverines are the second No. 4 seed to have 126 miles or less to travel to their first weekend's games. The other two No. 4 seeds have more than 2,400 miles…on average.

No. 5 VCU

Road to the Second/Third Round: 652 miles

Road to the Regional: 1,293 miles

Road to the Final Four: 4,424 miles

Analysis: Congratulations on getting a really awesome seed and having to face an upset-driven No. 12 seed then play a road game at Michigan.

No. 6 UCLA

Road to the Second/Third Round: 1,395 miles

Road to the Regional: 1,434 miles

Road to the Final Four: 7,847 miles

Analysis: This is what happens when the Pac-12 is down. There was little chance UCLA was going to earn a trip to Los Angeles anyway, but its No. 6 seed secured a trip much farther from home.

Still, there are 11 schools with longer roads to the Final Four than the Bruins, who don't have one round-trip excursion shorter than 2,790 miles.

No. 7 San Diego State

Road to the Second/Third Round: 2,732 miles

Road to the Regional: 1,335 miles

Road to the Final Four: 10,268 miles

Analysis: No. 7 San Diego State was sent to Philadelphia, traveling more than 10 times the road miles of fellow No. 7 seed Notre Dame.

No. 8 North Carolina

Road to the Second/Third Round: 1,042 miles

Road to the Regional: 1,177 miles

Road to the Final Four: 4,829 miles

Analysis: Not only does North Carolina get the 8-9 game, the Tar Heels get to face Kansas a mere 44 miles from the Jayhawks' campus, if they beat Villanova—the perils of being a No. 8 seed from a power conference.

No. 9 Villanova

Road to the Second/Third Round: 1,115 miles

Road to the Regional: 1,493 miles

Road to the Final Four: 5,980 miles

Analysis: Villanova is one of three schools from Philly in the tourney. Odd its trip is 2,495 miles shorter than Philly's La Salle, which is still 300 miles longer than Temple's entire road.

No. 10 Oklahoma

Road to the Second/Third Round: 1,407 miles

Road to the Regional: 193 miles

Road to the Final Four: 4,059 miles

Analysis: The Sooners have a long road to get to Philadelphia, but should they get out of their region into the Sweet 16, they'll have one of the shortest trips to a regional of any team in the tournament.

How badly would it burn the fans in Texas to see Oklahoma make the regional in Dallas when no teams from their entire state even made the tournament field?

No. 11 Minnesota

Road to the Second/Third Round: 1,173 miles

Road to the Regional: 996 miles

Road to the Final Four: 5,462 miles

Analysis: Sometimes it's fair to rip the NCAA for making teams travel very far to play a basketball game. Sometimes those teams are just really far from everything else. Certainly there were closer host cities for the Gophers to go, but all things considered, they can't really complain about their draw as a No. 11 seed.

No. 12 Akron

Road to the Second/Third Round: 222 miles

Road to the Regional: 1,184 miles

Road to the Final Four: 3,504 miles

Analysis: Akron is just 222 miles, door to door, to its first block of games, and the trip would probably be even shorter if the map didn't have us driving around a freaking lake!

This is just another example of how horribly screwed VCU was by the NCAA committee.

No. 13 South Dakota State

Road to the Second/Third Round: 913 miles

Road to the Regional: 897 miles

Road to the Final Four: 4,848 miles

Analysis: As a No. 13 seed, South Dakota is one of the few seeds that high up the draw with two trips under 1,000 miles one way. Of course, the road to its first game is still nearly 17 times longer than its opponent, so it is what it is.

No. 14 Northwestern State

Road to the Second/Third Round: 328 miles

Road to the Regional: 273 miles

Road to the Final Four: 1,794 miles

Analysis: Northwestern State was taken care of as a poor seed like those teams are supposed to be. Nobody really expects it to matriculate through the tournament, but giving it games within a few hours drive is helpful for fans and the school's athletics budget.

Is it really that hard to take care of more teams in the same situation?

No. 15 Florida Gulf Coast

Road to the Second/Third Round: 1,169 miles

Road to the Regional: 1,259 miles

Road to the Final Four: 5,442 miles

Analysis: Yes, it is that hard. Actually, to be fair, there is no site anywhere near Florida this year, and the regional would be the closest to the school. Also, at least Florida Gulf Coast doesn't have to go out of its time zone like so many other schools.

No. 16 Western Kentucky

Road to the Second/Third Round: 525 miles

Road to the Regional: 746 miles

Road to the Final Four: 2,854 miles

Analysis: Western Kentucky plays Kansas in Kansas City, but its players can always tell people they would have been 2,854 miles back and forth through the first four rounds of the tournament to make it to Atlanta. You never know.

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The East Region Bracketography

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Reminder: The "Road to the Final Four" for each team links to a map of its required road travel.

No. 1 Indiana

Road to the Second/Third Round: 169 miles

Road to the Regional in Washington, D.C.: 626 miles

Road to the Final Four in Atlanta: 2,110 miles

Analysis: How much did it cost Indiana to lose out on the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament and a trip to the Midwest Regional?

Well, Lucas Oil Stadium is 49.5 miles from campus (101.1 miles round trip, per Google Maps), and the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C., is 626 miles (1,253 miles round trip), so with the current gas prices in Indiana, Ohio and Maryland around $3.60 per gallon and the average car getting somewhere around 30 miles per gallon, the trip from Bloomington to Indianapolis would cost around $12, tolls notwithstanding.

The trip to D.C. and back would run about $150 in gas, not to mention the stops for food over two 10-hour road trips plus a two-night hotel stay in the nation's capital. (Again, tolls notwithstanding.)

Losing the overall No. 1 seed probably cost the average Hoosiers fan hoping to go to the games at least $300, taking into account carpooling and a budget motel stay. Of course, Hoosiers fans probably hope it doesn't cost their team a trip to Atlanta.

(Who wants to calculate how much that trip will cost?)

No. 2 Miami

Road to the Second/Third Round: 1,354 miles

Road to the Regional: 1,058 miles

Road to the Final Four: 5,495 miles

Analysis: With no host cities in the Southeastern part of the country, the Hurricanes were going to have to travel anywhere they went. Frankly, the Hurricanes should feel lucky they weren't sent out West like Ohio State.

What's fascinating is that the driving miles from Miami to Atlanta are actually longer than a trip to Atlanta from Durham, N.C., Washington or Columbus, Ohio. That makes Miami the farthest No. 2 seed from the Final Four in terms of road miles.

No. 3 Marquette

Road to the Second/Third Round: 462 miles

Road to the Regional: 792 miles

Road to the Final Four: 3,321 miles

Analysis: Marquette is another top seed getting disrespected by the NCAA, having to play Davidson and—per the seeding—Butler in Lexington, Ky. While Davidson is just 50 miles closer to the host site than Marquette, Butler is 267 miles closer and within 200 miles of the venue.

No. 4 Syracuse

Road to the Second/Third Round: 2,827 miles

Road to the Regional: 372 miles

Road to the Final Four: 7,359 miles

Analysis: There is no other way to put this: Syracuse got screwed.

The Orange have the longest road of travel in the first round, playing in the "East Regional" in San Jose, Calif., against a team from Montana, then facing the winner of a game against a team from Las Vegas (UNLV) or one 46 miles away from the building (Cal).

If the Orange get through that challenge, they do have a distance advantage over Indiana in the regional, but getting there, after 5,652 road miles of travel to and from the first two games, might be harder than it seems.

No. 5 UNLV

Road to the Second/Third Round: 521 miles

Road to the Regional: 2,413 miles

Road to the Final Four: 7,866 miles

Analysis: UNLV doesn't have much travel to San Jose, but it gets Cal in the Bears' backyard. This is not supposed to happen, that a No. 12 seed gets a game within 50 miles of campus, playing a team from more than 500 miles away and, potentially, another from a continent away.

No. 6 Butler

Road to the Second/Third Round: 195 miles

Road to the Regional: 582 miles

Road to the Final Four: 2,091 miles

Analysis: People are picking against Butler for some reason, but not only is it a tournament-tested program, it is playing just 195 miles from campus.

Throughout the entire tournament, Butler won't have to travel more than 600 miles away from campus. Outside of getting placed in the Midwest with a chance to play in Indianapolis, the Bulldogs could not have asked for a better draw, travel-wise.

No. 7 Illinois

Road to the Second/Third Round: 1,028 miles

Road to the Regional: 700 miles

Road to the Final Four: 4,068 miles

Analysis: Illinois has to face No. 10 Colorado, which has a shorter—albeit insignificantly so—trip to Austin, Texas, but if the Illini win, they'll face a Miami team that would have a drive of more than 300 miles farther.

Either way, there is no true home-court advantage in Austin this year. Nice work, Texas teams.

No. 8 N.C. State

Road to the Second/Third Round: 508 miles

Road to the Regional: 267 miles

Road to the Final Four: 1,948 miles

Analysis: N.C. State could be a sleeper for a lot of folks. While the Wolfpack get Indiana in Dayton, should they get by Temple, the East Region is right up the road from Raleigh, making it an easy trip for fans to make. I'm not saying you should pick N.C. State, but the bracket is set up for a pretty nice trip down the road to the Final Four should the Wolfpack make it.

No. 9 Temple

Road to the Second/Third Round: 546 miles

Road to the Regional: 141 miles

Road to the Final Four: 2,152 miles

Analysis: The bracket may set up even better for Temple. The Owls have a familiar trip from Philly to Dayton before—should they advance to the Sweet 16—a really easy trip down Route 95 to D.C.

That said, the teams they face have set up roadblocks everywhere.

No. 10 Colorado

Road to the Second/Third Round: 935 miles

Road to the Regional: 1,679 miles

Road to the Final Four: 6,691 miles

Analysis: Putting Colorado in the East makes very little sense unless the NCAA was certain it wouldn't make it out of the first two games. Congratulations, Buffaloes, the selection committee has no faith in you.

No. 11 Bucknell

Road to the Second/Third Round: 576 miles

Road to the Regional: 179 miles

Road to the Final Four: 2,277 miles

Analysis: There are just five teams in the entire tournament with a closer trip in road miles than Bucknell would have to its regional. Should the Bison make it to the Sweet 16, it will be one heckuva party for Bison fans in the nation's capital.

No. 12 California

Road to the Second/Third Round: 46.4 miles

Road to the Regional: 2,808 miles

Road to the Final Four: 8,173 miles

Analysis: Lucky jerks. Of course, if they get through their two home games in the NCAA tournament, they pay for it with a cross-country trip to Washington, D.C. Really super planning, NCAA.

No. 13 Montana

Road to the Second/Third Round: 1,963 miles

Road to the Regional: 2,291 miles

Road to the Final Four: 10,724 miles

Analysis: They have the fourth-longest overall road and the sixth-longest of the first weekend. This is what happens when you play basketball in Montana.

No. 14 Davidson

Road to the Second/Third Round: 412 miles

Road to the Regional: 391 miles

Road to the Final Four: 1,859 miles

Analysis: Davidson got a bad seed but a pretty good draw in terms of travel. Could there be more upsets in the East than we originally anticipated?

No. 15 Pacific

Road to the Second/Third Round: 1,718 miles

Road to the Regional: 2,779 miles

Road to the Final Four: 11,414 miles

Analysis: Just think about the fact that a team—nay, three teams—would have to travel more than 11,414 miles just to get to the Final Four this year (that does not include the travel miles back from Atlanta) and you get a great sense of the hypocrisy of the NCAA student-athlete mantra. Granted, nobody is driving 11,414 miles, and the tournament is set up to expect a team like Pacific to play just one game, but still, it seems pretty ridiculous even to imagine.

No. 16 LIU Brooklyn

Road to the First/Second/Third Rounds: 611 miles

Road to the Regional: 229 miles

Road to the Final Four: 2,564 miles

Analysis: Playing the play-in games and the next round in Dayton makes a lot of sense for the NCAA, so kudos to the organizers for thinking that one out.

No. 16 James Madison

Road to the Second/Third Round: 433 miles

Road to the Regional: 133 miles

Road to the Final Four: 1,660 miles

Analysis: It's a shame it won't make it to the Final Four, because James Madison, of all schools, has the fourth-shortest road to Atlanta.

The Road to the Second/Third Round

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The following list ranks every team in the NCAA tournament in terms of shortest distance to their second/third-round venues. The teams with two numbers added together account for the first-round (play-in) games, with a trip right to their next venue without returning back to campus.

Seed/Team/Distance

1 Kansas 43.7 miles

12 California 46.4 miles

4 Michigan 54.6 miles

1 Louisville 76.4 miles

2 Ohio State 78.2 miles

3 Michigan State 87.5 miles

4 Kansas State 125 miles

2 Georgetown 133 miles

1 Indiana 169 miles

6 Butler 195 miles

12 Akron 222 miles

15 Albany 245 miles

7 Notre Dame 258 miles

14 Valparaiso 260 miles

14 Northwestern St 328 miles

2 Duke 396 miles

14 Davidson 412 miles

16 James Madison 433 miles

9 Missouri 460 miles

3 Marquette 462 miles

5 Wisconsin 485 miles

8 NC State 508 miles

5 UNLV 521 miles

16 Western Kentucky 525 miles

12 Ole Miss 534 miles

9 Temple 546 miles

16 Liberty 424+132=556 miles

12 Oregon 560 miles

16 NC A&T 442+132=574 miles

10 Cincinnati 575 miles

11 Bucknell 576 miles

3 New Mexico 598 miles

11 Middle Tennessee St 355+244=599 miles

16 LIU Brooklyn 611 miles

10 Iowa State 616 miles

15 Iona 633 miles

5 VCU 652 miles

1 Gonzaga 718 miles

6 Memphis 774 miles

6 Arizona 826 miles

13 S. Dakota State 913 miles

10 Colorado 935 miles

3 Florida 1,015 miles

9 Wichita State 1,025 miles

7 Illinois 1,028 miles

8 North Carolina 1,042 miles

13 New Mexico St 1,101 miles

9 Villanova 1,115 miles

13 La Salle 544+602=1,146 miles

15 Fla. Gulf Coast 1,169 miles

11 Minnesota 1,173 miles

7 Creighton 1,215 miles

8 Colorado St. 1,239 miles

2 Miami 1,354 miles

6 UCLA 1,395 miles

10 Oklahoma 1,407 miles

11 Belmont 1,630 miles

5 Oklahoma State 1,649 miles

16 Southern 1,664 miles

15 Pacific 1,718 miles

8 Pittsburgh 1,845 miles

13 Montana 1,963 miles

4 Saint Louis 2,080 miles

14 Harvard 2,361 miles

13 Boise State 1951+602=2,553 miles

11 St. Mary's 2380+244=2,624 miles

7 San Diego State 2,732 miles

4 Syracuse 2,827 miles

Road to the Final Four

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The following list ranks every team in the NCAA tournament in terms of shortest distance to the Final Four if that school is able to matriculate through the entire field to get to Atlanta. This number accounts for round-trip drives through the first four rounds but does not account for travel back to campus from the Final Four. The saying is the road to the Final Four, so these numbers reflect that and not the trip back home after the new champion is crowned.

Seed/Team/Distance

1 Louisville 803 miles

3 Michigan State 1,461 miles

14 Valparaiso 1,537 miles

16 James Madison 1,660 miles

14 Northwestern St 1,794 miles

10 Cincinnati 1,836 miles

14 Davidson 1,859 miles

8 NC State 1,948 miles

1 Kansas 1,974 miles

11 Middle Tennessee St 2,054 miles

6 Butler 2,091 miles