Where are all the schools in the men's NCAA Tournament located? High Point, McNeese and more

New York Times

19-03-2025

The 2024 NCAA Tournament put Oakland University on the map. Correctly, in Michigan.
Jack Gohlke, Greg Kampe and the Golden Grizzlies stunned third-seeded Kentucky in the first round last March, giving fans a reason to learn that the university is located in Oakland County, Mich., a half hour north of Detroit, and not in the California city formerly home to the Raiders and Athletics.
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This year's tournament once again features a number of schools whose names don't immediately reveal their locale. Take, for instance, Bryant University, the 15th seed in the South. Or Lipscomb, Robert Morris and Wofford.
The Athletic has mapped out the 68-team field, from Auburn to Saint Francis (Pa.), as well as the distance each team must travel to its first game.
1. Auburn Tigers (28-5) | Auburn, Ala.
2. Michigan State Spartans (27-6) | East Lansing, Mich.
3. Iowa State Cyclones (24-9) | Ames, Iowa
4. Texas A&M Aggies (22-10) | College Station, Texas
5. Michigan Wolverines (25-9) | Ann Arbor, Mich.
6. Ole Miss Rebels (22-11) | Oxford, Miss.
7. Marquette Golden Eagles (23-10) | Milwaukee
8. Louisville Cardinals (27-7) | Louisville, Ky.
9. Creighton Bluejays (24-10) | Omaha, Neb.
10. New Mexico Lobos (26-7) | Albuquerque, N.M.
11. San Diego State Aztecs (21-9) | San Diego
11. North Carolina (22-13) | Chapel Hill, N.C.
12. UC San Diego Tritons (30-4) | La Jolla, Calif.
13. Yale Bulldogs (22-7) | New Haven, Conn.
14. Lipscomb Bison (25-9) | Nashville, Tenn.
15. Bryant Bulldogs (23-11) | Smithfield, R.I.
16. Alabama State Hornets (19-15) | Montgomery, Ala.
16. Saint Francis Red Flash (16-17) | Loretto, Pa.
And the distances those teams have traveled to their first games:
Typically, a No. 1 seed gets a regional advance. And Auburn's NCAA Tournament path isn't too arduous — a trip to familiar Lexington, Ky., home of fellow SECer Kentucky, and a potential regional in Atlanta, less than two hours from Auburn's campus.
But the Tigers' potential second-round opponent has it even easier. Louisville will travel 70 miles to Lexington, staying in the state for its first NCAA Tournament game since 2019. The Cardinals have lost eight in a row in Rupp Arena, though, last beating Kentucky there in 2008.
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Meanwhile, Michigan, New Mexico, Yale and San Diego State all traveled more than 1,000 miles for their first games.
1. Duke Blue Devils | Durham, N.C.
2. Alabama Crimson Tide | Tuscaloosa, Ala.
3. Wisconsin Badgers | Madison, Wis.
4. Arizona Wildcats | Tucson, Ariz.
5. Oregon Ducks | Eugene, Ore.
6. BYU Cougars | Provo, Utah
7. Saint Mary's Gaels | Moraga, Calif.
8. Mississippi State Bulldogs | Starkville, Miss.
9. Baylor Bears | Waco, Texas
10. Vanderbilt Commodores | Nashville, Tenn.
11. VCU Rams | Richmond, Va.
12. Liberty Flames | Lynchburg, Va.
13. Akron Zips | Akron, Ohio
14. Montana Grizzlies | Missoula, Mont.
15. Robert Morris Colonials | Moon Township, Pa.
16. American Eagles | Washington, D.C.
16. Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers | Emmitsburg, Md.
And the distances those teams have traveled to their first games:
Duke has the shortest trip of any team in the tournament to its first-round game, going just 18 miles to the Lenovo Center in Raleigh to play either American or Mount St. Mary's. The Blue Devils will stay in the Eastern time zone if they reach the Sweet 16, as the East Regional will be in Newark, N.J.
No. 15 seed Robert Morris also has a travel advantage against second-seeded Alabama. And there's a 2,028-mile difference in travel to Seattle between No. 5 Oregon and No. 12 Liberty.
1. Houston Cougars | Houston
2. Tennessee Volunteers | Knoxville, Tenn.
3. Kentucky Wildcats | Lexington, Ky.
4. Purdue Boilermakers | West Lafayette, Ind.
5. Clemson Tigers | Clemson, S.C.
6. Illinois Fighting Illini | Champaign, Ill.
7. UCLA Bruins | Los Angeles
8. Gonzaga Bulldogs | Spokane, Wash.
9. Georgia Bulldogs | Athens, Ga.
10. Utah State Aggies | Logan, Utah
11. Texas Longhorns | Austin, Texas
11. Xavier Musketeers | Cincinnati
12. McNeese Cowboys | Lake Charles, La.
13. High Point Panthers | High Point, N.C.
14. Troy Trojans | Troy, Ala.
15. Wofford Terriers | Spartanburg, S.C.
16. SIU Edwardsville Cougars | Edwardsville, Ill.
And the distances those teams have traveled to their first games:
No. 7 UCLA is used to travel. The Bruins spent their first Big Ten season traveling from Los Angeles to places like Piscataway, N.J., College Park, Md., and West Lafayette, Ind. So another nearly 2,000-mile trip to Lexington is fitting.
None of the four teams heading to Providence in this quadrant have a simple trip for fans. Purdue, High Point, Clemson and McNeese are all at least 600 miles from Amica Mutual Pavilion.
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1. Florida Gators | Gainesville, Fla.
2. St. John's Red Storm | Jamaica, N.Y.
3. Texas Tech Red Raiders | Lubbock, Texas
4. Maryland Terrapins | College Park, Md.
5. Memphis Tigers | Memphis, Tenn.
6. Missouri Tigers | Columbia, Mo.
7. Kansas Jayhawks | Lawrence, Kan.
8. UConn Huskies | Storrs, Conn.
9. Oklahoma Sooners | Norman, Okla.
10. Arkansas Razorbacks | Fayetteville, Ark.
11. Drake Bulldogs | Des Moines, Iowa
12. Colorado State Rams | Fort Collins, Colo.
13. Grand Canyon Antelopes | Phoenix
14. UNC Wilmington Seahawks | Wilmington, N.C.
15. Omaha Mavericks | Omaha, Neb.
16. Norfolk State Spartans | Norfolk, Va.
And the distances those teams have traveled to their first games:
No. 2 St. John's opens its tournament with an easy jaunt — it's a short drive from New York to Providence. Not so much for No. 15 Omaha. Or Kansas and Arkansas, the Red Storm's prospective second-round opponents.
At 2,324 miles, No. 4 Maryland has the longest first-round trip of any team in the tournament.
(Top photos: Brandon Sumrall / Getty Images; Zachary Taft / Imagn Images)