Which top seed in the NCAA Tournament has the most favorable travel schedule?
It has been 22 years since the Arizona Wildcats made it to the Final Four, with their last appearance under the leadership of Lute Olson. Their journey took them 1,300 miles from Tucson to the Twin Cities, where they defeated No. 1 seed Michigan State 80-61 before falling to Duke 82-72 in the national championship game.
This year, Tommy Lloyd’s Arizona team will begin their March Madness journey with a 600-mile journey to Salt Lake City. As the 2nd seed, the Wildcats will take on 15th seed Long Beach State on Thursday. If they emerge victorious, they will then face the winner of seventh seed Dayton and 10th seed Nevada on Saturday.
As of now, according to bet365 Arizona oddsmakers, the Wildcats are favored by 20.5 points over The Beach, with a -4500 moneyline for the Tucson visitors and +1500 for LBSU.
Bet365 ranks Arizona as the fourth favorite to win the title with odds of +1100, trailing behind UConn (+380), Houston (+550), and Purdue (+700). The Wildcats are determined to reach the Final Four, which will take place in Arizona for only the second time in early April.
The Wildcats have clinched two wins this week and are now gearing up to compete in the West region semifinals and finals at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Their opponents in the Sweet 16 could be Baylor, Colgate, Clemson, or New Mexico. If they move on, they may go up against UNC, Alabama, GCU, or College of Charleston in the Elite Eight.
Yengols.com examined the distance traveled by Arizona’s Final Four journey from McKale Center to State Farm Stadium in Glendale to assess its national ranking. The analysis was carried out by the website, which specializes in Arizona sports betting.
Projected Mileage of Top 4 Seeds if They Advance to Final Four
Arizona has the shortest path to the Final Four among all the teams in the nation.
The Wildcats have a smoother path to the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight in March Madness, as they are just 131 miles from the site of this year’s Final Four.
In order to reach this year’s Final Four, Arizona would have to travel a total of 1,394 miles. This includes going from Tucson to Salt Lake City (777 miles), then to Los Angeles (488 miles), and finally to Glendale (131 miles each way). The Wildcats have a clear advantage over No. 2 Marquette, who would need to cover 2,539 miles from their Milwaukee campus to make it to the national semifinal.
Kentucky, Purdue, Kansas, UConn, Creighton, and Iowa State have minimal travel distances to this year’s Final Four, all within a range of 2,552 to 2,934 miles.
When it comes to the distance between the first round and the Final Four, the Arizona Wildcats have the shortest journey of any college basketball team. They will start their quest for the school’s fifth Final Four appearance in Salt Lake City on Thursday afternoon.
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Author
Peterson Christopher, who has a background of over seven years covering sports and sports betting in Arizona for outlets like ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly, and the Green Valley News, is now the lead writer at yengols.com.
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