Stukenholtz: Nebrasketball’s March Madness Travel Planner 9000

Everything you need to know about how the Huskers’ March destination will be determined.

Could Nebraska find themselves making history in Oklahoma City? | Cole Stukenholtz via Google My Maps

This is the team we’ve been waiting for all of our lives.

At the time of this writing, between Saturday’s 83-77 win at Indiana and before Tuesday’s home game against Oregon, Husker men’s basketball sits at 16-0 and firmly within the sport’s top ten. It’s now a 20-game winning streak, still the longest in the nation and a school record, as is the 16-0 start. It’s been a dream season to this point, and long may it continue.

Something I’ve been considering is doing what I did two years ago: find a way to get to NU’s NCAA Tournament first-round game, no matter what. Dad and I drove to Memphis together a couple of Marches ago, enjoyed the hell out of the Beale Street experience with 5,000-ish of our closest Nebrasketball friends, and attended a basketball contest that did not end well. Other than the game itself, it was a blast!

Of course, that *game* part is the real sticking point, isn’t it? Most of the reason I journeyed to Memphis was so I could be there in person to witness NU’s first-ever tourney win. There is no celebration of this program that consistently comes up short without the possibility of finally winning that game.

This year’s team, though, is different. They’re not on track for another 8 seed and a spin of the college hoops matchup roulette wheel. At this point, they’re trending towards a 3 or 4. In fact, out of 52 high-major teams that started at least 14-0 since 2004-05, 44 of them went on to be a top 4 seed. 85%! The most recent ten such teams were all top 3 seeds.

Star forward Rienk Mast has the Huskers shooting for a historic March. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Not only would the matchup likely be more favorable, but the location should be drivable for the sea of red. Those aforementioned top 4 seeds are gifted the nearest venue or natural area in descending order, from the No. 1 overall seed down to the No. 16 overall seed, or the lowest 4-seed. Most of you reading this probably already know how it works. But hey, never been here before, right?

This comes straight from the ‘NCAA Division 1 Men’s Basketball Championship Principles and Procedures for Establishing the Bracket’ document: “Teams will remain in or as close to their areas of natural interest as possible. A team that is moved out of its natural area will be placed in the next closest region to the extent possible. If two teams from the same natural region are in contention for the same bracket position, the team ranked higher in the seed list shall remain in its natural region.”

Since there’s an 85% chance Nebraska nabs a top 4 seed, should prospective traveling Husker fans start planning their mid-March? Let’s take a look!

The first and second round games take place in eight geographically diverse cities on either Thursday/Saturday or Friday/Sunday of the first weekend of the Big Dance. This year it’ll be March 19-22. It’s two teams per site from the top 16 in the bracket that stay relatively close to home, if possible. Here are those locations:

Thursday, March 19 & Saturday, March 21

• Buffalo, NY
• Greenville, SC
• Oklahoma City, OK
• Portland, OR

Friday, March 20 & Sunday, March 22

• Philadelphia, PA
• San Diego, CA
• St. Louis, MO
• Tampa, FL

We know Nebraska has planted themselves in contention for one of those coveted 16 slots. Based on the current pecking order, what’s likely to happen?

I built a "Google My Maps" page to map out the eight NCAA Tournament first & second round locations and the top 30 candidates for a top 4 seed this March. You can view and interact with it below.

Arizona, Michigan, and UConn are all 1-seed material, and almost certainly headed to San Diego, Buffalo, and Philadelphia, respectively. Gonzaga, if they keep up their dominance of the Big West, would go to Portland. BYU would join Arizona in San Diego or the Zags in Portland if they stay strong. Defending champion Florida still has work to do, but Tampa would snatch them up if they rose to a top 4 seed. These situations would not affect the Huskers’ destination.

With other Midwest schools, it gets interesting. Iowa State is a lock for St. Louis if they get a 1 or 2 seed. Purdue seems likely for St. Louis as well, but they could get bumped to Buffalo if Vanderbilt continues to stay unbeaten like Nebraska. Vandy is about the same distance from St. Louis and Greenville, but Greenville could host Duke and another would-be top 4 seed riser like Tennessee, Virginia, or North Carolina. Alabama, if they make top 4 status, should be in Tampa, as there are not many great teams this season that far south. Michigan State could be the other Buffalo school with their rival Wolverines, or they could end up in Philly with UConn.

As for the Huskers, the two best outcomes are St. Louis or Oklahoma City. They’re both a 7-hour drive from Lincoln, and either city would be flooded with scarlet and cream. How can NU get one of its ideal locations? Never lose, for one! Or just stay ahead of the competition.

Iowa State, Purdue, Illinois, and Louisville are all natural fits with St. Louis. Kansas and Vanderbilt could be as well, though KU may favor Oklahoma City (away from Mizzou haters) and Vandy is a bit closer to Greenville. I’m not sure Nebraska ends up ahead of all but one of these teams. The Cyclones, Boilermakers, and Commodores are all ahead of the Huskers in most predicted brackets.

Sharpshooter Pryce Sandfort would have Husker fans all smiles if he and his teammates deliver a March Madness victory. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

The more likely landing spot is OKC. There are fewer teams in Nebraska’s resume neighborhood, as close to Oklahoma City. The obvious one is Houston, as they’ve been at least a 5 seed in every tournament since 2019 and reached the Sweet 16 every one of those times. But even if Houston goes to OKC, Nebraska could very easily be the other top 4 seed there. Kansas is a threat here, too. Outside of the Cougars and Jayhawks, I’d keep an eye on Texas Tech, Arkansas, and SMU. Tech could be sent west to San Diego without other good options.

The nightmare scenario is Nebraska doing all this work, earning their way into the top 16 of college basketball…only to get sent to Portland or San Diego due to a lack of candidates west of the Sandhills. Nothing against the Pacific Northwest, and Southern California in late winter sounds lovely, but it would not be ideal compared to having ‘PBA South’ in Oklahoma City. C’mon, western basketball teams like UCLA, USC, Utah State, and St. Mary’s – go on a run, you can do it!

Here are your rooting interests for the next nine weeks of basketball: If you want St. Louis, cheer against Iowa State, Purdue, Illinois, and Louisville. Maybe Vandy and KU for good measure. If you want OKC, then your second favorite team is whoever plays Houston, Texas Tech, Arkansas, and SMU. And Kansas again. Finally, if you want to ensure Nebraska doesn’t become the *literal* San Diego of the Big Ten (remember that wonderful 14-team conference?), pull for UCLA, USC, Utah State, and St. Mary’s, just to be safe.

Nebrasketball fans are always ready to get hurt again. That being said, if you are like me and mentally (and financially) preparing yourself for a March road trip, maybe start browsing hotels, VRBO/AirBnB, and local bars & restaurants down in Oklahoma City. Fire up that group text with your hoops buddies now.

Ninth time’s a charm!

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