March Madness 2026: Nebraska leads Sweet 16 ticket surge as Huskers fans travel again

Nebraska fans waited forever to see this kind of March.

Now, after watching the Cornhuskers win their first two NCAA tournament games in men's program history, they are still showing up in huge numbers for the Sweet 16.

Nebraska may not be posting the outrageous 69% share it did in Oklahoma City during the first round, but Huskers fans are still traveling at a level no other non-host state can match in the Sweet 16.

Nebraska fans lead the Sweet 16’s top traveling fan bases

For the South Regional in Houston at Toyota Center, which features No. 4 Nebraska vs. No. 9 Iowa and No. 2 Houston vs. No. 3 Illinois, Texas leads with 43% of ticket purchases.

That part is no surprise. Houston is playing at the Toyota Center in Houston, and local markets tend to dominate these sessions.

What stands out is Nebraska sitting second at 29%, with a sizable gap to the next-closest traveling state (Iowa at 7%).

That is the highest ticket share for any state that is not hosting a Sweet 16 session. And it is happening in the same building as Houston, meaning Nebraska is traveling well into a session where one of the sport’s biggest local advantages is already in play.

The number is smaller than Nebraska’s eye-popping 69% in the first round, but the context may make it just as interesting. Opening-round sites can produce quirky maps. By the Sweet 16, with fewer venues and more concentrated local demand, those takeovers get much harder to pull off.

Nebraska is still pulling it off better than anyone else away from home.

Sweet 16 ticket data shows most March Madness crowds stay local

Across the other three regionals, the host footprint is much more obvious.

In San Jose at the SAP Center, California accounts for 58% of ticket purchases for the West Regional session featuring Purdue, Texas, Arizona and Arkansas. Arkansas is next at 13%, followed by Arizona at 10%.

In Chicago at the United Center, Illinois leads the Midwest Regional with 37% of purchases for the session featuring Michigan, Alabama, Iowa State and Tennessee. Iowa is second at 17%, with Michigan at 12%.

Finally, at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., the East Regional is split more regionally than nationally. Virginia leads at 26%, followed by New York at 19% and Maryland at 13% for the session featuring Duke, St. John’s, UConn and Michigan State.

That makes Houston the most interesting ticket map of the bunch. Not because Texas leads, since that is exactly what you would expect. But rather that Nebraska is still carving out nearly a third of the building in a session that also includes the hometown Cougars.

Nebraska’s Sweet 16 ticket surge proves its March Madness run is different

The first-round number in Oklahoma City was always going to be tough to replicate. A 69% share is not normal in any tournament session, let alone for a team playing out of state.

But the Sweet 16 data shows that Nebraska’s first-week surge was not just a one-off.

In fact, the Huskers are again the strongest traveling fan base left in the men’s tournament after the program picked up its first two wins in men’s NCAA tournament history.

Their 29% share in Houston is well ahead of other notable visiting footprints, including New York’s 19% in D.C., Iowa’s 17% in Chicago and Arkansas’ 13% in San Jose.

That says a lot about how Nebraska fans are treating this run. They are not just showing up when the site is drivable and the bracket is fresh. They are still buying deep into the tournament, even with tougher travel, fewer tickets available and a host team waiting on the other side of the map.

Sweet 16 ticket shares by state: Nebraska tops all non-host fan bases

Here are the top state shares in each men’s Sweet 16 session in SeatGeek’s data:

• California for San Jose: 58%

• Texas for Houston: 43%

• Illinois for Chicago: 37%

• Virginia for Washington, D.C.: 26%

And here are the top non-host-state shares:

• Nebraska for Houston: 29%

• New York for Washington, D.C.: 19%

• Iowa for Chicago: 17%

• Arkansas for San Jose: 13%

On paper, Houston looked like the Sweet 16 site most likely to produce the tournament’s biggest home-state share. Texas is not just the host state. It also has Houston playing in Houston, giving that session the clearest local-team advantage of any regional.

But Texas accounts for 43% of ticket purchases in Houston, well below California’s 58% share in San Jose.

That gap helps show just how much Nebraska fans are affecting the map. The Huskers’ 29% share is not just the highest for any non-host state in the Sweet 16. It is also the reason why the Houston regional does not have the overwhelming Texas dominance you might have expected from the only true home-state team setup left on the board.