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The Best and Worst States for March Madness Fanatics

Are all your coworkers prepping March Madness brackets? Maybe you’re juggling multiple NCAA fantasy leagues? Or just gearing up to watch hours upon hours of college basketball?

Surprisingly, your geographical location could determine your answers even if your alma mater doesn’t.

We used proprietary data of product purchases, subscriptions, and prediction models to see which states are the most interested in sports, gambling, and fantasy sports—in short, the best and worst states for March Madness fanatics.

Battle for position

The states with March Madness–winning colleges aren’t guaranteed to be among the best for the fandom.

For example: while Connecticut (home state of 2014 NCAA Tournament champions) placed in the top five states, Pennsylvania (home of 2016 and 2018 winner Villanova University) placed 21st overall.

Even worse, North Carolina, which has a history of snatching a win with either the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill or Duke University, placed 43rd.

With all those scores, we can safely say this map doesn’t reflect basketball skill, only how much your state facilitates having a great time during March Madness.

Based on interest in sports, gambling, and fantasy sports, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Wisconsin, and Colorado were the five best states for March Madness fans.

As for the least interested, that goes to Louisiana, Oklahoma, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Arkansas.

StatePlace Overall
Minnesota1
New Hampshire2
Connecticut3
Wisconsin4
Colorado5
Wyoming6
Massachusetts7
Iowa8
North Dakota9
Maryland10
Nebraska11
Kansas12
Rhode Island13
Vermont14
South Dakota15
Missouri16
Delaware17
Montana18
Maine19
Pennsylvania20
Illinois21
Michigan22
Ohio23
New Jersey24
Indiana25
Washington DC26
Utah27
Virginia28
Kentucky29
Washington30
West Virginia31
Hawaii32
Alaska33
California34
New York35
Oregon36
Idaho37
Arizona38
Nevada39
South Carolina40
Tennessee41
North Carolina42
Florida43
Georgia44
Alabama45
Texas46
Lousiana47
Oklahoma48
Mississippi49
New Mexico50
Arkansas51

Get in the game

So say you’re in New Mexico, home of half-court king Johnny McCant, and you want to get in the spirit of March Madness despite your state’s placing 50th in our chart—what can you do?  

Well, our dear New Mexican friend—or any reader, really—grab a few friends or the whole office and head over to ESPN Tournament Challenge to pick your winners for the Big Dance.

Or if you’re tired of one big loss throwing you out of the game, try a March Madness Draft instead. You and your friends focus on choosing players, rather than teams, for the win.

Heads up: Zion Williamson is a favorite for the NBA draft, but you may want to pass on him for your fantasy draft. His recent knee injury may keep him from playing in the tournament, whether by necessity or choice.

But hey, in either case, maybe just kick back and stream a game or two on CBS All Access if all this fantasy madness stresses you out.

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