2026 March Madness: Duke, UConn and St. John’s power record Sweet 16 ticket demand in East Regional

As the NCAA Tournament moves into the Sweet 16, the field may be shrinking, but demand is only getting bigger. By this point in March Madness, every matchup feels bigger and every fan base can see a real path to the Final Four. With the quality of teams only getting stronger, the Sweet 16 can be where ticket demand really starts to spike.

That’s exactly what’s happening in Washington, D.C.

East Regional features the most in-demand Sweet 16 ticket ever

The East Regional at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., has become the most in-demand Sweet 16 ticket ever tracked in the SeatGeek database. The regional semifinals are set for Friday, March 27, with the regional final scheduled for Sunday, March 29.

For the East Regional, Session 1 refers to the two Sweet 16 games on Friday, March 27: #1 Duke vs. #5 St. John’s and #2 UConn vs. #3 Michigan State. The average resale ticket price for Session 1 is $736.44, making it the highest-priced Sweet 16 session ever in SeatGeek data. 

Session 2 is the Elite Eight game only on Sunday, March 29, while all-sessions listings combine Session 1 + Session 2, or the full East Regional package. The average resale ticket price for all sessions is $1,272.31, also the highest ever recorded in SeatGeek data for a Sweet 16 + Elite Eight regional ticket.

The East is breaking records because it has just about everything fans could want in one regional: elite brands, championship pedigree and enormous coaching star power. Rick Pitino, Danny Hurley, and Tom Izzo are three of the most recognizable coaches in the sport, and all three are part of this bracket. Then there’s Duke, the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed and one of college basketball’s biggest brands, adding even more fuel to demand. The result is a regional that feels more like a Final Four-caliber collection of teams than a typical Sweet 16 pod.

The previous high-water mark in SeatGeek data came in the 2025 South Regional at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, featuring Auburn, Michigan, Michigan State, and Ole Miss. There, the average resale ticket price for Session 1 was $721.11 and the average resale ticket price for all sessions was $1,184.02. 

Where East Regional Sweet 16 ticket buyers are coming from

SeatGeek buyer data shows just how broad the appeal is for East Regional Session 1. Virginia leads all states at 26% of buyers, which makes sense with the games being played in nearby Washington, D.C. But the most notable out-of-market presence is New York, which accounts for 17% of buyers, the second-highest share of any state.

That strong New York turnout reflects the broader Northeast pull of this regional. St. John’s is back in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1999, giving Red Storm fans a rare chance to see their program on one of March Madness’ biggest stages. But the regional’s Northeast demand isn’t coming from St. John’s alone. UConn also has one of the strongest fan footprints in the region, helping drive interest across the Northeast.

That influence shows up clearly in the buyer map. Along with New York’s 17% share, Maryland accounts for 14% of buyers, New Jersey 7%, D.C. 6%, and Connecticut 5%. Taken together, those numbers show how much demand is coming from the Northeast corridor, where both St. John’s and UConn have major followings.

Fans are also buying from Michigan (4%), Pennsylvania (3%), Texas (2%), Arkansas (1%), and North Carolina (1%). Add in Duke’s national draw and the easy-access D.C. location, and it’s easy to see why the East has become such a powerful ticket.

How East Regional ticket prices compare with the other Sweet 16 sites

The East is leading the way this year, but the other Sweet 16 sites are drawing plenty of demand as well.

The South Regional at Toyota Center in Houston has an average resale ticket price of $618.77 for Session 1 and $1,104.45 for all sessions. The West Regional at SAP Center in San Jose has an average resale ticket price of $556.71 for Session 1 and $890.20 for all sessions. The Midwest Regional at United Center in Chicago has an average resale ticket price of $524.10 for Session 1 and $1,114.60 for all sessions.

Those are strong numbers across the board, but the East sits at the top on both measures. East Regional Session 1 has the highest average resale ticket price of any Sweet 16 session in SeatGeek data, while the East’s all-sessions listings also rank as the highest-priced Sweet 16 + Elite Eight regional package in the database.