Columbus sells more NCAA tournament tickets than any other city in the first two rounds.

COLUMBUS, Ohio. Of the eight cities that will host games in the first two rounds of the NCAA men’s tournament, Columbus can claim the best attendance.

The city sold 58,694 Nationwide Arena tickets, more than any other host city, according to the Greater Columbus Athletic Commission. Both Friday sessions sold 19,564 tickets, while the single Sunday session sold 19,566 tickets.

This means that Columbus has outsold other sites including Albany, Birmingham, Denver, Des Moines, Greensboro, Orlando and Sacramento.

This year is the third time Columbus has hosted the men’s tournament since 2015.

One of the six games played at the Nationwide Arena included a win by 16th-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson over 1st-seeded Purdue. It was only the second time that the 16th place beat the first place.

There was another upset on Sunday when No. 7 seed Michigan eliminated Marquette from the No. 2 seed to the Sweet 16.

Columbus also hosted the first and second round games of the NCAA Women’s Tournament as Ohio State played two games in front of their hometown fans at the Schottenstein Center.

The Buckeyes came back to defeat James Madison in the first match before punching a ticket back to the Sweet 16 with a last-second throw from Jaycee Sheldon to take down UNC.