Lineup Set For Tulsa NCAA Basketball Tournament

Laura Moss, News On 6

TULSA, Oklahoma -- March Madness has arrived in Tulsa and Kansas, Boston, UNLV, Illinois, Arizona, Memphis, Texas and Oakland are all headed to the Sooner State.

Tournament and City leaders tell us they couldn't be happier with the lineup.

"It's just a fabulous group and we're just delighted and really looking forward to hosting them," said Bubba Cunningham, TU Athletic Director & Tournament co-Director.

"We've got a lot of good teams, very very good teams that are well known but they travel well," said Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett.

Because of the easy commute, tournament organizers say they were hoping for Texas and Kansas to make the cut.

City leaders expect hotels to sell out quickly.

"One of our assistant ADs has already gotten a phone call from one of the participating teams asking where's there a hotel, and so I'm sure the fans will be quick to follow," Cunningham said.

Organizers tell us they have thousands of tickets available. They don't come cheap though. Upper level all-session seats are going for almost $240 each.

And, right now, that's all you can buy if they don't sell out. Single session passes will go up for grabs, most likely on Wednesday.

But, tournament organizers are hoping they won't have worry about that.

"I think we have every opportunity in the world to sell out now, so I think it's going to be terrific," Cunningham said.

"We need to have a sellout. We need to show the basketball community that we support this terrific tournament that we're going to contribute to the buzz that Tulsa is a good sports town," Bartlett said.

And being known as a good sports town will be good for business.

"It's just a great start for us, you know looking forward for the future and build our resume and our pedigree for sports events for the future," said Ray Hoyt, Tulsa Sports Commission.

Tournament and City department heads will meet Tuesday to finalize their plans.