Tulsa, OU To Make NCAA Tournament, According To ESPN's Dick Vitale

ESPN’s college basketball analyst Dick Vitale recently sat down and wrote a list of 68 teams who he predicts will make this season’s NCAA Tournament.

On the list are two local teams: Tulsa and OU.

The Golden Hurricane isn’t the only team from the AAC that Vitale picked to make the "Big Dance" this season. Amongst TU is UConn and Cincinnati while the other five Big 12 teams he predicts to get in include: Kansas, Baylor, Texas, West Virginia and Iowa State. 

If you’re wondering why SMU didn’t make Vitale’s AAC prediction, it’s probably because the Mustangs will serve a postseason ban after being sanctioned by the NCAA for multiple violations including, academic fraud and unethical conduct. SMU head coach Larry Brown will also miss nine games in the upcoming season after being cited and suspended for lack of head coach control. 

Vitale isn’t the only one who thinks Tulsa is going to do well this season. Golden Hurricane leaders Shaquille Harrison and James Woodard also think their team will do big things and are working hard in the meantime.

“I believe us being selfless is the key for our success this season," said Woodard. "I feel like everybody’s bought into coach Haith’s system, all the coaches’ philosophy, and we just playing and we just more of a team on the court and utilizing everybody’s strengths. And, I think that’s going to be very good, very big for us down the stretch."

Harrison added, “I think we have a real good chance this year, make some noise in the AAC, make some noise out of conference.”

With Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year Buddy Hield returning, the Sooners also have very high hopes for the upcoming season.

“Our goals have gone from making the NCAA tournament my freshman year to reaching Houston (for the Final Four) this year," Hield explained at OU Media Day. "It will be easier said than done and nothing is guaranteed, but we will work for it, take one practice at a time and when it comes to our first game at Memphis, we’ll compete as hard as we can."