College Confidential

'It's the NCAA Tourney, Ba-beee!'

OK, that's a line we might hear on a future broadcast of March Madness.

The NCAA has an opt-out provision it could exercise early next year in its current NCAA men's basketball tournament contract with CBS, USA Today reports. ESPN would be a likely contender in that case.

Which leads us to Dick Vitale getting back to courtside -- and the end of the One Shining Moment montage.

A real downside: there is still a significant number of homes without cable or satellite that would be cut off from the broadcasts if it's shifted to ESPN.

White Sox GM in attendance

Just spotted Chicago White Sox general manager Kenny Williams here in the stands at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium in Stillwater. Williams' son, Kenny Jr., is a junior outfielder for Wichita State. Don't think for a second that he's not got the GM hat on as well, and will keep an eye on players like TCU closer Andrew Cashner. -Trae Thompson

Tickets still available

STILLWATER, Okla. - Oklahoma State officials said around 1,250 tickets are still available for the start of tomorrow's regional at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium.
Of those tickets, there are 1,000 left in the general admission seats in the left field bleachers. Only 250 are left in reserved seating.
All-session tickets are $50 and can be purchased by calling 877-255-4678. Single game tickets are $8, general admission, and $10 reserved and are available the day of the game.
Third seed TCU (43-17) plays No.2 Wichita State (44-15) at 1 p.m. on Friday, with No.1 Oklahoma State (42-16) facing fourth seed Western Kentucky (32-25) at 7 p.m.
-Trae Thompson

Regional ramblings

Thoughts and observations following today's regional announcements:

Congrats on being a No.1 national seed Miami. Good luck now on just winning your regional. The Hurricanes will have to get past No.2 Missouri, and Ole Miss, a No.3 seed. Upset alert here, perhaps? ...

...Love that the Texas Longhorns were put in the same regional with Rice. ...

...I really like that Texas could potentially face Texas A&M in the super regionals. ...

...Defending national champ Oregon State can not defend its title. Oklahoma, which didn't qualify for the Big 12 tournament until the final week of the season, does. That make sense to anyone? ...

...I turned my head when they announced the North Carolina regional. "All right Elon," I heard someone scream. It was TCU coach Jim Schlossnagle, who was clapping for his alma mater, a No.3 seed. He graduated from Elon College in 1992. ...

...There's not a huge hotel selection in Stillwater. Going to bite the bullet for this week. ...

...DBU getting a No.2 seed proves it's all about the RPI. Nothing more. ...

...Was anyone else caught off guard by Stillwater's regional being paired with Florida State's? I figured maybe Rice, or LSU.

-Trae Thompson