Tulsa should get in the NCAA Tournament's First Four business | Berry Tramel's ScissorTales

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark is the latest dignitary to endorse expansion of the NCAA Tournament, to 76 teams.

I dont like it.

I didnt like the 2011 expansion to 68 teams, from the perfect bracket number of 64.

But my likes dont count.

So expansion of March Madness seems inevitable, and watching the First Four on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, I started doing the math.

Well have 52 teams advance straight to the bracket.

And instead of eight teams in Dayton, Ohio, for four play-in games, well have 24 teams, with 12 play-in games.

Two more First Fours will be needed, to join Dayton, which for 15 years has staged back-to-back doubleheaders.

Which made me think of Tulsa.

Why not Tulsa as one of the new First Four hosts? People are also reading...

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Isidore case The Friday ScissorTales take a look at all the 3-point shots launched against the Thunder, list the arenas with the most games hosted in NCAA history and see how Big 12 womens basketball is faring with conference realignment.

But we start with Tulsa as a possible First Four site.

I really like that idea, said Mike Neal, president and chief executive officer of the Tulsa Regional Chamber of Commerce, who oversees the Tulsa Sports Commission.

I love that option.

Heres what makes Tulsa an interesting First Four possibility.

^ Geography.

Tulsa is in the middle of the country.

Dayton works great because its in the middle of college basketball.

Lots of NCAA schools and lots of NCAA Tournament venues within 330 miles of Dayton: Indianapolis, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Lexington, Louisville, Chicago, Nashville.

The First Four is a quick trip.

Teams have short notice (Sunday between 5-6 p.m.) to get to Dayton by Monday evening, then the winners have to get to the next site quickly.

Tulsa is within 400 miles of Kansas City, St.

Louis, Memphis, Little Rock, Oklahoma City, Wichita, Fort Worth, Dallas and, wait for it, Tulsa itself.

^ Unlike Dayton, Tulsa could host a First Four AND a first- and second-round collection of games.

The Dayton Arena is a fine facility but not the NBA-type of coliseum the NCAA prefers for the 64-team bracket.

But the BOK Center has hosted three NCAA Tournaments and is scheduled for another (2028).

If the NCAA prefers to keep a smaller, campus-style arena as a First Four site, Oral Roberts Mabee Center stands ready.

The Dayton Arena seats 13,409.

The renovated Mabee Center seats 10,094 and has hosted NCAA Tournaments before.

^ A strong organizing body.

The Tulsa Sports Commission has become quite adept at securing NCAA events, from the return of basketball to the NCAA Wrestling Championships in 2023.

The First Four usually does not include marquee programs, though North Carolina was a notable exception this season.

The Dayton lineup includes two games matching 16-seeds and two games matching teams usually seeded 11th or so.

But its dramatic, important tournament competition.

Xaviers 86-80 rally past Texas on Wednesday night was highly-entertaining, as was Alabama States 70-68 knockoff of Saint Francis.

Tulsa would have to get behind the effort.

Unless Kentucky or Kansas is coming to town, visiting teams wont bring thousands of fans.

Tulsa probably would need to guarantee ticket sales of 7,000-8,000 for the back-to-back doubleheaders.

But the endeavor could be worth it.

Daytons profile as a sports destination has been raised by its annual hosting of the First Four.

We would have a huge interest in pursuing that, if the opportunity arose, Neal said.

Looks like the opportunity will arise.

Thunder enticing many 3s On back-to-back Wednesday nights, a couple of age-old NBA teams set franchise records for 3-point shots launched.

Last week, the Celtics attempted 63 long balls.

Thats 1.3 3-point shots per minute.

A deep ball every 45.7 seconds.

This week, the 76ers attempted 57 long balls.

Thats 1.19 per minute.

A 3-point shot every 50.5 seconds.

Both records were set against the Thunder.

And neither had much success.

Lots of takes.

Not so many makes.

The Celtics made just 20, 31.7%.

The 76ers made just 18, 31.6%.

The Thunder won 118-112 in Boston, then won 133-100 over the Sixers in Oklahoma City.

And two Wednesdays before the Boston game, the Nets fired up 61 3-point shots against the Thunder, yet another franchise record, for Brooklyn.

The Thunder is enticing quite the surplus of 3-point shots.

Three franchise records in a 22-day span.

And its no accident.

Weve always been a high volume 3-point defense, Mark Daigneault said after beating the Sixers, with always meaning the current iteration of the Thunder.

Daigneault explained.

The Thunder has supreme paint protection, courtesy of Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein.

And the Thunder prioritizes the best opposing players, since it has the likes of Luguentz Dort, Cason Wallace and Alex Caruso, excellent on-ball defenders.

You have to prioritize in the NBA, and the teams are good, Daigneault said.

You cant take everything away.

We prioritize putting guys in a crowd, then playing the next part of the possession.

So the Thunder tends to leave some wiggle room on 3-point shots, while trying to dash to the perimeter when a deep ball is about to be fired.

Some of that, we have the luxury of having great closeout players, Daigneault said.

So we can try to do both.

We can protect the paint, then fire.

But you end up firing late, and teams oftentimes will take those shots.

Were not trying to force 3s, but sometimes thats what they end up with on a possession.

Thus the Thunder is willing to live with the 3-point results.

Sometimes OKC gets burned.

Denver had that great shooting game, 18 of 32 from deep, last week and beat the Thunder.

But the numbers support Daigneaults strategy.

The Thunder has allowed the seventh-most 3-point attempts in the NBA, 39.0 per game, yet by far the lowest 3-point percentage, .337.

Chicago is next at .341.

And the Thunder has the NBAs stingiest defense, a rating of 106.1 points allowed per 100 possessions.

Second is Orlando, at 109.5.

The Magic is closer to 13th than to first.

That kind of Thunder defense causes some teams to settle for 3-pointers.

As a defense, you want them to shoot tough 3s, Aaron Wiggins said.

The game is kind of at the rim and beyond the line.

A lot of teams are shooting a lot of 3s and trying to get layups.

Against the Thunder, the 3s are easier to find than the layups.

But making them is another story.

Big 12 falls in womens basketball Conference realignment so far has not been great for Big 12 womens basketball.

In the 12 seasons that the Big 12 had 10 members, it averaged 6.3 teams per year in the NCAA womens basketball tournament.

Then the Big 12 went to 14 schools for just the 2023 season; six members made the field.

Thats 42.9%.

Now the Big 12 has 16 members, and just seven made it (43.8%) for this 2025 tournament.

Thats basically a falloff of 20%.

And the Big 12s seeds werent spectacular: 2-seed Texas Christian, 4-seed Baylor, 5-Kansas State, 6-West Virginia, 7-OSU, 8-Utah and 11-Iowa State.

The Cyclones beat Princeton 68-63 in the First Four on Wednesday night.

Meanwhile, the Big Tens percentage is .667 (12-of-18), the Southeastern Conferences is .625 (10-of-16) and the Atlantic Coasts is .444 (eight-of-18).

The Big Ten and SEC also have the better seeds.

The SEC has 1-seed Texas, 1-seed South Carolina, 3-Louisiana State, 3-OU, 4-Kentucky, 5-Tennessee, 5-Alabama, 5-Ole Miss, 7-Vanderbilt and 9-Mississippi State.

The Big Ten has 1-seed UCLA, 1-seed Southern Cal, 4-Maryland, 4-Ohio State, 6-Iowa, 6-Michigan, 7-Michigan State, 8-Illinois, 9-Indiana, 10-Oregon, 10-Nebraska and 11-Washington.

When it comes to the NCAA Tournament, the Big 12 women will have to win their way to respect.

The List: NCAA Tournament arenas The Dayton Arena has hosted the most games in NCAA Tournament history.

Here are the 10 most-used coliseums for the tournament, in terms of games: 1.

Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio: 141 games, 1970-2025.

Fifty-two of the games are First Four games, starting in 2011.

2.

Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Missouri: 83 games, 1940-64.

KC has hosted 10 NCAA title games, the most of any city.

Nine of those were in Municipal.

3.

Huntsman Center, Salt Lake City: 81 games, 1971-2006.

The Huntsman Center hosted the 1979 Michigan State-Indiana State title game.

4.

Madison Square Garden, New York: 80 games, 1943-2023.

Both of Henry Ibas NCAA titles for Oklahoma A&M, 1945 and 1946, were won at Madison Square Garden.

5.

Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina: 69 games, 1974-2023.

Greensboros first NCAA Tournament included the Final Four; North Carolina State upset UCLA, then beat Marquette to win the title.

6.

RCA Dome, Indianapolis: 60 games, 1987-2006.

Originally called the Hoosier Dome, the stadium was demolished, but it hosted four Final Fours.

7.

McKale Center, Tucson, Arizona: 59 games, 1974-2011.

The trademark cactus no longer adorns the University of Arizona court, but the danged NCAA has gone to generic hardwoods anyway.

8.

The Omni, Atlanta: 55 games, 1977-92.

The Omni was demolished in 1997.

Eddie Suttons 1991-92 Cowboys beat Tulane in the round of 32, on the final day of the Omnis NCAA Tournament history.

9.

Charlotte Coliseum I, Charlotte: 50 games, 1958-87.

This is not the arena built for the Hornets as an NBA expansion franchise.

This was the original Charlotte arena, which was a Tobacco Road mecca.

9.

Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky: 50 games, 1958-91.

Freedom Hall still stands but is out of the big-time basketball business.

Mailbag: Terry Porter Ohio States 2024 national championship made a reader ask about Oklahoman Terry Porter, perhaps the most famous back judge in college football history.

Phil: The Ohio State national championship made me think of the controversial PI (pass interference) call back in 2003 by Terry Porter.

Do you know if Terry is still alive and well in Stillwater? I used to work with him back in the late 90s.

Berry: Yes, Porter is doing well.

I ran into him last summer; our granddaughters were in the same youth softball tournament.

Porter, who lives in Stillwater, is a longtime high school basketball referee and was a longtime Big 12 back judge.

Hes still calling high-school basketball games.

I got to know Porter when I wrote about him after the Miami-Ohio State national title game, in which Porter threw a flag against Miami, after the Hurricanes thought they had a fourth-down stop in overtime that would have produced victory.

In 2003 for The Oklahoman, heres the opening to my column: Terry Porter didn't want to throw the flag.

What ref would? Football officials don't want to crash the party.

They prefer to work the shadows.

Refs want players deciding the game.

You know all that drivel about how hard kids work, about how the game's for them? Refs like Terry Porter believe it.

Porter knew what a flying Fiesta flag could mean.

The end of his anonymity, a referee's most priceless possession.

The venom of the mean Miami sound machine.

Scrutiny until the cows come home.

Leave that flag in his pocket, and no one ever knows Terry Porter, which is just the way he wants it.

Porter threw it anyway.

He had to..

This article has been shared from the original article on tulsaworld, here is the link to the original article.