Never too late to find tickets to Tampa's NCAA games

And now, the madness begins.

Beginning on Wednesday, an influx of Wildcats, Spartans, Gauchos, Gators and more will flood downtown Tampa for the second and third rounds of the NCAA men's basketball tournament, also known as March Madness.

Six games will take place over two days, with two winners ending up in the final 16 teams trying to get into the Final Four.

The St. Pete Times Forum, at 401 Channelside Drive, seats 20,500 for basketball.

Locals know where it is and how to get in. Getting in Thursday and Saturday may be another matter.

Tickets, if available, aren't cheap. While the NCAA says tickets for all six games can be purchased for $231, through Ticketmaster.

Many are snatched by the NCAA to dole out to coaches and university administrators across the nation. Each participating school gets 550 tickets for boosters and students.

Stub Hub, a popular website for reselling tickets, lists the six games by their three sessions.

The first session, at 12:15 p.m. Thursday, involves two second-round East Region games, Kentucky vs. Princeton and West Virginia vs. Alabama-Birmingham or Clemson. Tickets on Stub Hub range from $95 to $245.

The second session, beginning at 6:50 p.m. Thursday, involves two second-round Southeast Region games, Florida vs. California-Santa Barbara and UCLA vs. Michigan State. Tickets on Stub Hub range from $115 to $399.

Saturday's third session includes two third-round games featuring Thursday's winners. Times will be announced. Tickets on Stub Hub range from $120 to $450.

Tickets on Stub Hub for the all three sessions range from $336 to $595.

Buying tickets from "unauthorized vendors," the NCAA warns, might end badly, as counterfeit tickets could be out there.

In Gainesville, the University of Florida box office said about 300 tickets remain Thursday night's session and for Saturday's session. All sessions were being sold together. If UF doesn't make it to the third round, refunds will be available, a spokeswoman with the ticket office said. Tickets were $77 per session.

Michigan State reported that all of its 550 tickets were gone.

The University of Kentucky box office opened at 5 p.m. Monday to distribute its 550 tickets to students, but since the school is on spring break, not all the tickets were doled out, according to published reports.

After Thursday, when four of the teams are eliminated, many tickets held by fans of those schools likely will become available. A good idea is to check team hotels to see whether tickets are being sold in lobbies or at poolside.

Those hotels, all in Tampa, are: DoubleTree Guest Suites Tampa Bay, 3050 N. Rocky Point Drive; DoubleTree Hotel Tampa Airport Westshore, 4500 W. Cypress St.; La Quinta Inn & Suites Tampa Central, 3826 W. Waters Ave.; Ramada Westshore Tampa Airport, 1200 N. West Shore Blvd.; and the Westin Tampa Bay, 7627 Courtney Campbell Causeway.

For those who can't afford the tickets, practice sessions Wednesday are free and open to the public. Sessions with all eight teams run from noon to 7:20 p.m., with a break between 3 and 4:30.