City looks toward hosting again soon

The NCAA men's basketball tournament could return to the St. Pete Times Forum as early as 2014.

Rob Higgins, executive director of the Tampa Bay Sports Commission, said cities will bid in the next year for NCAA men's basketball events through 2014-16.

"We would love to have it back," Higgins said. "We think it works really well here."

Saturday's third-round games drew 17,771 fans - not a sellout in the 20,000-seat facility, but an uptick from Thursday's second-round games, which drew 14,835 for the day session and 15,504 for the night session.

It was the seventh NCAA tournament men's event in the Tampa Bay area and the second at the Forum (along with 2003).

The Forum hosts the 2012 Frozen Four, college hockey's final-four event, and the women's basketball Final Four in 2015. The Frozen Four has never been held south of St. Louis.

Highlights

Top memories of the six NCAA games in Tampa?

•An eight-team field with 22 national championships, 46 Final Four appearances and 330 victories at the NCAA tournament - all-time records for an early round site.

•The tense, taut third-round game between Florida and UCLA.

•Kentucky freshman Brandon Knight, who had the game-winner with two seconds remaining against Princeton, then 30 points against West Virginia.

•Clemson's early-morning journey from Dayton after its "First Four" victory and 4:30 a.m. arrival at a local hotel, some 32 hours before tipping off against West Virginia.

•Princeton coach Sydney Johnson, breaking down in tears while describing his team's effort in a 59-57 loss against Kentucky.

•The wonderfully irreverent Princeton pep band.

•Michigan State's near-comeback against UCLA, rallying from 23 points down with 8:35 remaining to within one in the final seconds.

• One of the tournament's top mascots, the West Virginia Mountaineer, and top nicknames, the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos.

Cats

The all-encompassing fervor for Kentucky basketball was displayed Saturday afternoon on the Louisville Courier-Journal's website home page.

The dominant headline: "Kentucky heading to Sweet 16, beats West Virginia."

A smaller headline, a bit farther down the page: "U.S. begins assault against Libya."

Joey Johnston