NCAA Tournament report: South Regional tickets available

Tickets that went unused as part of the four teams' allotment for this weekend's South Regional at NRG Stadium have been made available to the public, a spokesperson for the venue said Wednesday.

Although no specific numbers were provided, the spokesperson said the returned tickets included some on the lower level of the stadium.

The South Regional begins Friday with No. 2 seed Gonzaga playing No. 11 UCLA in the first game and top-seeded Duke vs. No. 5 Utah in the late game.

Thursday's team practices at NRG are open to the public. Admission and parking are free.

Humor is loston 'real Coach K'

Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak told a story about running into Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski during a recruiting trip in Las Vegas last summer. The two were at a 7-11 store when Krystkowiak proclaimed, "There's the real Coach K," and gave him a high-five.

The love wasn't exactly returned.

"I don't remember him laughing or stopping," Krystkowiak said. "I thought it was funny, but I'm not sure he noticed who I was."

That moment could be a metaphor for the Sweet 16 matchup between the Utes and Blue Devils in Houston on Friday. Duke enters as the storied program with the No. 1 seed, the winningest coach in men's Division I history and nine McDonald's All-Americans, tying it with Kentucky.

Utah won six games in 2011-12 and hasn't been to the Sweet 16 since 2005.

Charlotte, Nevadahire NBA coaches

Charlotte has hired Mark Price as its basketball coach, a person familiar with the situation told the Associated Press.

The 51-year-old Price has spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach for the NBA's Charlotte Hornets. He will replace Alan Major, who left the program earlier this month amid ongoing medical problems.

Price played 12 seasons in the NBA and was a four-time All-Star. He has been an assistant coach for five NBA teams.

In Reno, former NBA coach Eric Musselman has been hired at Nevada, pending formal approval by the Board of Regents.

The 50-year-old Musselman coached the Golden State Warriors from 2002-04 and the Sacramento Kings in 2006-07. He spent this past season as an assistant at LSU.

Odds and ends

Bobby Hurley has agreed to a new contract with the University at Buffalo that will make him the Mid-American Conference's highest-paid men's basketball coach at more than $550,000 per season. …

LSU sophomore forward Jarell Martin says he'll be leaving the Tigers to enter this summer's NBA draft. The 6-10 forward averaged 16.9 points and 9.2 rebounds this season.

From staff and wire reports