NCAA: March Madness almost here

March Madness Is Almost Here

The college basketball season is starting to wind down. You start to hear the words "on the bubble" and "#1 seeds." The conference tournaments are just a few weeks away. It’s that point in the season where you begin to see some teams fade and others get on a hot streak. In the Big Ten, for example, if you are an Illini’ fan, you should be real excited about their chances at a number one seed if they can do well in the conference tournament in Chicago. On the other hand, you have a team like Purdue. The Boilermakers are on the downslide. They will probably have to win the conference tournament to get in.

The teams in the middle of the pack in the conference such as Indiana and Iowa are on the bubble. They have to finish up strong. If they go on a losing streak at this point and don’t have a good showing in the conference tournament, they could be playing some NIT games in March.

The good news for Indiana and Iowa is their schedule strengths and playing in a major conference will help them. However, that brings me to another type of team, the mid-major or small conference team. These are the squads who are truly on the bubble. If any of these teams like a Creighton or College of Charleston go on a losing streak or get whipped in their conference tournament, then they can kiss their dreams of a bid to the big dance goodbye.

For all those office pools out there, this is the time to start watching the games. If you want to win your pool and the bragging rights in your office for the year, then the time is now. Don’t wait until the drawing on the Sunday night before the tournament to get an idea of which teams you want to pick for your Final Four.

Let’s face it, this is the time of the year that is really exciting and meaningful for college basketball. Football is long gone, Spring Training is just getting started, and the NHL and NBA are still in their boring stages. Nothing exciting happens in the latter two leagues until the playoffs. Some college teams begin their playoffs right now. They can’t afford to lose anymore if they want to win their conference, or get a number one seed, or get an at-large bid. There is quite a bit on the line for these young players.

These games in February are what I call the "February Fights." I call them this because the kids are always playing so hard at this time. The teams are often in must win situations. These "February Fights" lead to the term everyone knows and loves, March Madness