A shot arcs through the air. An arena sucks in its breath, poised to explode. The ball rips through the net. The players leap off the bench. The favorites, suddenly down by five, call timeout. The underdogs skip off the floor, chest-bumping. The band rocks, the cheerleaders bounce, the announcers yell.

Does it get any better than this?

The best three weeks in sports are upon us. The Super 64, the Ides of March —you know what I mean, the most important, one-and-done, do or die college tournament in the world! It begins Thursday just after noon with sixteen games, then sixteen more on Friday, and another sixteen over the weekend. It’s hoops Nirvana for fans, and not just hardcore leatherheads like me. Whether you’re an alumnus from a power school, or you’re just hoping to see a couple of upsets and maybe a buzzer-beater, the tournament has something for everyone.

Among the favorites in this year’s brackets are the University of Connecticut and the University of North Carolina, two perennial powerhouses with six national championships between them. At times this season, both appeared to be clearly the best team in the nation. But neither is an automatic for the semifinals, much less the title.

The Huskies lost one of their best players to injury, and may still be affected by the epic six-overtime loss to Syracuse in their conference tournament. Meanwhile, the Tar Heels are paying close attention to the right big toe of their floor leader and conference player of the year, without whom the Heels are strong but perhaps not elite. One little digit may spell the difference between heartbreak and ecstasy.

These X factors are just a couple of reasons why the tourney is so compelling. Another is the fact that around a dozen teams can legitimately make a case for getting to cut down the nets on April 6th. Can Michigan State make a run? Is this the year Gonzaga breaks through? Is Duke ready to regain its championship birthright? And then there are the smaller teams, the ones for whom success is a single win that puts them into the national consciousness. Cleveland State did so over two decades ago—can they do it again? What about Siena, or Cal-State Northridge, or tiny North Dakota State?

This is why every game is worth watching, why you can’t turn away even for a minute. This is a sports battleground that demands utmost intensity and focus.

Game on.

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