Can you smell it in the air? Can you smell the upsets, the sleepers, the cinderella season, or the bracket-busters? If not, you must not be familiar with March Madness.

It's that time of the year again, where the good become the great. This year it will be no different; every team will try to kick it up a notch to be crowned the best team in college basketball. This year the scramble for the final four might be a little messy.

The Big East is still the big brother of the tournament with seven bids. But none of the powerhouse teams are from that conference, except Georgetown.

Even though Georgetown is in the Big East, it doesn't mean that they - or any other Big East team - will win it all.

Some of this year's favorites include North Carolina, Tennessee, Memphis, Kansas, UCLA, and Georgetown. This year combined, these teams have lost fifteen games, so there is no wonder why they're all favorites.

Earlier in the year a few of these teams looked unstoppable during their undefeated streaks. Memphis came as close to perfection as possible, without being actually perfect. They went 14-0 in their conference, only to lose to Tennessee.

Memphis could win it all. They got tripped up during their run to perfection, but it'll be no surprise if they wind up taking it all in the end.

Memphis is led by their high-powered backcourt. Their starting guards, Chris Douglas-Roberts and Derrick Rose, average over 30 points per game. It won't take long to see if Memphis can turn their nearly undefeated team into champions.

Kansas has also had a good season heading into the tournament. They were 20-0 before losing to Kansas State. Kansas finished the season 27-3 and was seeded number two. This year their depth has been crucial to their victories. Each of the team's starting five players average over ten points per game.

Another heavy favorite is Tennessee, who finished the season 25-3. Many thought they were heading into the tournament ranked number one, but their unexpected loss to Vanderbilt threw the number one spot to North Carolina. Tennessee is led by Chris Lofton, JaJuan Smith, and Tyler Smith, who combine for nearly forty-five points per game.

Upsets are the biggest thrill for most watching the tournament. They happen every year, and every year they seem harder to predict. The tournament is sudden-death, so anybody can win.

Some of the bubble teams to watch are Ohio St., West Virginia, UNLV, Kent State and New Mexico to name a few. All have at least ten losses and will need help from other teams to get in.

Ohio St. has some work cut out for them if they want to get into the tournament. They have a current record of 18-12. Top-ranked teams seemed to be a problem for this team - they were 1-9 against top 50 ranked teams - so, even if they do weasel into the tournament it's likely they won't get far.

New Mexico has a current record of 23-7. Their hopes of getting into the tournament got a little brighter after beating UNLV in the final stretch of the season. They have also had many conference losses.

Their future, right now, is in their own hands. If they win their next game they're in, if they lose they're out. It doesn’t get simpler than that.

When it comes to underdog teams, they can come into the tournament and make some noise, and there are a lot of those. But which ones have a legitimate chance at getting deep into the tournament?

Western Kentucky has a good chance to cause havoc if they can get seed in the tournament. Their current record is 22-6, with only two conference losses. But three of their six losses came from South Alabama. They are currently tied with South Alabama for the last seed in the conference.

Kent State finished their season 24-6 with three conference losses. If they can beat Akron in the conference game, they should give a lot of teams a run for the money in the tournament.

Upsets are the reason I get into March Madness. There will definitely be some this year. I'll take Kent State as the Cinderella team this year.

Now that the wild winds of spring are upon us, look for a mad March full of upsets, blowouts, and sleepers.

Copyright 2008 Metropolitan Community College