Wait almost over, March Madness near

Try to contain your excitement when I tell you this, but Selection Sunday is only four days away.

Admit it, you’re drooling at the thought of filling out your March Madness bracket, making bold and researched predictions, sitting in front of your television for six straight hours and cheering for teams you’ve never heard of like your life is on the line.

College basketball fans love March Madness. True March Madmen live for nothing else.

I know I’m not alone in saying March Madness is my favorite time of year. It’s the perfect storm of excitement, upsets and anticipation, and it all begins Sunday when the Selection Committee finally reveals this season’s 65-team field.

Then begins the never-ending analysis, predictions, storylines, sleeper picks, guessing and second guessing we’ll have shoved down our throats by ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, CBS, your co-workers, Yahoo!, your sister’s boyfriend, Sports Illustrated, that guy you always see at Starbucks and everyone else who suddenly becomes a college basketball know-it-all.

But admit it, you love it. You watch all the coverage you can, talk to anyone and everyone that will listen and let March Madness take over your life for every waking moment during the course of three weeks.

But for those of you out there that want to step up your March Madness game and elevate yourself to the level of true March Madmen, take the following tips to heart.

Step one: the planning

We’re fortunate as students at the University of Cincinnati, certainly not because of our basketball team, but because of our school schedule and how it coincides with the tournament’s first four rounds.

First-round games tip off Thursday, March 18. That’s exam week at UC, and by that time most exams are over. If you are one of the unlucky souls that has an exam scheduled for Thursday or Friday, well, you had better have a good enough grade in that class so you can afford to skip the exam, because you had better believe true March Madmen don’t let anything — even college exams — keep them from watching the Big Dance’s first round.

Then things only get better. Round two takes up the rest of the first weekend, and the tournament’s second weekend is the perfect way to wrap up spring break.

Planning also entails picking the perfect bracket. True March Madmen know a 12 seed doesn’t always upset a five seed, mid-majors are to be taken seriously and the second round is never too early to lose a weak No. 1 seed.

If you aren’t already scouting tournament teams, you’re already behind. Tickets to the Big Dance have already been punched for a number of mid-major conference champions.

Yeah, any college basketball fan might be able to tell you about the tournament teams from the Atlantic 10, but true March Madmen already know league champions from the Big West, the Summit League, the Ohio Valley Conference and the Patriot League could be this season’s Cinderella story ... or at least be good for a first-round upset.

Step two: the execution

This is where we separate the men from the boys.

College basketball fans might watch every moment of CBS’s tournament coverage and still come up short of true March Madmen.

First, there’s the primary television. Anything smaller than 40 inches and not in high definition is unacceptable.

But just watching one game at a time isn’t enough. This is where March Madness becomes a team effort.

Establish your home base at the residence of whichever one of your friends has the biggest television, a pool table to put to use during down time and wireless Internet.

You’ll need three laptops and subscriptions to CBS’s March Madness on Demand, available online for free. Place the computers on a coffee table or even on the floor in front of your primary TV and set each laptop to play (at full screen, of course) one of the games going on at the same time. This way you’re guaranteed to never miss a moment of action.

Step three: the fallout

You’re going to be putting a lot of time into March Madness this year. You’ve got to be sure you can deal with the consequences.

All the fellas already know what I’m talking about, so here’s your solution.

Buy your girlfriend something nice Wednesday night, on the eve of the first round. Then explain to her in plain, simple English you’re not going to be around much for the next couple weekends.

This is March Madness, and true March Madmen know to get their priorities in line.

Are you a true March Madman? Think you’ve got the best March Madness setup? Tell us about it at TNRSportsTalk.blogspot.com.