The month of February brings to mind many things. You've got Black History Month, the unearthing of Punxsutawney Phil, the Super Bowl, the beginning of spring training and even the occasional leap day to sweeten the month up a bit more.
But for those of us who consider the month of March to be a nationally sanctioned month of distraction, February is all about the bubble.
If you look at ESPN's coverage of college basketball, you begin to believe that it is never too early to start the bubble conversation. Joe Lunardi is in our faces listing who's in, who's out and who is ""on the bubble"" from the moment midnight madness gets going in October.
And for many who aren't as juiced up about a November matchup between Duke and Charleston Southern, that incessant pre-season coverage of post-season prospects is probably a bit of a turnoff. On that point, I probably wouldn't even give you an argument.
But the minute the calendar turns over to its shortest page, it is time to talk tourney.
Perhaps the best part about the NCAA Tournament is the debates that surround it. Who do you have in the final four? Which team got too high of a seed? Who deserved to be in the tourney and missed out? Who got a bad draw? The list of arguments is never-ending.
Because of that, the national holiday that is the NCAA Tournament begins well before the month of March.
Just as Christmas has Thanksgiving, March has February. The selection committee (and those of us in the general public who think they are on the committee) have these 28 (or 29) days to shop around for the best 68 teams that Division 1 college basketball has to offer.
No longer forced to sit through Ohio State-Toledo, college basketball fans are now blessed with the opportunity to tune into matchups between ranked teams as the best programs from the best conferences butt heads nearly every night.
Even more entertaining is the next tier of games. While no one would tune in to see two 5-6 college football teams battle for a bowl bid, bubble battles, games between those teams hovering on the brink of NCAA Tournament bids, are pure drama at its finest.
Now for those of us who sweat out every UW game in the hopes of not having to sweat things out on Selection Sunday, the bubble games are hopefully not of direct concern. But that doesn't mean they aren't worth watching.
In our own conference, we have two clear bubble teams from opposite ends of the pre-season spectrum.
Perennial powerhouse Michigan State has struggled from the start of the season, their poor non-conference play spilling over into a 5-4 start to Big Ten play that, in all honesty, should be far worse.
Then there is Penn State. Having struggled even worse than the Spartans prior to conference play, the Nittany Lions have somehow gotten themselves back into the conversation with home wins over those Spartans, No. 24 Illinois and last Saturday, the Badgers.
Add into the mix one-possesssion losses on the road against No. 1 Ohio State and No. 10 Purdue and suddenly State College has returned to the basketball scene.
Beyond the Big Ten's bubblers, the nation is filled with similar stories that could end up in Cinderella fashion. So as February rolls in, let the bubble conversations officially begin and remember that March is but a few short weeks away.
Is it too early to start thinking about March? Can't we just enjoy February and worry about the tournament later? Let Max know at max.sternberg@yahoo.com.
