Here are 6 reasons to watch this year’s NCAA Tournament

The moment college basketball fans wait for all year has finally arrived. The NCAA Tournament — aka March Madness — tips off today with the First Four games, kicks into full gear with First Round games Thursday and will consume sports fans’ lives for the next few weeks.

Whether you’re the super fan who takes off the entire three weeks from work, the fan who watches secretly from your desk at work during the day or just the casual fan who will catch a few games, there are plenty of reasons to catch this year’s madness.

Here are just some of the reasons you should watch this year’s tournament.

BRACKETS

More than just sports fans can get into March Madness by filling out a bracket (or five) and playing along just for fun. In fact, it’s estimated that 70 million brackets will be filled out for this year’s tournament, according to the American Gaming Association.

And you’ve still got some time. If you haven’t already filled out your bracket (or brackets), you have until 9 a.m PST Thursday morning to get it done before First Round games tip off at 9:15 a.m.

UPSETS

One of the most exciting things about March Madness is when a No. 16 team, that barely made it into the tournament all together, upsets a No. 1 team and ends up going fairly far in the tournament … OK, that has actually never happened, but there’s always a chance, right?

Still, lower-seeded teams upset higher-seeded teams every year and stun the college basketball world.

Last year, No. 14 seed Georgia State upset No. 3 Baylor, 57-56, and No. 14 UAB upset No. 3 Iowa State, 60-59, in the First Round.

One of the biggest upsets that came out of last year’s tournament came in the second round when No. 8 North Carolina upset No. 1 Villanova in the second round, 71-68.

BETTING

Whether it’s a few bucks for fun in your office pool, your life savings in a sports book or a legitimate online tournament bracket challenge, a lot of betting goes on during March Madness — legal and illegal.

It’s estimated that Americans will wager a total of $9.2 billion on the tournament this year, according to the AGA, a number that’s up from $9 billion last year. Of the $9.2 billion estimated this year, the AGA says $262 million will be bet legally in Nevada sports books.

CRAZY SHOTS

Along with the exciting upsets, March Madness is usually filled with crazy, incredible shots. Buzzer beaters, half-court shots and more will be all over the place as the tournament tips off and teams fight until the last second for the chance to advance in the tournament.

In fact, they’ve already begun.

Cal State Bakersfield guard Dedrick Basile sunk a last-second 3-pointer to give the Roadrunners the 57-54 win over the New Mexico State Aggies in the WAC tournament championship game last Saturday in Las Vegas.

EXCITEMENT

March Madness is just exciting overall whether you’re a super fan or just a casual fan. Between office parties and parties happening around town, you’re pretty much guaranteed to have a good time during March Madness whether you care about watching the games or not. And you’ve got plenty of time. First Round games tip off on Thursday and the tournament itself runs through April 4.

All the games are on TV — truTV, CBS, TNT and TBS — and if you don’t have cable, you can just hit up one of the many tournament parties that will be happening around the Las Vegas Valley.

You can also watch all of the games online. Every game can be streamed live on NCAA.com, by logging in with your cable TV credentials, or by downloading the NCAA March Madness Live app to watch on your smartphone or tablet.

Contact Kira Terry at kterry@reviewjournal.com. Find her on Twitter: @kiraterry