It only took 40 minutes of actual game time and a couple of hours of real time to have the NCAA Tournament live up to its billing.

When No. 11 Old Dominion sent No. 6 seeded Notre Dame packing Thursday in New Orleans it was game on.

The rest of the afternoon and evening was filled with close calls, fantastic finishes and remarkable upsets.

And that is just what the tournament has always and will always provide us with.

I have said it before and I will say it again, the NCAA Tournament is the greatest sporting event on the planet.

No other sports tournament provides the drama and enthusiasm. No sporting event can grip you game-after-game like this one.

We all like to sit around and complain about who gets in and who is left out at the beginning of the tournament, but once it gets started there is very little reason to complain.

The committee does a great job of matching up opponents and giving us the fans a chance to watch, waiting breathlessly at times, for that major upset.

There are things I cannot figure out though.

How do No. 12 seeds always seem to pick up a handful of upsets each year?

It’s almost as eery as how those swallows in California know it’s time to return to Capistrano.

Anyway, back to my point.

The first round matchups in the men’s tournament are well thought out, which leads to some interesting matchups in the second round.

It’s too early to tell who will step into Cinderella’s slipper this year, but have no fear, someone will do it.

Will it be Northern Iowa or Ohio University out of the Mid-American Conference?

Could it be Murray State or Old Dominion?

Only time will tell.

Heck, it could be a team that still had to play Friday night.

It was tough on me Thursday because I was away from a computer or a television set during the early games covering the Brandywine girls’ basketball team in the Class C State Semifinals.

It was tough because I didn’t know who was winning or losing, although it didn’t take long for the word of Notre Dame’s upset to spread down press row at the Breslin Center.

Today won’t be any easier on me as I switch focus to the NCAA women’s tourney, which is being hosted by Notre Dame through the first two rounds.

Today the teams will arrive for practice and interviews.

That means getting to the Joyce Center early and spending much of the day, since Notre Dame won’t practice until 2:10 p.m.

This will be the second time I have covered the NCAA women’s tourney at Notre Dame and the third time overall.

I can honestly say that I enjoyed the first two trips.

Heck, the first time was the men’s tourney and one of the teams that was participating was North Carolina, which was then coached by the legendary Dean Smith.

During the Tar Heels’ first game, a commotion behind me early in the first half turned out to be Michael Jordan walking to his seat, which was two rows behind where they had the press sitting.

Like the men’s event, I enjoyed the women’s tourney because of the atmosphere. Schools bring their pep bands and the crowd is rocking.

So let’s keep March Madness rolling.

Scott Novak is sports editor for Leader Publications. He can be reached at scott.novak@leaderpub.com