Without fail, the NCAA tournaments for both the men and women have delivered.

It should come as no surprise to basketball fans that the tournaments have had their fair share of drama, suspense and a few upsets along the way.

I have said for decades that this is the greatest two and a half weeks of sports.

There is nothing that matches the dramatics of the NCAA tournament.

It used to be that only the men’s tournament provided so many thrills, but with the expanded coverage of the women’s tourney, it has been just as exciting to watch.

This year we have all been spoiled by the fact that Michigan State and Notre Dame have given us deep runs in the tournament, which have led to many a night biting our nails as we watched the Spartans and Fighting Irish attempt to bring home national championships.

Who would have thought Notre Dame would take the undefeated top-ranked Kentucky Wildcats down to the final shot Saturday night?

I knew Notre Dame had a solid basketball team, but I had no idea they would match the Wildcats point-for-point before coming up one shot short of advancing to the Final Four in Indianapolis this weekend.

With 11 losses, Michigan State looked like it would make an early exit from this year’s tournament, but low and behold, Tom Izzo has pulled out his magic wand and cast a spell on the Spartans, who will be facing Duke in the national semifinal Saturday night.

I believe Izzo is the best coach in college basketball. He does more with less than any coach in the country.

It would not surprise me if Michigan State upset Duke to advance to the championship game.

A team I have not been surprised by as it marched through the tournament field has been the Notre Dame women’s team.

The Fighting Irish are going to be playing in their fifth consecutive Final Four.

I do not think they have the horses to knock off Connecticut this season, but the Fighting Irish will make another run in 2015-16 as they return all of their top players and will be adding some of the best talent in the country.

I just hope Notre Dame gets past South Carolina in the national semifinals to get to the Huskies.

Because who knows? Maybe they can win it all this year. That’s the beauty of March.

 

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