Every year around this time, the college basketball world heats up. Long time rivalries, upsets and thoughts about the postseason are all looming. With March Madness less than a month away, many teams are on the bubble and may only have a couple of games left in their season. Only 68 teams throughout the country get to extend their season.

One of the beauties of college basketball is that any team can win on any given night. Before February, an AP Top 5 team lost 23 times; the most ever recorded in history. Through 15 weeks of competing, there have been six different teams to hold the No. 1 spot. This time last year there was one remaining undefeated team left, Kentucky. Now, Villanova and Xavier lead the nation with three losses. In the last week, there has been lots to talk about.

Arguably the nation’s greatest rivalry; No. 20 Duke and No. 5 North Carolina, battled each other in Chapel Hill. The game was going back and forth and cam down to the final possession. Marcus Thornton blocked Joel Berry II’s shot in the final seconds. The shot was rebounded by Grayson Allen who flung the ball into the air as the clock hit zero. The Blue Devils shocked the Tar Heels on the road, 74-73.

More rivalry games such as Michigan-Ohio State and Kansas-Kansas State were played. Behind Marc Loving’s 13 points, Ohio State took down the Wolverines, 76-66. No. 2 Kansas took on Kansas State on Saturday, Feb 20. Frank Mason III led the Jayhawks to a, 72-63 win. On top of the great rivalries, many upsets have occurred. Not only do these hurt the team expected to win, but also helps boost the underdog’s tournament résumé.

On Wednesday Feb 17, No. 3 Oklahoma visited Texas Tech. Keenan Evans had 14 points and made a layup after an Oklahoma turnover that gave the Red Raiders the lead with about two minutes remaining. Oklahoma had multiple chances for the win with multiple shots on the final possession but none would fall as Texas Tech upset No. 3 Oklahoma, 65-63.

In my opinion, the biggest upset of the week and possibly the year happened this past weekend. No. 6 Maryland visited the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Minnesota had not won a game in Big Ten play, that is until this weekend. The Gophers got hot early, hitting 7-10 three pointers in the first 10 minutes of the game. Maryland struggled throughout the the game, turning the ball over 15 time. One of their leading scorers, Melo Trimble, shot 3-11 and scored only 10 points. Over the last two games, Trimble has shot 4-25 from the field. The Gophers got their first win in over a month, downing Maryland, 68-63.

With less than a month until March Madness, I am excited to see how the rest of the game turn out. I am an Ohio State fan, and they have not guaranteed themselves a spot in the tournament. Their last three games are all against ranked opponents, so winning all three will be difficult. I believe that if they can manage to win at least one, then they will get a spot in the postseason. The game I am especially looking forward to is Duke’s final game of the year against North Carolina. It should be a repeat of the first game and I expect Duke to come out with the win.

March Madness is approaching quickly and many teams are on the bubble to make the postseason. So sit down and buckle up, because the next couple of weeks are going to be crazy as many teams are going to give it their all in hopes to extend their season.

For a list of the updated AP Top 25, read: AP Top 25.

For last week’s sports column, read: World of Sports: Lavine and Towns make history at all-star weekend.

This writer can be reached via Twitter: @nick_leblanc1 and via email: Nick LeBlanc.