As the college football season came to an end and winter has arrived for good, NCAA Division One basketball is back in full swing. Although we are sad to see the football season end, fans of college basketball can’t wait for March to come around so they can support their teams during March Madness. As the season progresses, it will be exciting to see which teams come out on top heading into the last stretch of the season.

There is always parity in Division One college basketball, and this season has been no exception. The frontrunners early in the season came as no surprise: Kentucky, Duke, UNC, Kansas and Michigan State, among others, consistently ranked in the top 10 on the AP Poll in the beginning of the long season. These veteran NCAA Tournament teams competed difficult schedules early, some contending for the Champion’s Classic, Battle for Atlantis and the Maui Invitational to jumpstart the season. After that, the elite teams all played difficult non-conference schedules, leading up to even harder conference games in the major conferences, like the Big Ten, ACC, SEC and Big 12.

Conference play is always tough because teams know one another so much better due to going head-to-head several times in a single season and is by far the most intense part of the season to watch. Anyone can beat anyone. As teams head past the middle of the season and into the finish line, conference tournaments will play a big part in who makes the NCAA Tournament and who doesn’t. The seed that a team receives actually does make a difference in whether they can make a run in the national tournament or not. The higher seed a team is, the easier path to the Final Four they have because they play lower seeded teams. For example, last year the No. 1 seed, Kentucky played No. 16 Hampton, giving them a lighter load heading into the more competitive stages of the tournament.

Fans of college basketball need to tune into the season as soon and as much as possible because there is so much knowledge to gain heading into March. Although it is still a couple months away, both elite and hopeful teams are fighting for that national tournament bid. March Madness is truly madness. Upsets are the norm, especially No. 5 seeds vs. No. 12 seeds. Some teams seem as though they are made for March, and others buckle under the pressure. Basketball fans should follow the men’s basketball season intently because it is impossible to know who could be a Cinderella story or get knocked out early come March. We are all anxiously waiting.