FLAGLER: Waiting anxiously for March

There is no city in the country I’d want to live in more than Boston. But every February, I wish I went to school somewhere else.

By February, the novelty of the snow has worn off. Snowball fights, snow football and hot cocoa can’t provide limitless satisfaction, and after three months of winter the charm of the season is pretty much dead.

Add that to the horrible “wintry mix” that inevitably follows huge snowstorms in February and creates puddles on Commonwealth Avenue’s sidewalks that could drown a small animal, and it’s safe to say that we are all looking forward to flipping our calendars over to March.

But the end of the worst month of the year isn’t the only reason to look forward to March. Next month will also bring the beginning of the NCAA basketball tournament.

After the BU men’s basketball team handily defeated the University of Maine on Tuesday, Terrier fans have new hope that the team can secure its first bid to the dance since 2002.

BU has now defeated both teams atop the America East standings, which would be more exciting if the team hadn’t dropped games to the two teams at the bottom of the conference.

Nevertheless, BU made a statement with this victory that Jake O’Brien’s season-ending injury will not affect the confidence of this squad.

While the loss of O’Brien doesn’t cripple BU’s tournament hopes, it will force the rest of the team to keep playing at a high level to fill the void. John Holland has had a terrific four years at BU that culminated in his 2,000th point Tuesday night. But Holland can’t carry the team by himself.

Freshmen Dom Morris and D.J. Irving both played exceptionally well against Maine. If they can keep improving, the end of O’Brien’s season may not spell the end of BU’s postseason hopes.

Even if BU does make the NCAA tournament, there’s little chance of them making the second round. Unless, of course, it can harness some NBA talent like the Monstars from Space Jam did. But whether or not the Terriers make the dance, this year’s NCAA tournament still promises to bring more drama and excitement than usual.

That’s because college basketball is experiencing a level of parity this year that we haven’t seen for a long time. In 2008, Stephen Curry had one of the most remarkable tournaments I’ve ever seen from a single player. Curry could not miss no matter where he was shooting from or who was defending him.

Still, it was not enough to push his No. 10 seed Davidson University squad past the Elite Eight because four No. 1 seeds that had clearly established themselves above the rest of the field made the Final Four.

This season, there are no teams as powerful as any of those No. 1 seeds. There is no transcendent talent who can single-handedly carry his team to the championship like Derrick Rose did with his University of Memphis team.

There is no team loaded with future NBA players like the UCLA squad that featured Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook, Darren Collison and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute.

Ohio State University is the only college basketball team still unbeaten right now and the Buckeyes are by no means invincible. Freshman Jared Sullinger is a double-double machine and his skill alone is enough to make the team a title contender. But OSU barely slipped by perennial Big 10 doormat Northwestern last week by one point. The Buckeyes can be beaten.

Looking across the rest of the college basketball landscape, there is no team skilled enough to confidently pencil into your Final Four.

Syracuse University looked like a lock for a No. 1 seed before losing four consecutive games. Michigan State started the season ranked No. 2 and now might have to fight for a tournament bid after stumbling to a 13-8 start.

All this parity means the 68 teams who do make the NCAA Tournament will all be evenly matched. There won’t be much of a talent gap between the No. 4 seeds and the No. 13 seeds. And that means we’ll see more of what every fan wants when they flip on a game in March. Upsets.

But first-round upsets alone aren’t enough to make an exciting tournament. Small schools making deep tourney runs like Curry’s Davidson team or last season’s almost-champion Butler University are what leave the most lasting impression upon fans.

This year, Brigham Young University and superstar Jimmer Fredette will have the chance to be that team. Fredette doesn’t look especially imposing. But the Jimmer can light it up from anywhere on the court, as he showed when he put up 43 points against then-unbeaten San Diego State University.

So if you’re waiting on the T and getting pummeled by snow, or reading this in class with numb feet after stepping in one of those never-ending, Mariana Trench puddles, don’t give up hope. The beginning of February means that March Madness is only a month away.