It is that time of year again when every other sport takes a back seat to a college tournament. Frequently called ‘March madness’, the NCAA men’s basketball tournament is just over a week away as teams are now in a frenzied fight just to make the tournament.

Right now, most teams are locked in battle of their conference tournaments for the automatic bid to be one of the 65 teams invited to the NCAA tournament.

A handful of local teams have a good shot at making the tournament and possibly making some noise. Brigham Young has arguably the best team in the state. The 28-4 Cougars are led by junior Jimmer Fredette who averages 20.6 points per game.

When Fredette is healthy the Cougars are one of the top teams in the state, if not the country. Staying healthy however, has been an issue for Fredette this year and without him the Cougars could once again see a first round exit.

Even though they are most-assuredly a lock for the NCAA tournament, BYU will look for an automatic bid in the Mountain West Conference Tournament. BYU opens the tournament today at 7 p.m. against Texas Christian in Las Vegas. University of Utah also opens up in the MWC tournament tonight against Nevada-Las Vegas at 9:30 but they would need a small miracle just to beat UNLV.

New Mexico narrowly edged out BYU in the regular season in the Mountain West and a rematch between the Lobos and Cougars would be intense in the championship game.

Utah State is another in-state team that has a good shot at making the tournament. Riding a 15-game winning streak, the Aggies open up the Western Athletic Conference tournament in Reno, Nev., today against Boise State.

Even if Utah State should stumble in the WAC tournament, they still have a reasonable shot at making the tournament as an at-large bid but Aggies’ fans would feel more comfortable with a WAC tournament championship and the automatic bid.

With Weber State losing a heart-breaking game to Montana in the Big Sky championship game Wednesday night 66-65, their NCAA tournament hopes are dashed. BYU and Utah State are the only two teams that have a shot at making noise in the tournament.

All local teams aside, the NCAA tournament should continue to be one of the more exciting tournaments in sports. Whether it is the tournament brackets that get filled in by nearly every sports fan in the country or just the non-stop basketball thrown at America, it creates excitement.

As for teams outside the region that have a chance to win the whole thing, I have a good feeling about Syracuse University. Of course, anyone who has seen my picks in the past might want to pick another team but Syracuse has a zone defense that is tough to break and can score at will on offense.

To everyone that fills outs a bracket and is sure that it is a winner before you turn it in, if you are like me, your picks are done before the first round is even over with. When in doubt about a pick, flip a coin.

Jake Gordon: jgordon@tooeletranscript.com