For sports fans, few words are as magical as “March Madness.” The NCAA’s yearly national championship tournament is set to begin next week, and it’s sure to bring as much drama and excitement as it does nearly every year. Selection Sunday, when we learn the official bracket, is March 11. Before that, however, comes a week of games with almost as much energy as the tournament itself.

Each conference in Men’s Division I basketball is either in the process of or has already completed its own championship tournament. Last year, the Ivy League became the last conference to embrace the tournament format – they had used the regular season to name their conference champion since 1990. For about 10 days leading up to the actual March Madness, basketball fans are given a small taste of what is about to come.

In many cases, teams have already guaranteed themselves a spot in the tournament. In the Atlantic Coast Conference, teams like Virginia, Duke, Clemson, and UNC will almost certainly make the cut, regardless of their performance in the conference playoffs. For others, however, this is their only hope at making the bracket. Every conference champion gets an automatic bid into the Big Dance, so winning the tournament is an absolute must.

Consider Radford, who were second in the Big South Conference during the regular season. They weren’t likely to crack the field of 68 until Carlik Jones hit a buzzer-beater three to beat Liberty in the championship game. Or Long Island University, Brooklyn, a team that finished with a record just above .500 before the Northeast Conference tournament, but won three straight games to claim their own bid to the national stage.

Teams will be playing for their spot all the way up until March 11, when six conferences will be having their championship games. For teams who don’t win their conference, their fates are left to be determined by the selection committee. After the 32 conference champions are named, only half the bracket is left to be filled. Teams who don’t win their tournament but dominated the regular season have practically locked up a spot already, leaving only a few “at-large” bids left to be awarded. Many students will wait anxiously to hear their team’s name called on Sunday, hoping they built a strong enough resume to earn another chance at the title.

Once the field is set, there will be only a couple days for fans to fill out their own brackets, all of which will almost surely be busted. For many teams, the dream will end early, and for some, it will be far earlier than expected. Other teams will go on a surprise run through the tournament and become America’s darling for a few weeks. Many of the favorites will prove just how good they are, while others will collapse in unthinkable ways. By April 2, when a champion is crowned in San Antonio, we’ll all have been drained from the wild ride that is March Madness.