Ah, that warm spring air of April has finally come – which means the madness is over.

And right now, many people are running to their bookies and cashing in on their brackets, or if you’re like me, shredding your bracket and feeding it to your fish.

No matter how you came out, you have to admit this March lived up to its hype and delivered more madness than trying to get the Syracuse mascot in a size two dress.

And what created this madness other than that small blip of a school named Nevada and those two blasted schools from Alabama? Plain and simple: Duke’s own Chris Duhon.

Wait, what? Duke is a more solid a pick in the NCAA tourney than Bob Knight turning as red as his sweater.

Yes, this is true, but no matter how sane Duke is, Duhon still caused quite possibly one of the craziest 3.2 seconds in this tourney.

OK, so UConn’s Emeka Okafor just sank one free throw to put his team ahead by four on Saturday night with just 3.2 seconds left. The game is done, UConn’s bench is smiling like someone just gave them a free keg, and even coach Jim Calhoun is cracking a grin.

And then it happened. Duhon takes a last-gasp, pointless 38-footer, and sure enough, it went off the backboard and graciously went in.

Yeah, and your point is?

The point is, that one shot cost gamblers up to $100 million dollars. Everyone who bet on Duke covering the spread of two points simultaneously changed their Duke idol from Christian Laettner to Duhon.

And all those who bet on UConn immediately called their local hitmen.

Correct. But you see, this March saw more than $2.5 billion wagered on NCAA basketball. That amount surpasses even this past Super Bowl. And the scary thing is, a lot of the money is from college students.

According to the National Council on Problem Gambling, 4.5 million of the 15.3 million college students in America will gamble on sports this year. And even more striking is that the only people who have greater gambling problems are in prison or in treatment for gambling.

And why not gamble? It’s everywhere on campuses across the nation. Pools at work, in dorms, on the Internet and even among friends have become a national pastime in a way. Besides, not many know that it is illegal, and not many care either.

Deshunn Berry, an NIU freshman studio art major, said he could care less about it being illegal. He was in a pool where he forked over $25 for a chance at a pot of more than $700.

“It’s something to do, and besides, it’s a chance at good money,” Berry said.

There is the understatement of the year. Good money? A sum of $700 is like winning the lottery to most college students.

Gambling on the NCAA tourney is something that will never go away and shouldn’t go away. Who doesn’t love when the soccer mom wins the office pool because she liked the mascot?

So I say, let the madness continue.

Oh, and to those gamblers who bet on UConn covering the spread and lost more than $30 million dollars: Just hope Duhon gets drafted by the Bulls. At least then you will always know he will lose.