Need a reason to be excited about this year's NCAA Tournament? How about I give you 68 instead?

In no particular order...

1. One Full Year Until We Have To Deal with the Selection Committee Again: As a general rule, I don’t like to take cheap shots at the committee because ultimately they’ve got a pretty thankless job. But Texas as a four-seed? Florida as a two? UAB? VCU? Did these guys (and gals) take more than 10 minutes on this bracket? Or just throw it together and head down to Applebee’s for Happy Hour? Looking it over, I’m honestly not sure.

2. Office Pools: If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times: If you’re ever going to trick your girlfriend into watching sports with you, this is the way to do it. You know how many times I’ve said something like, “But honey, we’ve got to watch Temple-Penn State. If the Owls win, you’re in fifth place in our pool!” Gets ‘em every time.

(Speaking of which, why not join the AaronTorres-Sports.com Tournament Challenge? First Prize is a $100 Amazon.com gift card. You could put that to use, couldn't you?)

3. Charles Barkley, Reggie Miller, Kenny Smith and Steve Kerr: I know the early returns on Barkley were only so-so, but give him a chance. When Barkley makes some unsuspecting coach cry after a round two loss, it’ll all be worth it.

4. Arizona, Memphis, North Carolina, UCLA and UConn: The NCAA Tournament just didn’t feel the same last year without last year. Good to have them back.

5. The Four Opening-Round Games: Or as I like to call them, “A reason to start gambling on Tuesday. Instead of having to wait until Thursday.” 

6. Jimmer Fredette: I don’t know if BYU is still a Final Four contender without Brandon Davies, but really, shouldn’t we all just be thankful for another few games with Jimmer?

7. Duke’s Opening-Round Matchup with Hampton: The Pirates haven’t made the tournament many times in school history, but one of the times they did, well, this happened. Obviously, I'm not saying it will again. But a guy can dream, can't he?

Speaking of Duke, how about…

8. Coach K’s Hair: Which, incredibly, is the exact same shade of black it was when he started coaching at the school back in 1980. Hmm…

9. Louisville Guard Peyton Siva: Who I affectionately call “My 2011 College Basketball Man-Crush.” Don’t ask why. I have no idea.

10. The San Diego State Aztecs: The No. 2 seed out West, San Diego State is a school which, incredibly, has never won an NCAA Tournament game. Something tells me that’ll change this year. Just a hunch.

11. The Morris Twins: It’s taken three full years, but I can finally tell them apart. I think.

12. Louisville-Morehead State, Round One: I’ve got so much respect for what Rick Pitino has done this year, that honestly, I was going to hold off on all the cheap-shot jokes. Then the NCAA Tournament committee did the dirty work for me.

And if you haven’t figured out the joke yet, just give it a few minutes. It’ll come to you. 

14. The St. John’s Red Storm: With everything this senior class has been through, if you’re not rooting for the Johnnies this March, you don’t have a heart. It’s just that simple.

14. Jacob Pullen: Also known as, “The only athlete in sports history who has admitted to drinking boxed wine.”

15. Georgetown’s Chris Wright: I watched a couple of the games Georgetown played without Wright these last few weeks, and, umm, yeah…I’m glad he’ll be back for the tournament.

16. Because Thanks To the NCAA Tournament: We won’t have to hear the words, “union,” “owners,” “decertifying” or “Roger Goodell's $1 salary,” for at least the next few weeks.

17. Come To Think Of It: We won’t have to hear the words “Miami Heat,” and “crying,” either. Thank God.

18. Kemba Walker: I’m a UConn fan, so I can’t speak rationally on Kemba (at least not without inadvertently comparing him to Jesus Christ). Still, something tells me he’s in for a big March. 

19. Syracuse Freshman Fab Melo: With the great game he just had against St. John's the other day, does that mean I can't make fun of the goofy, awkward Syracuse freshman anymore?

20. Brandon Knight: No he’s not John Wall. But what he is, is the heart and soul of an all-of-a-sudden scary Kentucky team. By the way, you think the Wildcats will be looking for revenge if they get West Virginia in Round Two?

21. Gus Johnson: Admit it. He could be doing play-by-play at your grandma’s 92nd birthday party and you’d be sitting on the edge of your seat with excitement.  

22. Michigan and Tennessee’s First-Round Matchup: Sure, the basketball might not be great, but are there two better college fight songs than “Rocky Top,” and “Hail to the Victors?” I say not.

Speaking of which, there’s…

23. Scotty Hopson’s High Top Fade: Which has to be seen, to be believed.

24. Duke Guard Nolan Smith: Love or hate Duke, I hope you’ve at least learned to appreciate Smith. Other than some guy named “Kemba,” nobody plays harder for 40 minutes a night, every night than Nolan does.

25. Morehead State’s Kenneth Faried: Who just so happened to be the nation’s leading rebounder this season. When he rips down 15 boards in the opener against Louisville, just think of me, would you?

(Because of length, this article was broken up into two parts. To read the REMAINDER of this list in PART II, please click here or visit www.aarontorres-sports.com.

Also, for updates on all Aaron's articles, podcasts and giveaways be sure to follow on Twitter @Aaron_Torres)