With Foxtel's addition of ESPN 2, there will be more college basketball than ever before on Australia's TV screens. The NCAA college basketball tournament - known as "March Madness" in the US - is underway, with 68 teams competing in a knockout style tournament.

It captures the imagination of American sports fans for the next two and a half weeks, partially because of the (technically) illegal practice of filling out tournament "brackets" and wagering on the results.

Last year there was a strong Australian flavour to the tourney, with St. Mary's College of California making a strong run into what's known as the Sweet Sixteen. But the Gaels didn't make it this year, and there are a limited number of Australian kids to watch.

Still, it's an intriguing tournament, probably the most popular sporting event in the US after the Super Bowl, and an event worth watching.

Five things to keep an eye on:

1. Jimmer Fredette: The legend of the sharpshooter with the strange first name is growing by the week. He's a 6'2" Mormon kid who plays at Brigham Young University in Utah and leads the nation in scoring with a 28.5 per game average. Fredette has incredible range and has been given the green light by his coaches and teammates to fire away at will. He scored 52 points in a Mountain West tournament game against New Mexico, making 22 of 37 shots. #3 seed BYU plays #14 seed Wofford on Friday morning.

2. Aussies in action: With St. Mary's missing out on March Madness, there are only three Aussies on tournament rosters. They are:

Jeromie Hill, Texas-San Antonio (Cairns): The 6'8" forward averaged more than 13 points and 7 rebounds per game. He led the Roadrunners to the Southland Conference championship and was named to the All-tournament team. 16th seeded UTSA has a brutal opening game against #1 seed Ohio State.

Tilan Iliadis, Old Dominion (Perth): A 6'3" guard from Perth, Iliadis follows in the footsteps of fellow West Australian Alex Loughton who starred at Old Dominion before playing in Europe and now the NBL. 9th seed Old Dominion plays last year's runnerup and #8 seed Butler first up.

Josh Duinker, Richmond (Hornsby, NSW): A 6'11 centre, Duinker sees limited minutes for the Spiders of Richmond. 12th seeded Richmond meets #5 seed Vanderbilt in the first round.

3. Kyrie Irving: Probably the nation's most talented freshman, Irving has missed out on most of the season because of a toe injury, but could return for the tournament. The point guard was born in Melbourne, to American parents, and was sounded out by Basketball Australia as a potential Boomer. When I spoke with Irving late last year, he said while he considers Australia a second home, he dreams of representing the United States at international level.

4. Duke and anti-Duke: The defending national champions are the most polarising team in America. Many love them, plenty hate them, but they're always in the title hunt. With Mike "Coach K" Krzyzewski running the show, the Blue Devils have earned a #1 seed in their region. The other #1 seeds are Ohio State, Kansas and Pittsburgh.

5. Buzzer beaters and Gus Johnson: The legacies of the tournament are superstars (Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan), huge upsets (Villanova over Georgetown in 1985) and dramatic, last second shots like Christian Laettner's unbelievable game-winner against Kentucky in 1992.

Keep an eye out for close games and if you're lucky enough to have the excitable Gus Johnson calling the action, sit back and enjoy.