If anyone can recall an NCAA Tournament better than this one, please jog my memory. I’m hard-pressed to recollect a tournament with as much excitement – upsets, come-from-behind victories, and courageous plays under pressure – as this one.

My mind was made up on this tournament after Saturday’s regional final games, both of which went into overtime. That in itself was a rarity – the last time two regional final games went into overtime in the same year was 1992 – but for sheer competitive spirit and drama, Louisville’s Albuquerque Regional win over West Virginia and Illinois’s Chicago Regional victory over Arizona were as good as it gets.

Then came yesterday’s drama, when Kentucky’s Patrick Sparks made a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send the Wildcats’ Austin Regional final against Michigan State into overtime. Though the Spartans eventually prevailed in double OT, Sparks’s shot was historic: Never in tournament history have three regional finals gone into overtime.

For all the excitement of the past two days, this tournament didn’t need those overtime games to be special. Upsets are always a hallmark of the NCAA Tournament, but this one featured a rash of mid- to low-level Division I teams knocking off the game’s elite: Vermont beat Syracuse, Bucknell beat Kansas, and Wisconsin-Milwaukee beat Alabama and Boston College.

We saw great defensive efforts (Villanova over New Mexico and Florida), great offensive efforts (Louisville over Washington, West Virginia over Wake Forest), and heroes aplenty. Who outside of a Big East fan had ever heard of West Virginia’s Kevin Pittsnogle, the 6-foot-11 3-point marksman, before this tournament? Who other than a hard-core college hoop-head knew that Bucknell center Chris McNaughton, a native of Germany, was a big-time player? Who could have pointed out that North Carolina’s Rashad wasn’t the only McCants in the country – Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Ed introduced himself to the nation during the Panthers’ trip to the Sweet 16 – who could drill 3-pointers with alarming regularity?

True, every tournament produces its share of tight games and late heroics, but the 2005 Big Dance has been the beneficiary of changes in the game that have slowly come together to establish unprecedented parity and allowed teams to overcome seemingly insurmountable deficits in the closing minutes of games.

First, college basketball has become a guard’s game during the last 15 years or so. The shot clock has made game management, which is largely the responsibility of the point guard, a matter of utmost importance. And there are so many quality guards nationwide – and increasingly, worldwide – that every team in the NCAA Tournament can trot out at least two who can really play.

The defection of top teenage big men to the NBA has also leveled the playing field considerably. Until that became commonplace, elite schools always had an advantage over mid-level programs because they could recruit more high-quality post players. North Carolina’s Sean May is an example of a latter-day post player; a bit undersized height-wise, and more of a wide-body. He gives the Tar Heels one of the nation’s top inside threats in an era where there aren’t many.

With dominant big men no longer the focus of college offenses, teams have begun shooting more 3-point field goals. As Saturday’s two regional finals clearly demonstrated, this change has forever altered the way the game is played. Louisville could never have overcome a 20-point first-half deficit to West Virginia – which made 10 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes – without some timely second-half threes from Francisco Garcia, Taquan Dean, and Larry O’Bannon. Nor could Illinois have rallied from 15 points down with four minutes left to beat Arizona if Deron Williams and Luther Head hadn’t been deadly accurate from behind the arc.

The 3-pointer came into play in the Kentucky-Michigan State game, too. Sparks’s desperation shot at the buzzer was disputed – officials had to resort to replay to determine whether he was behind the 3-point line – but when it was ruled good, the game saw two overtime periods before Michigan State finally buried the Wildcats.

Many of this tournament’s early-round upsets were fueled by 3-pointers. Bucknell made eight shots from behind the arc, Kansas just one. Wisconsin-Milwaukee, which likes to press and fire away from long range, used 10 3-pointers to stun Alabama into submission in the first half of their first round upset.

Look for the 3-pointer to continue to be a major factor as the tournament winds down. Illinois and Louisville, which meet in the Final Four, both start three guards, all of whom can nail 3-pointers. Part of the reason North Carolina advanced to its national semifinal matchup with Michigan State is because point guard Raymond Felton significantly improved his 3-point shot and used his newfound shooting touch to complement the perimeter prowess of McCants.

Michigan State, too, has the ability to make 3-pointers, though Chris Hill’s recent struggles with his shot (and his confidence) have robbed the Spartans of one of the nation’s top perimeter threats.

With four teams loaded with perimeter players who like to run and shoot doing battle in the Final Four, the NCAA might need more room on the scoreboards in St.Louis. In the NCAA Tournament, survive and advance is usually the order of the day as teams win games any way they can. But in this tournament, shoot and advance has become the norm. The most exciting NCAA Tournament ever? That’s my call, and I’m sticking with it.

Mr. Dortch is the editor of the Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook.