The dreams of New Jersey’s best high school wrestlers and the region’s top college men’s basketball teams converge on Boardwalk Hall this month, with the NJSIAA Individual State Wrestling Championships (March 5-7) and the Atlantic 10 Men’s Basketball Championship (March 12-14). Athletes earn their way here through grueling regional competitions, with Atlantic City as the final reward.

For local businesses, the Walk, the Quarter and the casinos, the events represent valued foot traffic. For area fans, they comprise a welcome break from winter.

For wrestling fans, the championships are the highlight of the year. Competition begins March 5 at 5 p.m. for preliminaries and pre-quarter finals. Quarterfinals and wrestle-backs I and II are March 6 at 10 a.m. Evening sessions start at 5 p.m. with semi-finals and wrestle-backs III and IV.

On March 7, competition begins at 10 a.m. for consolations, followed by the finals and awards at 2 p.m. Single-session reserved tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for students and seniors 62 and older. For group or reserved all-session tickets, visit www.njsiaa.org. The atmosphere will be electric; there’s nothing like the sound of fans screaming for the final pin.     

10 A-10 Things to Know

The A-10 arrives March 12, with the top team advancing to the NCAA’s March Madness tournament the following week. The college tournament, however, has changed. Here are 10 significant aspects of the new A-10 tournament.

1. The format has changed. Rather than having 12 teams and reducing the weekend field to four with midweek doubleheaders, Atlantic City will host the Final 8 starting March 12. Tournament play actually begins on various campuses March 9. The top four seeded teams gain a bye and schools ranked fifth through eighth host those ranked ninth-12th. The four surviving teams and the four with the bye comprise the 8 teams coming here.
 
2. The first Atlantic City round has two doubleheaders. Play begins at noon and 2:30 p.m. March 12. The nightcap doubleheader starts at 6:30 p.m. For those who love the marathon sessions, the first day marks an excellent opportunity.

3. Semifinalists continue Saturday at 1p.m. and the finals are Sunday at 1 p.m.
 
4. It’s the fourth consecutive year Atlantic City has hosted the A-10. It’s an ideal site, offering $700,000 guaranteed money to schools in past years.
 
5. Can you say Temple three times fast? A championship trophy might. Temple seeks to become the first A-10 team to win three consecutive titles since Massachusetts took five straight from 1992 to 1996.
 
6. George Washington won Atlantic City’s inaugural A-10 tourney in 2007, beating Rhode Island 78-69. Temple defeated Duquesne last year and St. Joe’s in 2008 by the same 69-64 score.

7. The A-10 winner automatically advances to the NCAA March Madness hoopla, which begins March 16 with 65 teams. Temple, Dayton and Xavier all advanced from this A-10 tournament into the NCAA tournament last year.
 
8. If you’re part of a group, you might as well eat. Spirit Airlines features a promotion for round-trip airfare from any of its destinations. It requires a voucher resulting from purchasing a family 4-pack. That’s four tickets, four hot dogs and four sodas for a set price.
 
9. The A-10 actually has 12 member schools. They are Dayton, Duquesne, Fordham, George Washington, LaSalle, Massachusetts, North Carolina Charlotte, Rhode Island, St. Joe’s, St. Louis, Temple and Xavier.

10. The Pepsi Fan Zone opens at 5 p.m. March 12 at the Walk. It features inflatable games, a basketball court, stores for merchandise, lounge areas, big-screen TV’s, the works.

Fun with March Madness

The guy who came up with March Madness brackets should be in the NCAA Hall of Fame. The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tourna-ment spawns an avalanche of office pools and nationwide interest in midweek playoffs. Novices to neophytes prosper in the tournaments, because no team is dominant.

Selecting a large upset because you don’t know better often pays off because every tournament has a sizable upset. No pre-tournament system is foolproof, but here’s some historical perspective for the tourney, which runs March 16-April 5.

• The best shot at a first-round upset is in the 5 versus 12 bracket. The No. 12 seed knocks off the 5 team 34 percent of the time, by far the biggest success rate for underdogs. The 13 seed’s toppled the 4 team 21 percent of the time. No more than 15 percent of the No. 14 seeds have knocked off the 3 seed. No No. 1 team has ever lost to a 16, but four second-seeded teams have lost to a 15 (the last in 2001).

• The lowest-seeded team to reach the Final Four was an 11 (George Mason was the last in 2006).

• Yes, UCLA leads the way with seven national championships, but none since 1995 because recruiting rules changed and the playing field was leveled.

• This is the first time in many years that Villanova could win it all. The Wildcats were the lowest seeded team, 8, to win a national championship.

• Office pools have greatly enhanced women’s college basketball championships too. The bracket-style tournament, designed like the men’s, encouraged fans to learn more about the women’s circuit. The women’s game is April 6, one day after the men’s.

Courtside Superstars

Tennis has been featured in Atlantic City before. One event involved Jimmy Connors. Another showcased Billie Jean King as a coach. Now comes the Caesars Tennis Classic, April 10 at Boardwalk Hall. It will be hosted by Venus Williams and showcase some of the greatest players ever to take the court. Ivan Lendl (ranked No. 1 in the World for four years in 1980s) will face off with his old nemesis Mats Vilander. U.S. Open champions Andy Roddick and Marat Safin will also battle it out in an exhibition match. Roddick recently obtained another “ace.” His wife Brooklyn Decker is the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Cover Girl for 2010.

Tickets can be obtained at the Boardwalk Hall box office or on the web at www.ticketmaster.com.

By Dave Bontempo

Dave Bontempo is an award-winning sports writer and broadcaster who calls boxing matches all over the world. He has covered the Philadelphia Flyers in the playoffs, as well as numerous PGA, LPGA and Seniors Golf Tour events, and co-hosted the Casino Connection television program with Publisher Roger Gros.