The fever came earlier than expected this year.

It started Saturday morning in a ridiculous exercise of starts and fits. Three overtimes later, the Utah Jazz lost 140-129 to a team sporting uniforms that read "El Heat." (What was that, the NBA's half-baked nod to Miami's Cuban population?)

By then, the patient was exasperated and spent.

Friends and family advised a long break from her habit. Within a matter of hours, though, she was back in that all-too familiar, mesmerized state — staring blankly at her television screen looking for signs of hope.

This time it was the women's Mountain West Championship game. The University of Utah had to come back from a halftime deficit to pull off a 63-58 victory over San Diego State University. As much as digging a game out of a hole tends to stress her condition, the successful outcome pulled the patient out of her deep funk.

There was hope.

The patient's condition and mental outlook had stabilized by the start of the men's MWC championship game, also between the U. and San Diego State.

Her euphoria was short-lived, though, when the U. started the game ice cold. The Aztecs were up 20-12 before the Utes snapped out of whatever malady was keeping them from filling the basket. By halftime, they had narrowed the deficit to two points.

Still, the patient was restless. What if the Utes couldn't finish the job? If they could take the lead would they squander it as the Jazz had? Why was the patient, in light of the extreme stress suffered earlier in the day, putting her herself through this agony?

Because basketball turns on a moment; What makes it great is what makes it maddening. But when your team gets a favorable bounce, there's nothing quite like it.

The Utes, by the way, went on to win 52-50. If you've read this far, you already know that.

You're probably another person who shares our patient's addiction to basketball, which is particularly acute this time of year.

Ah, March Madness. For the basketball fan, there's no better time of year. Sure, they could be outside soaking up some sun and tending to the yard work they didn't get done last fall. Yes, there is a whole world out there that has nothing to do with college basketball. They get that.

Starting today with the play-in game between Alabama State and Morehead State, they won't be much available until April 6, the day of the national championship game. We have our priorities, after all.

So I'll extend apologies on behalf of the patient in advance. Sorry, family, friends and bosses. My, (I mean, her) attention will be elsewhere for the next little bit. She'll be learning about colleges and universities such as Morgan State (in Baltimore, Md., thank you very much), or Radford (from Radford, Va.) or Robert Morris of Coraopolis, Pa. (I am not making this up, as the great Dave Barry used to write.)

Sure, this "patient's" regular duties will be attended to, but don't expect her full attention. She has additional responsibilities like filling out her bracket and watching games during office hours, at home or listening to them on the radio when she's shuttling between worlds.

Come April 7, however, she's all yours.

Marjorie Cortez, who blames her basketball addiction on her late father, who coached high school basketball early in his teaching career, is a Deseret News editorial writer. E-mail her at Marjorie@desnews.com