Ask a Briton to name a sporting event with tradition, upsets and excitement and he will likely come up with the FA Cup, football's most celebrated domestic knockout competition.

Ask an American and he will rave about "March Madness", also known as the NCAA basketball tournament.

Pitting 20-year-old students against each other might not sound like a recipe for high drama.

Upset: Kent State are this year's surprise package

But this inter-collegiate competition appeals to a part of America's sporting psyche not touched by the big-money professional sports.

The NBA's play-offs bear comparison to European football's Champions League in format.

Both have long, drawn out leagues and multiple-leg knockouts that favour stronger teams and cut down the possibility of surprise winners.

Not so the NCAA tournament.

Although - unlike the FA Cup - it is pre-drawn to keep seeded teams apart, it still turns up huge upsets.

Last year's triumph of Kent State over traditional powerhouse Alabama equates to Cardiff City's cup coup against Leeds United.

And there have been many other surprising results, not least aristocratic Duke losing to Indiana.

Coach K: One of the best March Madness records

Not only does the certainty of uncertainty during March Madness stir interest in the American public, it also fuels one of the country's biggest annual flutters.

From the gentle environs of the office predictions league to the hardcore spread betting of Las Vegas, everyone who follows sport seems to have a wager on its outcome.

And, as any punter would testify, the prospect of financial gain spices up the viewing experience.

When it comes to history, the NCAA tournament is no match for the FA Cup - it only dates back to 1939, compared with 1872.

But March Madness lacks nothing in tradition, throwing together as it does universities that compete in many sports, as well as academically, 12 months a year.

For Manchester United versus Liverpool, read Duke versus North Carolina. For Arsenal versus Spurs read Alabama versus Auburn. The rivalries are just as passionate.

Laettner made his mark at college

And so are the games themselves.

March Madness has a fortunate habit of conjuring up finales every bit as exciting as the 2001 FA Cup climax, when two Michael Owen goals snatched victory for Liverpool.

Former Duke forward Christian Laettner will be best remembered for his buzzer-beating winner - from a Grant Hill pass - in the 1992 NCAA East title game.

Millions watched, thousands of Kentucky fans groaned and Laettner's name was forever etched in US sporting history as he drained a 17-foot jumper.

It was pure drama, acted out by university students - March Madness at its finest.