As tonight’s men’s national championship game approaches, it’s fair to look back and conclude that D.C. lost our story lines from March Madness 2010 too quickly. Georgetown’s first round ouster to Ohio sent brackets and survivor pools into a tailspin. Maryland’s Greivis Vasquez — recently named the top point guard in college basketball this season — heroically brought his team back from the brink against Michigan State in the second round, only for Terrapin hearts to be shattered by a buzzer beater. Old Dominion made some waves, but fell to Baylor. Richmond bowed out quietly. With West Virginia the only plausibly “local” team to remain standing, to say it’s been a disappointing NCAA tournament — locally — would be an understatement.

But it’s never too early to start thinking about next season’s tournament. In fact, if you want to witness it in person, it’s imperative. The Verizon Center will host first and second-round games for the 2011 Men’s NCAA Basketball Championship on Thursday, March 17 and Saturday, March 19. You can now enter a lottery to by tickets via Ticketmaster. The deadline to apply for the lottery is 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, May 1, and applicants will be notified on or about May 4 if they’ve been selected. (Here’s a copy of the terms and conditions, if you really feel like parsing the legalese.) That’s just under a month away, so best to get your apps in now. Tickets for the weekend are a bit steep at $252, not including all the standard Ticketmaster convenience fees. But it is, after all, six chances to be there, in person, to witness buzzer beaters and Cinderella stories — four on the first day of the first round (quite possibly the best sports day of the year) and two Saturday games for a trip to the Sweet Sixteen. The last time Verizon Center hosted was in 2008; those at the Saturday session then saw previously-mentioned West Virginia knock off second-seeded Duke, in what was an incredibly hot ticket around town.