In March — and a little bit of April — the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournament captivated the nation, with the University of Florida taking home the men’s crown and the University of Connecticut earning the women’s title.

Surely, it was once again “March Madness.”

There’s always a lull in the basketball world once the NCAA Tournament wraps up. Weeks of excitement and bracket-busting end abruptly, leaving the most devout college basketball fans wanting more.

Here on the diocesan level, the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) boys’ and girls’ seasons also end right around the same time as March Madness. Yet everyone is still longing for a little more.

Enter St. Margaret’s parish in Middle Village. For the first time, the parish CYO program hosted a “March Madness” basketball tournament featuring boys’ and girls’ teams from around the diocese as a way to extend the CYO season.

A whopping 52 teams — most from the Diocese of Brooklyn and even a few from Long Island — have participated over the past six weekends in age groups ranging from third through eighth grade. That’s more than 500 kids who have had the opportunity to continue playing the sport they love even after the CYO season technically ended.

The St. Margaret’s gymnasium has been bustling with activity each weekend, creating a nostalgic environment for tournament organizer and parish basketball athletic director Briana Podlovits.

Podlovits, a native of Middle Village who played CYO basketball at St. Margaret before continuing her hoops career at The Mary Louis Academy, Jamaica Estates, had the idea for the tournament based upon conversations with coaches and parents about seeing what could be done to lengthen the season.

Initially, the vision of the double-elimination tournament was to be a two- or three-weekend event. However, given the boom of interest, the March Madness tournament has continued deep into April.

“I knew we’d get a good bite, but I never thought in a million years that we’d go to 52 teams,” said Podlovits, who just completed her first season as varsity assistant girls’ coach at Holy Cross H.S., Flushing. “The gym has been packed, and it’s been so great to see everyone. It’s absolutely madness!”

The March Madness theme was an easy one, since the CYO players are very familiar with “The Big Dance.” With the support of new parish pastor Father Peter Okajima and the CYO families, the community pulled off an exciting and memorable event.

In total, 92 games will be played across the eight weekends. Matchups were chosen at random, so in most cases, teams were able to play opponents that they never saw throughout the regular CYO season.

Just like Podlovits remembers from growing up, the St. Margaret’s gym was the center of the community over the past few weekends. The games have been competitive, and the atmosphere has made things feel like an extension of CYO.

“It’s constant chaos but organized chaos, which we love,” Podlovits said. “We even have kids who aren’t playing in the tournament coming to the gym just to watch the games. It’s nice to have that full-circle moment and seeing people spend time in the gym.”

While countless hours went into planning the tournament, Podlovits has been pleased with the outcome of the inaugural event. Her passion for basketball is trickling down to the next generation.

“I played here,” she said. “That gym is basically my second home.”

So even with the CYO hoops season ending, this tournament has continued the organization’s mission of getting as many children as possible to keep playing and involving themselves in parish life.

Expect this new spring tradition to be as exciting each year as the NCAA’s March Madness.

Contact Jim Mancari via email at jmmanc@gmail.com.