Every year, we set aside one month to park ourselves in front of our televisions and tune out the rest of the world. We rush home from work. We push chores to the back burner. In case you haven’t guessed it, the month is March. The occasion? Madness.

And Thursday, attention will turn to Louisville, Kentucky, where No. 1 overall seed Kansas will try to continue its dominant NCAA Tournament run. But the Jayhawks’ bout in the Sweet Sixteen will have a different feel than its first two.

Their opponent isn’t a mid-major school trying to make a name for itself (Austin Peay, first round) or a traditional powerhouse experiencing a down year (Connecticut, second round).

Their opponent is a preseason national title contender, one touted for its excessive NBA-level talent and one that held the nation’s No. 2 ranking at recently as February.

As improbable as it might have sounded in late November, this is the path the No. 5-seed Terrapins men’s basketball team has carved for itself. A string of late-season losses, some more embarrassing than others, has left coach Mark Turgeon comfortable with calling his team an “underdog” entering the third-round matchup.

“There’s been times this year we’ve been tight. Not a lot, but there’s been times,” Turgeon said. “Now there’s no reason for us to be tight. Really, the rest of the way there’s a good chance we’ll be an underdog in most games.”

While the team would never admit it, it’d be hard to believe the Terps didn’t let the pressure get to them at times. How could they not have? After all, this is The Year.

This iteration of the Terps hasn’t had years to build chemistry. Plus, four-fifths of the starting lineup — considered by some the best in the country — likely will be gone after this campaign. It looks like a one-year ultimatum.

That’s stressful. That’s nerve-racking. That’s terrifying.

But now, interestingly enough, the Terps are entering this contest, by far the program’s most important in more than a decade, with a feeling of having nothing to lose.

Or at least Turgeon hopes they are.

“We’re not even thinking about being an underdog,” forward Jake Layman said. “We’re just going to go out there and have fun and play hard.”

Added forward Robert Carter Jr.: “I don’t really look at is an underdog. We’re a really good team; they’re a really good team. So it should be a really competitive, even-matched game.”

Las Vegas disagrees. Of the eight Sweet Sixteen games, the Terps/Jayhawks game has the largest spread. People don’t think they’re good enough to beat Kansas.

But in case you’ve forgotten, this is March.

Of course, the Terps have a tall task in front of them. They’re going to have to defend as well as they have all season (see: holding the Spartans to 64 points on March 12). They’ll have to throw a diverse attack at the Jayhawks (see: something other than guard Melo Trimble dribbling around aimlessly for 25 seconds before hoisting a contested 3-pointer).

The Terps, most importantly, have to bring it. Call it whatever you want. Empty your book of cliches and toss them all at the keyboard. Perseverance. Fight. The will to win.

Yes, fans didn’t think they’d be in this situation months ago. Yes, the Terps should have performed better than they did during the regular season based on the talent they have.

But there’s still a game of basketball to play. So come 9:40 Thursday, make yourself comfortable. Cozy up in the Terps-embroidered Snuggie you got for Christmas.

And maybe, just maybe, a few hours later you’ll find yourself following in the footsteps of former students and wreaking absolute havoc on Route 1.

Maybe.