Questions raised month before field set

Unpredictable outcomes, surges and collapses have been prevalent during a college men’s basketball season in which many teams have been forced to take significant breaks between conference games due to COVID- 19 protocols.

It’s natural that this unprecedented campaign has created such uncertainty.

Here’s a look at the key questions to be asked heading into one month before Selection Sunday.

1. Will the disastrous blue bloods miss the NCAAs? No one in November saw Duke and North Carolina as bubble teams or Kentucky and Michigan State far out of the picture for the NCAA Tournament. Kansas likely will not land a top- four seed for the first time since 2000. Much of the reasoning behind these pitfalls can be traced to youth and the one- and- done era hitting a major downturn. According to Kenpom. com, Kansas ranks 265th, North Carolina 323rd, Kentucky 341st and Duke 343rd in Division I in experience in 2020- 21.

2. Will Gonzaga or Baylor lose? Both teams were poised to be No. 1 seeds last March before the tournament was canceled. And the country’s No. 1 and No. 2 teams are even better this year, with both teams unbeaten. While the ’ Zags are the better team, with one of coach Mark Few’s best- mixed rosters in recent memory ( senior Corey Kispert and freshman Jalen Suggs are the key cogs), it’s even more impressive that the Bears continue to win in a conference as tough as the Big 12. Could we see an undefeated season from either of these programs? Both programs’ players will be hungry for March success following last year’s cancellations.

3. Will the NCAA selection committee be in over their heads? The 68team tournament will all be held in Indiana with most of the games in Indianapolis. There are issues for how the committee handles selecting teams. Will it make exceptions for teams not able to make up a postponed game? Will the committee treat COVID- 19- related situations with the same leniency like it has in the past for injured players? For a group that takes a lot of criticism for its subjective nature, the members will be pushed to be more subjective with the inability to rely solely on measures like the NET. The NCAA has done its best to keep the tournament on schedule for financial considerations, but a lot of the backlash could show up prior to and immediately after selections.

4. Which bubble teams will prevail, which will falter? The NCAA Tournament bubble picture will likely look much different in early March than here in February. One thing to keep in mind is

that the smaller school bubble teams have much less room to stumble. That means Belmont, San Diego State, Virginia Commonwealth, St. Bonaventure, Loyola- Chicago, Saint Louis, Utah State and Boise State could run into resume problems when there have been less games played and less opportunity to beat Power Five teams due to scheduling. Fringe teams from big conferences like Connecticut ( Big East), Indiana ( Big Ten) and Stanford ( Pac- 12) will be in much better shape, as per usual, with more opportunity to bolster credentials.

5. Will there be conference tournaments? It might make little sense for the less meaningful conferences to host tournaments that give all Division I schools a chance to be one of the 68 teams in the tournament. But if that happens and automatic bids are awarded to the regular- season champ, will that make for a better March Madness product or worse? For years midmajor programs that won the league have complained about their season’s fate being left up to chance and luck following a whole season’s worth of accomplishments. Would better midmajor programs lead to more upsets in the NCAA Tournament with no league tourneys? Or would those surging- at- theright- time teams that won their conference tournament be robbed of becoming a March darling?

KEITH SRAKOCIC/ AP Duke and Matthew Hurt need a big finish to be in selection hunt.