Burning Questions Ahead of College Basketball Conference Championship Week

The NCAA tournament begins on March 13 and 14 with the First Four games, preceding one of the most exciting four-day stretches in all of sports.

But first, it's conference tournament time.

From teams on the bubble trying to improve their resumes and clinch their spots to the nation's top teams jockeying for the four No. 1 seeds, there's always a lot on the line in the final days leading up to March Madness.

With that in mind, ahead is a look at the burning questions consuming the college basketball world as we gear up for conference championship week.

Which One-Bid Conference Standouts Will Shake Up the Bubble Picture?

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South Dakota State star Mike Daum

As usual, there are a handful of standout teams playing in small conferences this season:

• Vermont, America East (RPI: 56)
• Middle Tennessee, Conference USA (RPI: 25)
• Buffalo, MAC (RPI: 36)
• Loyola-Chicago, MVC (RPI: 32)
• South Dakota State, Summit (RPI: 52)
• Louisiana, Sun Belt (RPI: 35)
• New Mexico State, WAC (RPI: 50)

All of those teams will be heavily favored to win their respective conference tournaments.

But what if they don't?

There's nothing a major conference bubble team hates to see more this time of year than a quality mid-major falling in its conference tournament and further crowding the bubble.

Middle Tennessee, in particular, looks like a lock for the bracket regardless of what happens in the Conference USA Tournament.

How Many Games Does Nebraska Need to Win in the Big Ten Tournament?

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James Palmer

Nebraska is one of the more compelling bubble teams in the country.

Despite a school-record 13 conference wins and a fourth-place finish in the Big Ten standings, it is still perched precariously on the bubble.

That's due in large part to the fact that only one of those wins—a dominant 72-52 victory over Michigan on Jan. 18—was against a tournament-bound team.

The Cornhuskers failed to beat Michigan State, Purdue and Ohio State, and its best nonconference win was against Boston College (RPI: 102) in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

Joe Lunardi of ESPN currently has them among the first four out.

Would a win against projected No. 5 seed Michigan on Friday be enough to punch their ticket?

Or would another win in the semifinals—potentially facing No. 1 seed Michigan State—be necessary to earn a tournament berth?

We shall see.

When Will Keenan Evans and Other Key Contributors Return from Injury?

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Texas Tech was ranked No. 6 in the AP poll as recently as two weeks ago.

However, a four-game losing streak has sent the Red Raiders tumbling down the rankings, and Lunardi now has them projected for a No. 4 seed in the NCAA tournament.

While three of those losses came on the road and two of them were against ranked opponents in Kansas and West Virginia, it's nonetheless a troubling downturn for a team that was once considered to be among the best in the nation.

An injury to star point guard Keenan Evans (17.2 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 3.2 APG) has been a major factor.

The senior scored a combined 12 points on 3-of-19 shooting in the first three games of the losing streak before finally sitting out against West Virginia on Monday.

He's currently listed as day-to-day with a toe injury.

Meanwhile, the status of seniors Justin Gray (concussion) and Zach Smith (broken foot) is also in doubt.

Gray was knocked out of the Kansas game within the first minute. Smith is still working his way back from a broken bone in his foot that he suffered back in January.

The Red Raiders are locked into a tournament spot, but their seed will continue to slide if the team doesn't right the ship in the season finale against TCU and have a respectable showing in the Big 12 tournament.

Is Vincent Edwards Close to 100 Percent?

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The health of All-Big Ten Second Team honoree Vincent Edwards will be the biggest X-factor in the Purdue Boilermakers' attempt at a national title run.

The senior forward ranks second on the team in scoring (14.7 PPG) while pacing his teammates in rebounding (7.6 RPG) and minutes played (31.3 MPG) and shooting 39.8 percent from beyond the arc.

He's also nursing an ankle injury.

After rolling that ankle in practice on Feb. 17, he sat out games against Penn State and Illinois before returning to action against Minnesota on Sunday.

He played 25 minutes and scored 10 points on 3-of-10 shooting, tallying two rebounds and two assists along the way.

The question now is exactly how close he is to 100 percent and whether he'll be the same dynamic player we saw earlier in the season during the team's upcoming tournament run.

How Will Big 12 Seeds Shape Up Behind Kansas?

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Trae Young

The Kansas Jayhawks made it 14 straight seasons with at least a share of the Big 12 regular-season title and are squarely in the running for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

But where will the rest of the conference fall in the seeding?

Lunardi currently has the Big 12 projected to receive eight bids, with those teams seeded as follows:

• 1. Kansas
• 4. Texas Tech
• 4. West Virginia
• 6. TCU
• 10. Kansas State
• 10. Oklahoma
• 11. Baylor
• 11. Texas

Texas is among his Last Four In, and Baylor is one of his Last Four Byes, so those two teams are squarely on the bubble; their fate is not the only question that still needs to be answered.

Has the bubble officially burst for Oklahoma State?

Would an early exit in the conference tournament knock Oklahoma out of the field altogether after a disastrous 3-10 stretch of games?

If Kansas loses and either Texas Tech or West Virginia goes on to win the Big 12 tournament, could they climb as high as a No. 2 seed?

There's a lot on the line next week in Kansas City.

How Many Bids Will the Pac-12 Receive?

Rick Scuteri/Associated Press

The uncertainty surrounding the Big 12 pales in comparison to the Pac-12 conference situation.

There are only three teams currently projected by Lunardi to receive a bid:

• 4. Arizona
• 10. Arizona State
• 11. USC

Arizona's stock has slid considerably since star Allonzo Trier was ruled ineligible after testing positive for a banned substance. He's back playing amid an appeal, but the team still has plenty to prove between now and Selection Sunday.

Meanwhile, Arizona State is a Last Four Byes team, and USC is among the Last Four In, so there's still work to do for both teams before they can feel safe.

Three other teams are also still in the tournament conversation:

• Washington (RPI: 51)
• UCLA (RPI: 54)
• Utah (RPI: 54)

A weakened Arizona squad leaves the Pac-12 tournament wide open, and plenty of hungry teams are trying to boost their stocks and punch their tickets.

Can the Big East Grab 2 No. 1 Seeds?

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Jalen Brunson

The Big East was on top of the college basketball world during the 2008-09 season.

They sent seven teams to the NCAA tournament and three of them—Louisville, Pittsburgh and UConn—landed No. 1 seeds.

However, since the conference underwent drastic realignment prior to the 2013-14 season, the only team to receive a No. 1 seed has been Villanova.

The Wildcats are in the top-seed conversation once again, and this time around they're joined by the Xavier Musketeers.

A game up in the conference standings, Xavier can secure the outright Big East title with a win against DePaul on Saturday.

However, Villanova beat Xavier in both of their head-to-head meetings and also has a win against another top-10 RPI team in Tennessee (9) on its resume.

The Musketeers, on the other hand, have just one top-25 win over Cincinnati (11), which has lost some of its luster as the Bearcats have stumbled down the stretch.

That means Xavier might need to win the Big East tournament to secure the first No. 1 seed in school history—depending on what happens with teams like Duke, Michigan State, North Carolina and Purdue.

As for Villanova, simply getting to the title game might be enough, given those two earlier head-to-head wins and the stronger overall resume.

Can North Carolina Overtake Duke and Sneak into a No. 1 Seed?

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Luke Maye

A three-game losing streak at the end of January dropped North Carolina to its lowest spot in the AP poll all season at No. 21, just in time for a meeting with archrival Duke.

That could prove to be the season's turning point.

An 82-78 victory over the Blue Devils started a six-game winning streak, and suddenly the Tar Heels are back at No. 9 in the rankings.

The ACC tournament will be huge for North Carolina if it hopes to stake claim to a No. 1 seed, but first, the Heels have a regular-season finale against Duke remaining on the schedule.

A win in Durham could immediately vault the Tar Heels into the No. 1 seed picture.

With ACC leader Virginia and Big 12 champion Kansas both looking like locks for a No. 1 seed, and two teams each from the Big East and Big Ten also in the running, there's no chance both Duke and North Carolina walk away with top seeds.

If the Tar Heels can win on Saturday and at least advance to the ACC title game, that could be enough for them to join Virginia.

All stats courtesy of Sports Reference unless otherwise noted, while RPI numbers come via CBS Sports and are accurate through Wednesday's games.