Each college basketball season begins in a kind of fog, with March shrouded like the supports on the George Washington Bridge. As the weeks unfold and teams find themselves, the view gets clearer. We know, or can reasonably guess, where the road is heading.
Not this year.
No, this year has been so gray you would think the entire college basketball season had been played in Seattle. The only fate worse than being ranked No. 1 in a given week was being ranked No.2.
Do you realize come tomorrow Gonzaga is going to be the nation’s No. 1-ranked team for the first time in history? Not Kentucky or Duke or Indiana, but Gonzaga — which, for the record is in Spokane, Wash., not Seattle.
The four No. 1 seeds are undecided. The field of 68 is bouncing around like ping pong balls in a lotto machine.
STORM SEASON
You don’t have to look any farther than Queens to find a college basketball team that has spent the last three weeks, and likely will spend the last two weeks, balancing on the NCAA bubble like a Wallenda on the high wire.
The Johnnies come out of last night’s 62-59 loss at Providence with a 16-12 record, an 8-8 mark in the Big East. They entered the game with an RPI of 61 and a strength of schedule of 35 in the nation’s second toughest conference. Without question, they are unsure if their name will be called on Selection Sunday.
Here’s the good news: Win out — at No. 21 Notre Dame and home against No. 22 Marquette — and there’s hope they will get invited to the dance.
Here’s the bad news: The Johnnies will have to do it without their leading scorer. Sophomore D’Angelo Harrison has been suspended for the rest of the season for conduct detrimental to the team — an issue the Selection Committee will take into account.
But if the Johnnies win both remaining games, maybe even just one, and you will need a chainsaw to cut the tension on the team bus en route to the Garden for the last Big East Tournament as we know it.
The Johnnies hardly are alone. The Post looks at this year’s Bubble Boys. There are bunk beds to accommodate all of them this year.
HOW MANY ATLANTIC 10 TEAMS ARE GETTING IN?
There are seven A-10 teams in the top 68 of the RPI. Then there’s Richmond (17-12, 7-7) with an RPI of 72 and a strength-of-schedule of 79. They’re out, right?
But what if they win their last three — at 16-12 Dayton and home vs. 8-20 Duquesne, sandwiching a matchup at 23-6 VCU, which has an RPI of 34?
Does the Atlantic 10 get eight bids, or, as many as the Big East?
DOES STONY BROOK HAVE AN AT-LARGE CASE?
The Seawolves thought they had the school’s first-ever berth nailed down last season. A veteran team had the America East Tournament championship game on its home court and played tighter than a Joan Rivers smile.
The Brook (22-6, 13-2) again will have home court. It took UConn, Seton Hall and Maryland to the wire before losing all three. But if the Seawolves don’t take care of business, their SOS of 280 is a killer.
FEAR THE TURTLE
How can a team with an RPI of 73 and an SOS of 110 even be in the conversation? How can a team with wins over N.C. State and Duke not be in the conversation?
Maryland (20-9, 8-8 in the ACC) can eliminate almost all doubt by beating North Carolina (20-8) and winning at Virginia (20-8) in its regular-season finale. Of course, Cannibal Cop Gilberto Valle could win Top Chef, but we don’t see that happening either.
BEARCATS GOT COAL FOR CHRISTMAS
November and December were heady days for Cincinnati. The Bearcats opened 12-0 and were riding last season’s Big East Conference Tournament title like Calvin Borel coming down the stretch at Churchill Downs.
Then jockey-sized coach Mick Cronin’s Bearcats stumbled. They had lost three straight and five of six to fall into a tie with Providence for 10th place in the Big East before yesterday’s win against UConn. Unless this team has cashed in early, Cincy (20-9) should get in, and will get in if wins at Louisville (24-5).
The Bearcats (RPI of 50 and SOS of 29) picked up their 20th win yesterday. A Big East team that wins 20 games has gone to the NCAA Tournament 96.7 percent of the time (147-of-152).
EVENT HORIZON
Valparaiso, which gave us one of the great NCAA Tournament highlights ever (Remember Bryce Drew’s 3 that stunned third-seeded Ole Miss in 1998?) is one of the great stories of the season. Drew, now the coach, has led the Crusaders to a 24-7 record overall and 13-3 in Horizon League play.
The Crusaders have split with Detroit (20-11, 12-4). If the Crusaders, who start five seniors, including two in their fifth year, win the league, beating Detroit in a close league title game, does Detroit have a case?
The Titans have a higher RPI (61) than Valpo (66), a stronger SOS (88-172). The Titans lost to St. John’s by three and to Syracuse by four. Point guard Ray McCallum, the son of the coach, is exactly the kind of player who can become a March Madness poster boy.
VALLEY BOYS
Creighton (24-7, 13-5 Missouri Valley) and Wichita State (24-7, 12-6) are in. The Blue Jays have an RPI of 41, with the Shockers at 42. Creighton has a win over Wisconsin. Wichita State edged VCU.
But what if Northern Iowa, which has wins over Creighton and Wichita State and has close losses to Louisville (51-46) and Memphis (52-47), wins the conference tourney. Do three Valley Boys go dancing?
BUBBLE TEAM SPECIAL EXEMPTION
If South Dakota State doesn’t win the Summit League, it doesn’t get in, which means America doesn’t get to see Nate Wolters, a 6-foot-4 guard who would be the first Summit League player to score 2,000 points, grab 600 rebounds and give out 600 assists. He scored 53 points in a game this year.