By STEVE MEGARGEE

AP Sports activities Author

The suspense begins to mount on Wednesday for the NCAA event bubble groups as increasingly large conferences start the postseason recreation.

Because the Atlantic Coast Convention started its event on Tuesday, the Huge Ten, Huge 12, Pac-12, Southeastern Convention and Huge East all opened the competitors on Wednesday.

Listed here are some questions relating to the NCAA event discipline that also want answered:

What number of so-called blueblood applications obtain this? One of many essential tales of this uncommon season has been what number of established powers have struggled greater than ordinary. Kansas and North Carolina have had their ups and downs, however Kansas stays a lock on an NCAA bid and North Carolina numbers to take action as nicely. Duke has extra to fret about, as Kentucky’s solely hope is to win the SEC event.

What number of groups come out of the Huge Ten? As robust because the Huge Ten have been this season, their bubble groups have not performed nicely currently, with Michigan State being the notable exception. No. 3 Illinois, No. 4 Michigan, No. 5 Iowa, and No. 9 Ohio State are probably seeds No. 1 and No. 2. Purdue and Wisconsin can even be within the discipline. Rutgers, Maryland and the State of Michigan have motive to be optimistic however should not take something without any consideration. This makes at present’s showdown between Michigan, Maryland, and Rutgers-Indiana notably attention-grabbing.

Will Drake be a part of Missouri Valley rival Loyola-Chicago? Drake can be out of motion this week after dropping to No.18 Loyola within the MVC Championship recreation on Sunday. This implies the Bulldogs can be watching the opposite tournaments within the convention with nervousness. Many simulated helps at present have Drake among the many late groups within the discipline. The Bulldogs should take root towards different bubble groups and hope that nobody will run a Cinderella right into a convention event to steal a proposal.

Can the Mountain West Convention obtain a number of gives? No. 19 San Diego State is a protected guess to win an NCAA bid. Boise state, Colorado state, and Utah state even have pictures to drag off, however neither of these groups can afford an early loss within the Mountain West event that begins Wednesday in Las Vegas. The state of Utah is particularly want of a giant week.

Duke (12-11, 9-9 ACC), most likely did not assist himself a lot by strangling Boston School 86-51 within the first spherical of the ACC event, however a loss would have worn out the Blue Devils altogether. consideration.