The Spirit of '76: Reasons to Tune in to Signature Show of 2026-27 Season

Another season is underway. Let the stories unfold. In deference to the new number of entrants in NCAA playoff field, following are 76 storylines/questions needing answers/reasons to watch the 2026-27 campaign:

• In excess of one-third of NCAA DI players have switched schools at least once. More than half of the nation's NCAA DI All-Americans the previous three seasons began their careers elsewhere. To what extent will that transfer trend regarding A-A selections continue this campaign?
• What kind of initial season will Alan Huss get off to at Creighton as he strives to help the school become the first in NCAA history featuring three coaches in a row winning more than 300 games during their tenures (on heels of Dana Altman and Greg McDermott)?
• Which mid-major/non-power league player is most likely to become an All-American? Could it be Gonzaga forward Braden Huff or Utah State guard Mason Falslev?
• How long will it take new Syracuse coach Gerry McNamara to revive his alma mater after the Orange averaged 16 defeats annually the previous five seasons?
• Will Villanova reconsider its decision to disrupt the sanctity of Philly Big 5? Nova may need to put its big boy pants back on after smarting from losing to Penn, Saint Joseph's and Temple from 2022-23 through 2024-25.
• Will multiple Caucasians become NCAA consensus All-Americans for the eighth year in a row?
• Arizona State, Baylor, Butler, California, Clemson, Colorado, Creighton, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Iowa, Kansas State, Louisville, Maryland, Miami FL, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Carolina, Northwestern, Rutgers, Southern California, Stanford, Texas, TCU, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest are power-conference members never winning as many as 30 consecutive home contests. Which school may leave this category in 2026-27?
• Will Northwestern remain only power-league member failing to lose undergraduate as high draft selection by the NBA or ABA since 1971?
• Will Jason Crowe Jr., after averaging 23 ppg in Missouri's two exhibition contests, set the next power-conference member freshman scoring average record?
• In the wake of impressive season debut, will Memphis coach Penny Hardaway post his second NCAA playoff victory to at least tie former All-Americans turned mentors Bob Cousy, Bobby Hurley Jr. and Mike Woodson?
• Will Michigan State, despite advancing to eight Final Fours under coach Tom Izzo, finally defeat a school during the season the opponent eventually captured an NCAA title? Ditto Arizona State, BYU, Colorado, Penn State, Texas A&M and Virginia Tech.
• Among DI institutions making more than 10 NCAA playoff appearances, xix former Final Four participants - Penn, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Seattle, Southern Methodist and Texas-El Paso - have combined to go winless in the NCAA tourney thus far in 21st Century. Will that change for any of them this year?
• Will the Big East and Northeast remain as only conferences never having an undefeated team since their leagues were formed in the early 1980s?
• BYU, Missouri and Xavier have each made at least 30 NCAA tourney appearances without ever advancing to Final Four. Which school has the best shot at shedding blemish this season?
• Will a power-league member supply the nation's leading scorer with more than 30 ppg for the first time since Purdue's Glenn Robinson Jr. (30.3 ppg in 1993-94)?
• TCU's Jamie Dixon and Texas' Sean Miller have appeared in at least 14 NCAA tourneys. Will either of them reach Final Four for first time this season to avoid eventually matching or eclipsing Gene Keady's record of 18?
• Will someone join Clyde Lovellette (1952 NCAA champion Kansas) as the only other player to lead the nation in scoring average while competing for tourney titlist?
• Seven years ago, Merrimack (2019-20) joined South Dakota (2008-09) as the only NCAA DI newcomers in the last 38 seasons to reach the 20-win plateau in its inaugural campaign. How will newbie West Florida fare this season at DI level?
• A total of 20 coaches made their Final Four debut over the previous 10 years? Who could be in category this season if its 11 consecutive campaigns?
• Will coach Rick Pitino reach 30-win plateau with St. John's for the third straight season? He won 30 or more games three times with Kentucky and on four occasions with Louisville.
• Is there any chance at all postseason league tournament famines can end in South Carolina? The Citadel has failed to win Southern Conference since joining loop in 1936-37 and Clemson failed to win ACC Tournament title since formation of league in 1953-54.
• Will a rookie head coach register at least 27 victories for the sixth successive season?
• Power-league members Arizona State, Boston College and Texas A&M have all participated in at least 17 NCAA tourneys. Will any of them advance to its first NCAA regional final this year?
• Who will become the next power-league coach working their way up the ladder after graduating from a small college following Kansas State's Casey Alexander (Belmont), Arizona State's Randy Bennett (UC San Diego) and Providence's Bryan Hodgson (Fredonia State) doing so this season?
• Who will be the next active head coach to voluntarily leave their DI alma mater after Casey Alexander departed Belmont for Kansas State?
• Will 7-9 Olivier Rioux, the tallest player in college basketball history, sufficiently develop his game to help UC Irvine register at least 23 victories for the fifth straight season after he transferred from Florida?
• Is it conceivable Duke will supply fourth freshman national POY in nine years (Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje)?
• Will more than six NCAA playoff coaches seek greener pastures for the eighth consecutive season?
• After assessing exhibition game results, will Baylor emerge as the school preseason voters overlooked the most?
• Can Boise State's Leon Rice (336-189 in first 16 seasons) erase stigma as winningest active coach without an NCAA Tournament victory despite multiple playoff appearances?
• How often will chaos unfold in subsequent judicial decisions impacting player rosters involving sixth year in college or fifth season of eligibility after professional considerations?
• If an All-American goes undrafted by NBA for 14th season in a row, who most likely will player be?
• Will LeBron James' son (Arizona redshirt Bryce James) average more points per game than overhyped brother Bronny James did for Southern California (4.8 ppg on 36.6% field-goal shooting in 2023-24)?
• BYU's Kevin Young and Miami's Jai Lucas each won 26 games for power-conference members as mentors possessing zero previous college head-coaching experience? Will newcomers at Boston College, Butler and North Carolina State come anywhere close to that number this campaign?
• Among players competing for fifth different DI school, how many school fight songs can they recite?
• Utah (missed last 10), UNLV (13) and UTEP (16) are former NCAA titlists who haven't appeared in the national tourney for a significant number of years. Will any of them reverse fortunes this season?
• Who'll be the first coach to voluntarily step aside in mid-season?
• Which power-conference member coach on hot seat is most likely to be dismissed - Jeff Capel III (finished in bottom half of ACC standings six of first eight years with Pittsburgh), Ed Cooley (averaged 19 def3ats in first three years with Georgetown), Porter Moser (five losing league records in Big 12 and SEC with no NCAA playoff win for Oklahoma), Lamont Paris (incurred at least 19 losses in three of first four campaigns with South Carolina), Micah Shrewsberry (averaged 19 setbacks in first three seasons with Notre Dame)?
• Will Cayden Boozer, twin brother of Cameron Boozer (national POY last season as a freshman and former Duke All-American Carlos Boozer, bounce back from end-of-game passing miscue in playoff loss to UConn to continue contributing to family legacy as all-time best father-son(s) combination to play for a single university? If the Blue Devils reach another regional final, the Boozer clan will become the fifth different family in NCAA history to win at least 15 tourney games with same school.
• The Western Athletic Conference changed its name to United Athletic Conference. How often will league be misidentified?
• Will Mr. Big Shot (UConn sophomore Braylon Mullins) be able to build off swishing a logo three-pointer to upset #1 seed in last year's East Regional final?
• Will Illinois' top five scorers all be foreigners (from Croatia, Estonia, Greece and Montenegro)? Aside from the Illini, which international player will provide the biggest impact?
• Will this year be the 17th straight tourney where at least one Final Four team reached national semifinals after losing at least one vital player who could have still been eligibie if not defecting the previous year to make himself available for the NBA draft or turn pro overseas?
• Will vagabond guard PJ Haggerty, attending his fifth different DI school (Texas A&M), join center Hunter Dickinson (Michigan 21/Kansas 25) as the individuals to become All-Americans for two different institutions? Haggerty, seeking to average more than 20 ppg for fourth different school in as many years, previously was an A-A with Memphis in 2024-25.
• How will swan song go for Nevada coach Steve Alford? Is there any chance he could reach an NCAA Tournament regional final for his first time as bench boss?
• Which power-league member will make the biggest comeback from a 20-loss season (Marquette or Maryland)?
• Did defending NCAA champion Michigan make a questionable head coaching hire similar to the Wolverines' football program insofar as Mike Boynton was 24 games below .500 in Big 12 Conference play at Oklahoma State from 2017-18 through 2023-24?
• Is there a small-college transfer who'll come anywhere close to excelling at DI level like Bennett Stirtz did for Drake and Iowa the previous two campaigns?
• Did Oakland's Greg Kampe, who has the longest tenure at one school of any active coach (43 years), put his job security on the line by scheduling a stunning number of eight road games against power-conference members?
• Which preseason Top 10 team will become biggest disappointment (possibly Michigan State or Tennessee)? MSU has a history of not living up to expectations as a Top 5 preseason pick.
• How many pro players might compete for Will Wade after he returned to LSU striving to become one of the few of more 40 coaches who compiled a better record the second time around?
• Is Steven Pearl, entering his second season as Auburn's bench boss, in over his head after inheriting head coaching position from his father (Bruce)?
• Does former Indiana coach Mike Davis have any chance at all of turning around program at Mississippi Valley State, which lost 30 contests for the second time three seasons last year and sustained at least 25 setbacks for 11th time in 12 campaigns?
• Seven mid-major schools have dominated a league this decade by finishing at least six games ahead atop standings. Is an eighth in the offing this year?
• Gonzaga coach Mark Few finished in first or second place in standings all 27 seasons in West Coast Conference. Will he be able to duplicate feat in debut year in revived Pacific-12 Conference?
• At least one #1 seed failed to win a power-league tourney each year thus far this century. Is there any reason to expect that trend to change?
• Will Indiana be prepared for rigors of Big Ten Conference after failing to compete in a true road game in non-conference competition?
• Which school previously competing in both the NCAA Tournament and NIT could follow in footsteps of St. Francis (Pa.) in de-emphasizing its program?
• What are the odds VCU will lose its seventh coach (Phil Martelli Jr.) since 2006 to a power-league member?
• Harvard's Tommy Amaker, UAB's Andy Kennedy, South Florida's Chris Mack, Missouri State's Cuonzo Martin, Massachusetts' Frank Martin, Santa Clara's Herb Sendek and Kansas City's Mark Turgeon all have previously coached multiple power-conference members. Who is most likely to get another crack at directing a power-league school?
• Will at least two at-large entrants from mid-major conferences win NCAA playoff contests against power-league members for the fourth straight season?
• Will a power conference be represented by four or more members among Sweet 16 participants for the fourth straight season?
• Who will be Duke's undergraduate NBA draft pick(s) in 14th consecutive year (total of 36 previous 13 seasons following four top 10 selections in 2025 and 2026)?
• Will Illinois, Notre Dame, Purdue and Texas be the only schools making at least 35 NCAA Tournament appearances without winning a national title? Are the Illini and Longhorns the best bets to discard defect?
• Will Texas Tech participate in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight season for the first time in school history?
• Will mid-major coaches Josh Schertz (Indiana State/Saint Louis), Takayo Siddle (UNC Wilmington) and Russell Turner (UC Irvine) possibly end up with power-league member if another ultra-successful campaign after averaging at least 25 victories in previous four or five seasons?
• Will as many as seven seniors be selected in first round of NBA draft for the first time since 2011?
• Will at least four different schools from state of Texas crack the win column in NCAA playoffs for the sixth consecutive season?
• How many power-conference members with losing league records will receive at-large invitations to NCAA tourney after field was expanded from 68 to 76?
• Is an HBCU institution capable of making Jemele Hill happy by becoming the first one ever to reach the NCAA tourney's Sweet 16?
• Can Georgia, after reaching the 20-win plateau each of the previous three years under coach Michael White, take the next incremental leap upward and win 25 games in a single season for the first time in school history? Georgia (24th in 2010-11) is the only elite school in previous 18 years not to be ranked among Top 20 in national AP poll. Will the Bulldogs erase blemish this season?
• Will the SEC be represented by as many as a dozen teams in the NCAA playoffs?
• A total of 16 mid-majors winning more than 25 games failed to receive at-large invitations to NCAA tourney the previous six seasons. Will Belmont and Toledo avoid a third rejection if they are in that frustrating category again?
• Will Army, The Citadel and William & Mary, the only longstanding major-college programs failing to compete in the NCAA Tournament since its inception in 1939, make any strides toward punching their first ticket to the Big Dance?
• Can Iowa State, after averaging nearly 28 victories annually the previous three seasons under coach T.J. Otzelberger while twice knocking off a #1-ranked team by at least 23 points away from home, end the Cyclones' 82-year drought in regard to participating in the NCAA Tournament's Final Four?
• Is there a one-and-done freshman who will become 17th yearling in a 21-year span to become first overall selection in the NBA draft?