25 questions heading into the 2017-2018 college basketball season

The dark cloud that will live over the 2017-2018 college hoops season is the ongoing FBI investigation that has already done a lot of damage to the sport. It has touched programs in Louisville, Arizona, Oklahoma State, Auburn and Miami, and there is a fear that more programs could be impacted. Everything from firings to NCAA sanctions and possible systematic overhauls are on the table as potential outcomes of this scandal. No matter where you will turn this season, the investigation will lurk around every corner.

Louisville has been the program that has suffered the most from the FBI investigationthus far. Rick Pitino and former AD Tom Jurich have already lost their jobs, and there is a feeling that once the NCAA gets a hold of this more trouble will come. The basketball program is already in the middle of the penalty phase of its NCAA investigation over an escort scandal involving players and recruits. A bribery case really isn't what the school needs right now. Some have even called for the extreme action of the program's death penalty, and Louisville's 2013 championship is in real jeopardy of being vacated. The season will go on, and the Cardinals still should have a pretty good team. Still, this isn't a happy time in Louisville.  

North Carolina has had deep runs in the last two tournaments, topping off with a national championship this past April. Can the Tar Heels get back to a third straight championship game? That's tough. They lost most of their elite frontcourt from last season, and last year's Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four, Joel Berry, will start the season on the sidelines with a broken hand. This will be a young team that relies on the Berry-Theo Pinson backcourt to lead it. If Carolina gets back to the Final Four, it may be Roy Williams's best coaching job yet.

Duke is ranked No. 1 in many preseason polls, but its success depends a lot on the maturity of the team. We're not just talking the four freshmen who will likely start, but also the senior who will be counted on to be the team leader. Grayson Allen's career at Duke has been rocky to say the least. From his outstanding 2015 NCAA Championship Game to his tripping episodes, suspension and injuries, he has gone through a lot in Durham but hasn't truly been the best player he can be. He needs to do that to lift the very talented, yet young, Blue Devils that have their sites on Mike Krzyzewski's sixth national championship.

The biggest conference expansion event this season is Wichita State leaving the Missouri Valley Conference for the American Athletic Conference. It is a huge step up for the Shockers. Last season, they were rewarded for their 31-5 season with a No. 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Feeling disrespected, the Shockers will join the AAC, where they will get much more publicity and better conference competition — and the hope of proper seeding. Wichita State will start the season as a top 10 team and hopes that successful season will be rewarded accordingly.

Ewing isn't just some former star player who goes back to college to take over at his alma mater. He has paid his coaching dues. Since retiring in 2002, he has spent time the past 15 years as an NBA assistant coach, where he did a great job working with Dwight Howard and was hoping for a head coaching gig. He's getting one at Georgetown, which has fallen in status over the years. His hiring has been met with skepticism since he hasn't been in the college game since losing the 1985 NCAA Championship Game to Villanova. Can he recruit? Can he rebuild a program? Will it be tougher to deal with college kids instead of the grown men of the NBA? Time will tell, but Ewing's time begins now. 

Kentucky fans have grown accustomed to having to go into each season trying to learn their team's players' names and faces. The 2017-2018 season may be more work for them. Even though each season seemingly sees one-and-dones coming and going, there always seems to be a player or two who sticks around and provides John Calipari's squad with experience and leadership. This team doesn't really have that as its most experienced returning player is Wenyen Gabriel, who averaged 4.6 points a year ago and scored exactly one point in the Wildcats' tournament run. Unlike other Kentucky teams, the one-and-dones coming in aren't of the otherworldly superstar variety. If Calipari gets this team back to the Elite Eight or further, it could be his best coaching job yet. 

For 20 years, Gonzaga has been the darling of the mid-majors. The Bulldogs were a perennial tournament team who even held a No. 1 ranking but just couldn't break into a Final Four. That changed last year when the Zags not only reached their first Final Four, but advanced to the National Championship Game, where they held a lead over North Carolina in the final minutes before ultimately losing. So can the Bulldogs get back? Like any other power, the Zags lost guys early to the draft as well as graduation but hope the players remaining will step right in to take on a bigger role. Saint Mary's and BYU will be right there to take Gonzaga's WCC crown so Mark Few's bunch can't rest on its laurels. 

Kansas has won at least a share of the Big 12 regular-season championship a record 13 straight years. That mark ties John Wooden's UCLA teams that won 13 consecutive Pac-8/Pac-10 championships from 1967 to 1979. Despite losing National Player of the Year Frank Mason III, the Jayhawks have a great chance to break that record this season with yet another experienced team mixed with some intriguing transfers and great incoming freshmen. They'll have to fend off a really good West Virginia team and a rebuilt Texas squad to get that record. It's Kansas, after all, where winning the conference is just what the Jayhawks do. 

This spring, Indiana finally ended the Tom Crean era while Ohio State surprisingly moved on from Thad Matta. Enter Archie Miller and Chris Holtmann. Miller, who comes from Dayton — which is in Ohio — takes over at Indiana, where he must resurrect a program that hasn't won a title in 30 years but still thinks of itself as a blue-blood program. Holtmann, who comes from Butler — which is in Indiana — will take over a program that just let go its winningest coach in history. Both fan bases expect their coaches to quickly get their schools back among the Big Ten and national elite. Each has a lot of work to do but also has the ability and support to make it happen. Just maybe not this year.

Gonzaga made it to a championship game and Wichita State is now in the AAC so they can't really be looked at as mid-majors anymore. So who are the ones to watch for this season? Saint Mary's could actually topple Gonzaga's stranglehold on the WCC and be a dangerous team come March. Illinois State could fill the void left by Wichita State in the MVC. Dan Hurley's Rhode Island Rams are primed to build on their tournament win last season. Vermont brings back Anthony Lamb to a team that hung with Purdue in the first round of last year's Big Dance. Kermit Davis is building something special at Middle Tennessee. Keep your eye on Oakland, Bucknell, the College of Charleston and Princeton as well.

South Carolina came from nowhere to get to the Final Four last season, marking the fifth straight season a team seeded No. 7 or worse did so. Who could that be this year? Maybe Texas, who missed the tournament last year but brings in freshman big man Mo Bamba. Maybe Missouri, who has top frosh Michael Porter,Jr. and new coach Cuonzo Martin. How about Oregon, who lost nearly everyone from a Final Four team last year? Avery Johnson is building Alabama up quickly and could be a dangerous team come March. Tony Bennett's Virginia squad will be under the radar after a few years of elite status, but UVA's style of play could be tough to deal with in the tournament. 

While many schools watched their most talented players depart for the NBA or other pursuits, USC actually watched its guys come back to school. Bennie Boatwright, Chimezie Metu and Elijah Stewart all tested the draft waters but decided to come back to school —which gives the Trojans not only a talented team, but one with experience as well. USC will be a top 10 team this season that should start two juniors and two seniors. If it all clicks, the Trojans could reach their first Final Four since 1954.

Sixteen schools will meet in Portland, Ore., on Thanksgiving weekend to play in the PK80 event — a tournament to celebrate Nike co-founder Phil Knight's 80th birthday. There are actually two tournaments played concurrently in separate venues and feature the likes of North Carolina, Michigan State, UConn, Oregon and Oklahoma in the Victory Bracket while Duke, Gonzaga, Ohio State, Florida, Stanford, Texas and Butler are among the teams in the Motion Bracket. These schools have won 23 national championships with nine of the last 13 champs involved.

It seems as if every season the NCAA Tournament selection committee changes its criteria for not only who gets in to the tournament, but where they are seeded. This coming season, the committee will put more weight on where games are played. So winning a big road game or a neutral site game will be valued as a quality win more than just beating a ranked team in your own building. This should help mid-major schools that are forced to play more road or neutral site games against the power schools — not only in making the tournament, but also their seeding.

It is rare to see a talent like Bridges skip the NBA Draft to come back school for his sophomore season. Despite being a likely lottery pick and his coach Tom Izzo against it, he did indeed come back to school. Everyone has his or her own motivations, but Bridges will play his out on the court for all to see. His Spartans are one of the favorites to cut down the nets in San Antonio, and he could win some individual awards along the way. His draft stock could even soar as he will be more NBA-ready. Of course, it could all go bad. Either way, it is what Bridges wanted to do, and there a lot or worse things to do than play for a championship contender under Izzo. 

We already talked about Wichita State's move to the AAC this season, but there are more schools on the move. Valparaiso left the Horizon League to join the Missouri Valley Conference. Valpo won the Horizon regular-season championship the last three years but failed to win the conference tournament last season (Northern Kentucky did). The Crusaders won't be able to fill the huge void Wichita State left, but they should be able to come in and compete immediately. IUPUI leaves the Summit League to replace Valpo in the Horizon.

Why single out Missouri? Well, because Michael Porter Jr. is playing for the Tigers. Porter is one of the top incoming freshman and could be the top overall pick in next spring's NBA Draft. The last two players who went No. 1 overall (Markelle Fultz, Ben Simmons) didn't play in the NCAA Tournament in their only college seasons. Missouri was 8-24 last year and hasn't made the tournament since 2013. New coach Cuonzo Martin has his work cut out for him, but Porter should make the Tigers relevant again. 

Purdue had one of the best one-two punches in the nation last year with Caleb Swanigan and Isaac Haas. Swanigan left for the NBA, which leaves the 7-3 Haas and not much else manning the paint for the Boilermakers. The backcourt is steady, and senior Dakota Mathias and Vince Edwards are deep threats that stretch defenses. Haas will be asked to step up his game as his importance has increased. He only started 15 games last season and averaged less than 20 minutes but was extremely productive when on the floor. His backup is a freshman, so coach Matt Painter needs to have Haas on the floor as much as possible if the Boilermakers want to make it back to the Sweet 16.

Think about this: The Big Ten hasn't won a national championship since Michigan State did in 2000. The Pac-12 hasn't won a title since Arizona did in 1997. Both those two teams seemingly have the best chances to break those streaks of futility for their respective leagues. The Spartans are loaded and may have the nation's best player in Miles Bridges. Arizona enters this year just as loaded and goes in having a dynamic roster healthy and available. The Pac-12 also has USC, Oregon and UCLA. The ACC, Big East and SEC have dominated in the ring department since Mateen Cleaves led Sparty to a title in 2000, which has left these two leagues pining to get back to the mountaintop.  

Every season, there is a list of coaches who really need to win now in order to keep their jobs. This year is no exception . Georgia's Mark Fox, Clemson's Brad Brownell, Kansas State's Bruce Weber, Boston College's Jim Christian, Auburn's Bruce Pearl, DePaul's Dave Leitao and Nebraska's Tim Miles are just a few names that will make most "hot seat" lists. Not to mention the ongoing FBI investigation still could flush other coaches out. Plus you would have to think Louisville may look to make a splashy move to replace Rick Pitino full-time if it decides not to stick with David Padgett.

When North Carolina visits Syracuse Feb. 21, it won't be just about Senior Day nor that two Hall of Fame coaches will tangle yet again. The two coaches have a little beef and not just on the floor where Boeheim beat Williams for the 2003 national championship or two years ago when UNC beat Syracuse in the Final Four. When the NCAA ruled there would be no sanctions against North Carolina after a long investigation into the university's academic scandal, Boeheim — who was punished a couple years ago by the NCAA — went on a rant to the media about a double standard. Ol' Roy retorted that they were friends and the cases were dissimilar. Boeheim isn't the most popular of coaches around the ACC where the Tar Heels are part of the establishment. Maybe we'll forget about the comments by then, but I'm sure these two won't. 

Last year, much of the country was introduced to LaVar Ball, the talkative dad of UCLA freshman Lonzo Ball. While Lonzo is off to the NBA's Lakers, his middle and less heralded son, LiAngelo, is a freshman for the Bruins (his highly rated third son LaMelo is a high school junior). While LiAngelo is easily the least likely to have an NBA career, his father will make him well-known. Well, that was the thinking until LiAngelo was one of three UCLA players arrested in China for shoplifting. While the Ball family will collectively be part of our basketball narrative for years to come, this arrest may be the most serious story dealing with the Balls.

Cincinnati may have its best team since the Bob Huggins era and is a legit Final Four squad. So it is seemingly par for the course that the Bearcats will have adversity to deal with this year. With their nearly 30-year-old arena being renovated, the school will play home games in Highland Heights, Ky., this season, home of Northern Kentucky University. The program has had hits for years now. It lost during the Big East breakup, then watched city rival Xavier join the Big East instead. Then the Bearcats seemed like shoo-ins to join the Big 12 until that league decided not to expand. Now these top 10 Bearcats must travel 10 miles away into another state to share a home arena with a Horizon League team.

Last year's change from the 35-second shot clock to 30 seconds was a rousing success. This year, the NCAA decided to reset the shot clock to 20 seconds if a foul is called in the frontcourt (and there is less than 20 seconds on the clock). Referees can now go to replay in the final two minutes to determine if a defender is standing in the block/charge semicircle. In what might be the most fun change, the 2018 tournament will adopt The Basketball Tournament's postgame celebration of the winning team advancing its name plate on an enlarged bracket.