SMU ended the season atop the American Athletic Conference, like many thought it would, but the route to first place was anything but a smooth ride.
It started back in August when prized recruit Emmanuel Mudiay, rated No. 5 in the class of 2014 by Recruiting Nation, decided to play professionally in China amid possible eligibility questions.
Junior forward Markus Kennedy, who might be considered the heart of the team, missed the first 10 games of the season for academic reasons. As Kennedy returned to the lineup, Joshua Martin, a graduate transfer from Xavier, had played just 10 games before deciding to turn pro in January.
The hits kept coming as third-year assistant coach and top recruiter Ulric Maligi cited personal reasons and took an indefinite leave of absence.
Coach Larry Brown's first big signing in former McDonald's All-American Keith Frazier was ruled ineligible and he lost his appeal to be reinstated. And after all that, the month of January ended for SMU by getting a Notice of Allegations from the NCAA that hinted of academic improprieties.
Despite everything that has gone wrong off the court, Brown guided SMU to its first regular-season conference title since it was in the now-defunct Southwest Conference 22 years ago. The Mustangs are also set for their first NCAA tournament appearance since 1993.
Cincinnati faced its own adversity when head coach Mick Cronin had to leave the sidelines on Dec. 20 for medical reasons. Associate head coach Larry Davis has piloted the Bearcats since and led them to big wins against San Diego State, NC State and the season sweep of SMU.
What's at stake?
The league hopes to squeeze four teams into the NCAA tournament, but a lot will hinge on how the conference tournament plays out. The format is slightly different from last season as Tulsa, East Carolina and Tulane replaced Louisville and Rutgers in the league, bringing its total to 11 teams.
The top three seeds -- SMU, Tulsa and Cincinnati -- each earned byes into the quarterfinals. The teams seeded sixth through 11th all play in the first round.
SMU and Cincinnati are likely the only two who could firmly make the field regardless of what happens in Hartford, Connecticut.
Temple might be in the NCAA tournament field right now on the strength of its win against Kansas. But that likely won't save the Owls if they have an early exit against No. 5 seed Memphis in the quarterfinals.
The two teams played a nailbiter in their only regular-season meeting with Josh Brown's game-winning jumper with 2.4 seconds left capping off a 16-point comeback in the Owls' 61-60 win in Memphis.
Right now would be a good time to remind everyone about Connecticut.
The defending national champions finished tied for fifth with Memphis and take the sixth seed into the league tournament. Considering the event will take place in Hartford -- their second home court -- might factor in the Huskies' favor.
UConn just took down SMU 81-73 in the XL Center on March 1 and posted a 4-1 record against conference foes in the building. The only loss the Huskies suffered there was a 57-53 overtime decision to Temple.
And as we witnessed last season, UConn knows how to come alive during the postseason and guard Ryan Boatright will try to emulate Shabazz Napier and Kemba Walker before him.
Team with the most to gain
Tulsa finished second in the league standings yet might find itself being surpassed by teams that finished behind it in Cincinnati and Temple for at-large NCAA tournament bids. The Golden Hurricane still are paying for a pair of bad non-conference losses to Oral Roberts and Southeast Oklahoma State. And paying for the fact their most impressive non-conference wins were over Creighton and Auburn.
At one point in the season, Tulsa sat with a 5-5 record, but coach Frank Haith didn't lose his team. Tulsa went on a 12-game win streak that included a 10-0 start in the American, positioning it as a potential tournament team.
Junior guard Shaquille Harrison is the type of player who can help elevate the Golden Hurricane in the postseason and they're going to need it.
ESPN's Joe Lunardi has Tulsa among the first four out in his latest Bracketology post, which means winning one game in the league tournament probably won't be enough. In fact, depending on upsets in other conferences, advancing to the tournament finals might not be enough either. Tulsa has to play out the American like their postseason depends on it.