By ESPN.com | ESPN.com
Every weekday, some of our college hoops experts discuss the biggest issues, trends and themes in and around college basketball.
1. Which conference race will we have a clearer picture of on Monday morning?
Andy Katz: The Big 12. If you didn't believe Kansas was going to win its 11th straight title, then you will after Monday. The rest of the league may beat up each other over the weekend, increasing the Jayhawks' lead.
C.L. Brown: I still believe we're a week off from such clarity, with games such as Arizona at Utah (Pac-12), Northern Iowa at Wichita State (Missouri Valley) and Dayton at VCU (Atlantic 10) all a week away. Two games in particular this weekend could be interesting in shaping title races: Iowa State has to avoid a pitfall at Texas to still have a hope of catching Kansas in the Big 12. Tulsa has to beat Temple or it ends up giving SMU a two-game lead with three games left in the American.
Dana O'Neil: Outside of the SEC and the West Coast Conference, where everything is crystal clear, I'm not certain we're anywhere near clarity anywhere. We know, for example, that Wisconsin is in solid position, but I'm still not ready to declare a runner-up there yet. And the first person who can interpret the Big 12 accurately ought to go buy a lottery ticket. This season, I think, won't just come down to the end of the regular season, but even more through the conference tournaments before we have clarity in terms of who belongs where in the NCAA tournament.
2. More likely to compound a Thursday night loss with another on Saturday: North Carolina or Louisville?
Katz: Louisville. Miami has shown it can win on the road in tough environments. The Hurricanes have the interior strength and experienced guards to take down the Ville.
Brown: Louisville. Rick Pitino's teams usually get stronger in February. This one is battling personnel problems. Chris Jones is coming back from a one-game suspension. Talented freshman Shaqquan Aaron didn't play against Syracuse for essentially not buying in during practice. Sophmore Anton Gill seems to be falling further behind in the rotation as walk-on David Levitch had more playing time than Gill against the Orange. It's the wrong time of year to be going through these kinds of issues. To add to it, Miami has the type of backcourt that could be trouble.
O'Neil: I don't think either one will lose, because both are at home, but if I have to pick one I'll say Louisville, simply because Miami is better than Georgia Tech and Angel Rodriguez is always dangerous. That said, with all signs pointing to Jones' return, I doubt the Cards lose.
3. Can Auburn keep it close against Kentucky, and by close we mean 15 or fewer points?
Katz: Sure. The Tigers played well in a win over LSU and could do the same at Rupp. But they likely won't win.
Brown: Auburn leads the SEC in made 3-pointers per game, and that's part of the formula they'll need to keep it close against Kentucky. The other part? It could go wrong if the Wildcats for some reason don't come into the game focused, because if they're locked in, the game could easily get out of hand.
O'Neil: Yes, because Auburn does the one thing a wild underdog on the road has to do to keep games interesting -- the Tigers can hit 3s. It's the great equalizer and key ingredient in these sorts of mismatches and Auburn averages 7.1 per game.
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