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1. The Big East and SEC are expected to finalize the pairings for their challenge sometime in the next two weeks. Any speculation (as I did last week) on the pairings is now moot as the conferences try to figure out arena openings and home/road setup. The Big East coaches were told that the event will happen. Politicking has begun for some. Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin wants a marquee home game. The ACC-Big Ten Challenge has matched teams that are supposed to finish in similar positions; this event hasn’t been handled like that overall. Cincinnati played Georgia last season despite the Bearcats being an upper-division Big East team and Georgia picked for the lower level of the SEC. “I don’t know why we wouldn’t rank our teams, too," Cronin said. “I’m asking the league to get us a like opponent. If we’re being picked high then we want the same thing (from the SEC)."

2. Cronin is attempting to upgrade his schedule and has secured a top-25 home-and-home series, which isn’t easy in this era of schools looking for more neutral-site non-conference games. Cronin and New Mexico coach Steve Alford said they will play a home-and-home series next season, to start in Cincinnati. The Bearcats will visit the Pit the following season.

3. Murray State coach Steve Prohm said he has had discussions with Virginia Commonwealth about a home-and-home series but nothing is finalized. The Rams are searching for multiple games after losing Richmond and George Washington from the schedule now that they’re all in the Atlantic 10. VCU also needs two more games, since the A-10 plays 16 games and the CAA played 18. VCU coach Shaka Smart said many possibilities remain, but one certainty is that the Rams will continue the rivalry with Old Dominion, which will be off to Conference USA in 2013. Smart said the home-and-home series will start at ODU in 2012-13.

1. Conference USA’s board will vote in a few weeks on whether to move the conference tournament from Memphis to Tulsa. The consensus among C-USA members is that it will be moved out of Memphis and that includes those at Memphis. The difference between this decision and what the Colonial Athletic Association faces with keeping its tournament in Richmond (if it does) is that C-USA would clearly be rewarding a departing member with an advantage. VCU is out of the CAA immediately and Richmond can still serve as a semi-neutral site for a number of schools.

2. If a player isn’t a lock for the first round, why would he have skipped the New Jersey Nets-organized draft combine this past weekend? It’s a good question that at least one NBA scouting director asked Monday. The hope is that anyone who skipped out on the combine will head to Minnesota next weekend before the Chicago draft camp the following week. Exposure is the most important aspect for players trying to crack the first round or the top of the second.

3. Boise State was represented at Monday’s Big East meetings in Florida. The Broncos clearly have to make a commitment to one conference or another here shortly and appear to have done so by showing up for the Big East meetings. Now the lobbying must begin in full force to get the men’s basketball program and every other sport in the Big West. As Big West commissioner Dennis Farrell said, the ball is in Boise’s court. If the Broncos want in, they have to apply.

Andy Katz on Old Dominion moving to Conference USA and the future of the Colonial Athletic Association.

The most important week in recent Colonial Athletic Association history started out all right: Five days ago, George Mason announced it would turn down offers from other conferences and remain in its home league. That was good news for the CAA and commissioner Tom Yeager, who was struggling to hold together one of the nation's best emerging mid-major hoops leagues -- one that sent four teams to the NCAA tournament just two years ago -- amid rampant realignment rumors.

The good news basically stopped there: On Tuesday, VCU announced it would leave the CAA to join the Atlantic 10, taking the flagship men's basketball program (a 2011 Final Four participant, no less) to play with Xavier and Butler and the rest. Now, per a report in the Hampton Roads Daily Press, the CAA is also going to lose the Old Dominion Monarchs, this time to Conference USA.

ODU took its time with the move. There was no rush to announce two weeks ago despite C-USA's seeming insistence to that effect. Instead, like any sought-after recruit, the school weighed its options, presented its case to its Board of Visitors and concluded that now was the time to take the next step in its athletics evolution.

An evolution will be required. Unlike VCU's home in the A-10, C-USA requires this little thing called football, so ODU's 3-year-old program will have to make the leap from the Football Championship Subdivision to the Football Bowl Subdivision, and to do so it will have to upgrade its scholarships and athletic facilities, including Foreman Field. The football stadium seats 19,818, making it among the smallest facilities in C-USA.

Hosting a mere 19,000 for your football games isn't necessarily a bad thing: According to this graphic from the Virginian-Pilot, the Monarchs will become one of the few teams in C-USA with the ability to boast full attendance at its football games. That's already a leg up on other recent C-USA additions Charlotte and Texas-San Antonio, both of which will attempt to jump-start relatively nonexistent football programs as they move to what will now be a 14-team league stretching from West Virginia to Texas to Florida.

What will it mean for basketball? It's hard to see many drawbacks. Conference USA is without question consistently deeper and tougher than the CAA (even in the CAA's best years), but without Big East-bound Memphis, there is no clear power in the league, and no reason ODU's success under Blaine Taylor (who has averaged 24.3 wins per season, and gone to four NCAA tournaments, since 2005) couldn't continue.

Surely, there will be adjustments. Taylor might have to tweak his recruiting somewhat. But much like Butler, the Monarchs have consistently proved (via the power of efficiency stats, which are helpfully adjusted across conferences) themselves worthy of playing in C-USA. In fact, without Memphis, the leap from the CAA to C-USA, as quantified by each league's total efficiency strength, is not nearly as wide as the leap Butler will make from the Horizon to the A-10. In 2012, Conference USA ranked No. 10 in the nation; the CAA ranked No. 13. And that's with Memphis. The highest-ranked non-Memphis C-USA team in 2012 was Southern Miss, at No. 75; in the past four seasons, ODU's average KenPom rank is 67.75. This is not an insurmountable challenge. In many ways, ODU is already ready.

That's why this is such an important and ultimately understandable move: The Monarchs get to try out this whole FBS football thing, and all the resources and trinkets it provides, without risking a major downturn on the basketball side, where ODU's mainstream athletics relevance lies. The Monarchs can compete and win and get to NCAA tournaments in C-USA, maybe even easier than they did in the CAA (at-large bids should at least be slightly easier to come by), and they can bring in more cash to do so.

Much as we'll lament the state of the plucky, upstart CAA -- and as bad a week as this was for Yeager -- it's hard to question the Monarchs' motives. Old Dominion took its time, weighed its options and found a new home, one that should pay dividends as early as its first season in 2013-14. No mystery here.

1. Conference USA coaches and athletic directors met in Destin, Fla., Monday and, according to multiple sources, there is a strong movement to move the 2013 conference tournament from Memphis to Tulsa. Memphis is leaving for the Big East after next season and while it would make more economic sense to keep the event where it is, there isn't a lot of goodwill toward the Tigers to give them an added advantage in their final season in the conference. A decision on the tournament will be made next month.

2. Old Dominion is taking its time on deciding whether to upgrade football. The A-10 is apparently not an option anymore. If the Monarchs are deciding between the CAA and upgrading football to go into C-USA, then from a basketball standpoint, staying put makes more sense. If it’s a football decision then the Monarchs have to move. If it’s about hoops then ODU staying with George Mason and in a familiar basketball-first conference would be more beneficial to the continued success of this program.

3. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski made his intentions clear that he won’t coach the US National team beyond this summer. An NBA coach could be the next choice (and on Twitter a good suggestion came in the form of Doug Collins). If a college coach has another shot then Michigan State's Tom Izzo or Kansas' Bill Self, who have strong USA Basketball ties, could be in the pecking order. But it’s still unclear what direction the team/program will take after Coach K departs from the top job.

The Colonial Athletic Association, like so many other mid-major college hoops conferences, suddenly finds itself at a crossroads. Conference realignment on both coasts has moved on from the football-driven musical chairs game played by BCS big boys and has now begun to trickle down to places where football isn't even on the radar. The Big East takes teams from the Atlantic-10 and Conference USA, so the A-10 and C-USA turn around and take teams from leagues smaller than itself.

That's the idea, anyway. Turns out, George Mason has other plans. The CAA stalwart was among three teams being considered -- and considering -- a move to the Atlantic-10, along with Virginia Commonwealth and Old Dominion. Both of those schools have yet to announce their intentions, but Mason ended the speculation this afternoon, announcing in a statement that it would turn down other leagues' advances and remain in the Colonial:

Athletic director Tom O'Connor says a committee of senior officials assessed the goals and priorities of the Virginia school and decided that the CAA best met George Mason's interests.

He says the panel felt George Mason's status as a founding member of the league was important. It also concluded that the geography and competitiveness of the league provides stability and that the future of the conference is "exciting." [...]

"Through this process we've engaged in open communication with senior executives at George Mason University," CAA commissioner Tom Yeager said in a statement. "We respected the process George Mason University went through and are pleased it decided that continued membership in the CAA is in the best interest of the university and its athletic programs."

Pretty straightforward stuff, sure, but it does give CAA fans reason to rejoice. The loss of a founding member is a sure sign your league is in trouble (just ask John Marinatto), and if Mason had decided to leave, would VCU and ODU have been far behind?

Those schools still have to make their own decisions, but if Old Dominion's poised and altogether reasonable stance remains at the fore, there's a good chance all three schools could return to the comfy confines of the Colonial. If that happens, one of the nation's best mid-major hoops leagues -- one that sent four teams to the NCAA tournament as recently as 2011 -- could continue its rise to national relevance without making a major realignment move of its own. In any case, the goal for smaller, less protected leagues like this is simple: survival. The CAA may yet come out of this realignment mess intact.

1. Atlantic 10 commissioner Bernadette McGlade echoed the thoughts of the rest of the league over the weekend, saying the conference doesn’t have to replace Charlotte (off to C-USA) just to get to an even number of 14. She said 13 members is still a large conference. If a school applied and is a great fit for the A-10 then the league would give it serious review. I will add that if one of the CAA teams -- VCU, George Mason or Old Dominion – applied then they should be accepted. But the problem is, can one leave the others behind in Virginia? And which one would A-10 choose? (I would pick VCU.)

2. The Tennessean detailed Middle Tennessee vs. ODU in a final C-USA spot. The case is compelling for the Blue Raiders. ODU has more history in hoops of late, but the baggage of trying to shed GMU and VCU and if the Monarchs ready for football at a higher level are real issues. But the new geography of C-USA’s new members like Louisiana Tech and North Texas make it seem like Middle under Kermit Davis may make a more sound selection.

3. New North Texas coach Tony Benford has hired his cousin and longtime head and assistant coach Rob Evans. Evans was at TCU last season and is a former head coach at Arizona State and Ole Miss. Benford said after working out his new team he is convinced he has a potential top 25 squad led by Tony Mitchell. He said the Mean Green, who will play one more season in the Sun Belt before heading to C-USA, should be one of the favorites in the conference.

1. Butler coach Brad Stevens said that the Bulldogs will have to get out of the four years left on its scheduling agreement with Xavier since the two schools will be league members beginning in 2013-14. He also stated that there are no tournament conflicts ahead of the Bulldogs with another A-10 school. Stevens is excited about the move. So are Xavier’s Chris Mack and Dayton’s Archie Miller. Mack said it’s a major coup for the A-10 and moves the conference a bit more West. Miller lauded Butler’s ability to attract major non-conference opponents and how that would take the conference to another level.

2. Old Dominion is still considering a move to Conference USA and according to one school source there is still indecision. The move for the Monarchs for football would make sense if it’s going to upgrade. But for hoops? ODU needs to be with VCU and George Mason. The Monarchs don’t need to move to another one-bid league that is losing its best team in Memphis. If ODU were going to the A-10 then that would be worth endorsing. But a move to CUSA is not.

3. NC State didn’t prohibit Tyler Harris from transferring. The Wolfpack gave him a full release. But shouldn’t Harris have some accountability in this decision? Scholarships are renewable on June 30 each year. Harris made up his mind to transfer on May 2, instead of soon after the Wolfpack season ended in March. NC State took a pass on a junior college transfer and as a result is now caught short handed with nine scholarship players. Coaches and schools have been wrong to block players from transferring but players need to also make decisions in a timely fashion for all parties involved. That’s the right thing to do.

1. Mississippi Valley State coach Sean Woods is one of a handful of coaches vying for the Southern Miss job, beginning with an in-person interview Monday. The others reportedly in the mix are Larry Eustachy’s Southern Miss assistant Steve Barnes, Middle Tennessee’s Kermit Davis, former Nebraska coach Doc Sadler, Wichita State assistant Greg Heiar, and UTEP coach Tim Floyd. If USM, which is also hiring an athletic director doesn’t bump up Barnes to replace Eustachy (who left for Colorado State) then Woods should be given a serious look as the choice. Woods did a remarkable job at one of the toughest places to win. He steadily increased his win total from seven to nine to 13 to 21 this past season, going 17-1 in the SWAC. Woods and Sadler are both interviewing Monday.

2. Illinois State coach Tim Jankovich was recruiting with a host of other coaches in Minnesota over the weekend. He still hadn’t been told if he’s the coach-in-waiting at SMU. It has reached a point where something better happen soon or Jankovich is going to stay put and continue to coach a Redbirds team that has a chance to win the Missouri Valley next season.

3. The Atlantic 10 still may add VCU and George Mason, along with Butler, to get to 16 schools now that Temple is off to the Big East in 2013. But no one from any of the schools or conferences are indicating an imminent departure. VCU athletic director Norwood Teague, fresh off a trip to Europe, said Sunday that there is movement going on and that everyone is simply in evaluation mode. A-10 commissioner Bernadette McGlade and CAA commissioner Tom Yeager both said Friday there was no truth about a done deal for VCU and Mason to leave. Yeager better hope that’s true. The CAA can’t afford to lose these two Final Four programs. The A-10 would have a chance to elevate itself to being considered a power basketball conference if it pulled off this move.

If you were following the Memphis men's basketball Twitter account closely on Tuesday night, you would have noticed a profoundly strange and intriguing tweet sent at 10:43 p.m. ET. It read as follows: "tony parker." And that was it. The tweet was deleted a few seconds later.

Wait ... huh?

The Memphis Commercial Appeal's Jason Smith has the story, which is actually somewhat funny, even as it carries the threat of a secondary violation from the NCAA's committee on infractions. (It's not often that you use the words "NCAA violation and "funny" in the same sentence ... wait. Nevermind. That actually happens all the time.)

So what happened? Turns out, Tigers coach Josh Pastner was attempting to use the Twitter search function to find information on Tony Parker, a 6-foot-9 forward ranked No. 26 overall in the class of 2012, who lists Memphis as one of his final choices (and who will announce his decision on Monday). But Pastner was distracted, accidentally typed the search term into the "compose new tweet" field, hit enter, and voila: secondary violation. Pastner painted the picture for Smith:

"We're a couple men down and I'm very methodical in my hiring. Plus, you're in a recruiting period and we're making sure that we're finishing up strong academically. So I was probably doing too many things at once," Pastner said Wednesday.

"My wife was yelling at me because I was on the phone too loud. I was waking (the couple's infant daughter) up and waking my wife up because I had the TV on. She was complaining that I not only woke my daughter up, but I also woke the baby inside her up because she's pregnant.

"So I was waking everybody up, I was getting yelled at and on top of that I was thinking, 'What's going on with recruiting?' and 'Who am I going to hire?' and I made a mistake."

Did Pastner just throw his wife under the bus? I think he did! For shame, Josh. For shame.

Kidding, kidding. That scenario is so plausible it has to be true. And besides, we've all been there. I consider myself a Twitter "power user" (ick) and I still double-check every direct message I send to make absolutely sure I'm not sending it to the world, even if it's totally innocuous. The search bar could be every bit as dangerous.

But still, that's a mention of an unsigned recruit in a public forum, and that's not allowed. The good news? Memphis self-reported the violation, and the NCAA will certainly recognize this for what it is -- a simple, goofy, borderline endearing mistake. Hilarious, even.

1. One of the top agenda items for new NCAA vice president Mark Lewis is the site of the 2013 NCAA tournament East Regional. The original plan was to hold the 75th anniversary of the event at Madison Square Garden in New York. But according to multiple sources, the NCAA found out Wednesday that it isn’t going to be possible due to the late request and the dates already being sent in to the NBA and NHL for the primary tenants. That means Lewis and the NCAA staff will now decide between Syracuse and the new Barclays Arena in Brooklyn for the site. The regionals are usually already known two years in advance but the NCAA held out hope for a historic setting for the East Regional. The other three regionals are set for Los Angeles (Staples Arena), Indianapolis (Lucas Oil Stadium) and Arlington-Dallas (Cowboy Stadium). The Final Four is in Atlanta.

2. Al Skinner has emerged as a candidate for the vacant opening at Brown. This would be a home run hire for the Ivy League school that fired Jesse Agel. Skinner is Boston College’s all-time winningest coach. Brown wouldn’t find a better tactical coach than Skinner. Skinner would keep Brown assistant T.J. Sorrentine, the former Vermont guard who is popular with the current players. If Brown were Ivy League smart the coaching search wouldn’t last any longer since Agel was fired March 5.

3. No one should be surprised by the potential failure of a proposed merger of the MWC and C-USA. A merger would mean one automatic NCAA tournament bid instead of two. The most likely scenario, according to league sources, is for a scheduling/television agreement. Expansion is likely with C-USA looking at North Texas, FIU, Louisiana Tech, Charlotte, UTSA and Middle Tennessee. The MWC would naturally look at Utah State and San Jose State and could possibly grab UTEP in a shift from C-USA to the more natural MWC.

Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown has agreed to become the next coach at SMU.

1. Colonial Athletic Association commissioner Tom Yeager said he was well aware that signing a new agreement with NBC Sports would likely mean the end of the CAA’s involvement in the ESPN-sponsored BracketBusters, beginning in 2013. “We are disappointed but we understand the business,’’ Yeager said. He said that the benefits of signing with NBC outweighed the risks of losing a spot in BracketBusters. VCU coach Shaka Smart agreed that no longer participating in BracketBusters wasn’t good. The CAA has had some of the best wins in the event, notably by George Mason, VCU and Drexel.

2. Third parties representing TCU and SMU showed interest in Memphis coach Josh Pastner, according to sources, but there was no interest on his part. And there shouldn’t be at this point. Pastner is at the best job in Conference USA. When Memphis goes to the Big East in 2013, he’ll be at one of the best in that league, too. Pastner should only leave if he has to or for a comparable job, not a lesser one.

3. SMU also made overtures toward Harvard coach Tommy Amaker. Amaker wasn’t interested, either. A year ago, Miami made a strong push to get him. But Amaker knows he is in a special place at Harvard and will coach another Ivy League title contender. His NCAA tournament berth last month was historic for the Crimson. And now the most recognized school in higher education cares about hoops. That in itself is quite an accomplishment.

And so the offseason begins. As we start the countdown to Midnight Madness, five of our writers examine some big offseason questions:

John Gasaway: What's to become of the Big East?

West Virginia will be a Big 12 school come July. Syracuse and Pittsburgh have pledged to join the ACC just as soon as they can get rid of their old league. And Connecticut is appealing a ruling that may force the Huskies to sit out the 2013 NCAA tournament for failing to meet Division I academic requirements. In other words, these are tumultuous times for the Big East.

The league's leadership is trying to meet this challenge by adding new members. Basketball fans will see Memphis, Temple, Central Florida, Houston, and SMU competing in the Big East starting with the 2013-14 season. Barring further defections, that influx will produce an 18-team basketball league, which certainly sounds healthy enough. But will Dave Gavitt's creation still have the same cachet in hoops? Will the Big East's annual March get-together at Madison Square Garden be as special as it was before? What's the long-term outlook for a basketball-rich Big East in a football-driven landscape? No one knows, least of all the Big East itself.

Andy Katz: Where will Nerlens Noel and Shabazz Muhammad end up?

This is my No. 1 offseason question for now. If one or both decide to go to Kentucky, the Wildcats jump up into the No. 1 discussion yet again. If UCLA gets Muhammad, does that mean the Bruins are back? There are so many questions still to be answered heading into the offseason, but these two players can shift the direction of the potential top teams more than others. The early-entry decisions this month will certainly affect the pecking order in college basketball. But unless there is a change of direction, most of the elite players will leave if they haven’t already. The decisions of these two incoming stars seems more relevant now.

Jason King: Can Ben Howland regroup at UCLA?

Howland’s image took a hit when a February Sports Illustrated article suggested he had strained relationships with his players and didn’t discipline them properly. The Bruins missed the NCAA tournament for the second time in three years, but the addition of highly touted freshman Kyle Anderson should significantly improve a team that will also add North Carolina transfer Larry Drew at point guard. If Howland can get better effort out of center Josh Smith and more production from the Wear twins, UCLA will contend for the Pac-12 title. But if Howland -- who took the Bruins to three straight Final Fours from 2006-08 -- endures another mediocre season, his future at the school could be in jeopardy.

Joe Lunardi: How will the conference dominoes fall?

Next season marks a real shift in major conference membership. Missouri and Texas A&M to the SEC, West Virginia to the Big 12, etc. It won't be long before we need a laminated pocket card to know who is in what league. And the 2013-14 season will be more of the same.

I'm past lamenting the loss the of certain rivalries or bemoaning the lack of geographic logic of it all. What matters most in my world is the long-term effect of membership changes on the NCAA at-large picture. For instance, it took several years for the Big East's five-team raid of Conference USA (2005-06) to pay off in a greater number of bids than those schools were already receiving.

With the dominoes still falling and several moves a year or more away (e.g., Pitt and Syracuse to the ACC), there is no way to really know the winners and the losers from a basketball perspective. And that's because basketball was never a primary consideration in any of this.

Dana O'Neil: Will John Calipari stay at Kentucky?

He has said repeatedly that he has his dream job and there is no arguing he is the king of college basketball at the moment. But more than a few people expect that a few NBA teams could make a run at Calipari. He already is well-compensated and sitting in the catbird seat, so professional basketball doesn't have the same allure for him that it might for others. But being the Kentucky coach is a full-time, exhaustive job that can wear even the best salesman out. And the NBA remains the one place that Calipari didn't have success, so I'll be curious -- as will the Commonwealth -- to see whether Calipari is tempted by the NBA.

In other, much less endearing band-related news, Southern Miss took action against five members of its pep band that chanted "Where's your green card?" at Kansas State guard Angel Rodriguez in last Thursday's second-round loss to the Wildcats. The punishment is rather harsh, but it's probably appropriate: Five members (which the school did not identify) lost their scholarships, were kicked out of the band and will have to complete a two-hour sensitivity training course at the school, per the Associated Press. Again: harsh, but probably warranted. You can't get away with chants like that, nor should you. Lesson learned.

But here's the really important, and ignorant, part, one highlighted by a commenter in the AP story, no less: Rodriguez doesn't even need a green card. He's from Puerto Rico. The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States. Puerto Ricans have been U.S. citizens since 1917. On Monday, they voted in the Republican electoral primary. You can travel to Puerto Rico without a visa (and I hear it's beautiful!), and Puerto Ricans can travel and/or reside freely in the continental U.S., Alaska and Hawaii without need for documentation, because U.S. citizens don't need green cards to be in the U.S.

Angel, you want to clear this up for everyone?

Rodriguez said last week that he accepted the apology because "there's ignorant people and I know that's not how they want to represent their university."

Rodriguez said he doesn't pay attention to that "nonsense, especially because Puerto Rico is a commonwealth, so we don't need no type of papers."

There are lessons to be learned here:

1. Don't chant racist and/or culturally insensitive things at college basketball games, particularly if you are representing your university and on scholarship while doing so. You will probably lose your scholarship, and you probably should.

2. Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens!

Are we totally clear on this? We got it? Good. Now let's go back to talking about basketball, shall we? As far as Kansas State is concerned right now, there are far more pressing issues at hand.