More than wins, losses at stake as basketball season arrives

FILE - Rhode Island's Jacob Toppin reacts as he runs the court during an NCAA college basketball game against Dayton, in Dayton, Ohio, in this Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2020, file photo. The No. 10 Wildcats lost five starters among nine departures from last season. The addition of former Rhode Island forward Jacob Toppin should provide some much needed experience. (AP Photo/Aaron Doster, File)

FILE - In this March 12, 2020, file photo, fans sit in a mostly empty Greensboro Coliseum after the NCAA college basketball games were cancelled at the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Greensboro, N.C. Scrubbing last year's March Madness due to coronavirus concerns cost the NCAA some $375 million, and another loss like that would have ripple effects throughout college sports. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome, File)

FILE - Gonzaga head coach Mark Few shouts to his players during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against San Diego in Spokane, Wash., in this Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020, file photo. Gonzaga will begin the college basketball season No. 1 for the first time after coach Mark Few's bunch earned 28 first-place votes in the preseason AP Top 25 poll released Monday, Nov. 9, 2020.(AP Photo/Young Kwak, File)

FILE - Baylor guard Jared Butler dribbles up court against Kansas during an NCAA college basketball game in Waco, Texas, in this Feb. 22, 2020, file photo. Baylor opens this season only one poll point behind top-ranked Gonzaga in in the AP Top 25. (AP Photo/Ray Carlin, File)

FILE - In this Feb. 29, 2020, file photo, Iowa's Luka Garza (55) dunks the ball as Penn State's Myles Dread (2) looks on during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Iowa City, Iowa. As more than 300 teams prepare to start a season that will look nothing like any before it, the conversation is not so much about who will be cutting nets at the end of March Madness, as whether anyone will cut nets at all. (AP Photo/Cliff Jette, File)

FILE - In this March 12, 2020, file photo, fans watch as Creighton takes on St. John's in an NCAA college basketball game in the quarterfinals of the Big East Conference tournament at Madison Square Garden in New York. As more than 300 teams prepare to start a season that will look nothing like any before it, the conversation is not so much about who will be cutting nets at the end of March Madness, as whether anyone will cut nets at all. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

FILE - In this March 10, 2020, file photo, Gonzaga's Killian Tillie (33) cuts down the net after defeating Saint Mary's in an NCAA college basketball game in the final of the West Coast Conference men's tournament in Las Vegas. As more than 300 teams prepare to start a season that will look nothing like any before it, the conversation is not so much about who will be cutting nets at the end of March Madness, as whether anyone will cut nets at all. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

FILE - Kansas guard Marcus Garrett (0) shoots over Kansas State guard Cartier Diarra (2) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Manhattan, Kan., in this Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020, file photo. Garrett averaged 9.2 points last season. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner, File)

FILE - Villanova head coach Jay Wright and forward Jermaine Samuels (23) celebrate from the bench in the last seconds of an NCAA college basketball game against Providence in Providence, R.I., in this Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020, file photo. Villanova won, 64-60. Villanova will begin the college basketball season at No. 3 in the preseason AP Top 25 poll released Monday, Nov. 9, 2020.(AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)