(Editor’s note: This is part of the Bracket Central Series, an inside look at the run-up to the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournaments, along with analysis and picks during the tournaments.)

During the season in this space, we often like to begin with a bit of pop culture or history or some other random bit of nonsense unrelated to college basketball. So, uh, is it OK if we just do that for the entirety of this final installment?

Because we’re going to be totally transparent here. For the first time in six years of making mock brackets for The Athletic, we go into Selection Sunday with no earthly idea of what the selection committee is going to do. Oh, sure, there are always small surprises, but for the most part, the field is obvious except for maybe one slot.

Not this year. After one of the wildest Championship Week Saturdays we can remember, which included two power-conference bid thieves and a still-hard-to-believe outcome in the American, we find ourselves utterly confused by the bubble. And whether North Carolina will hold on to that final No. 1 seed or if surging Iowa State will take it. At least we’re not alone:

Been doing this since 2006. It’s never been this hard for the committee, not only because of how close so many of these teams are, but because of the…

Davidson’s women’s basketball team announced Friday that it has canceled the remainder of its season due to “a significant number of injuries.”

The Wildcats started the season a program-best 12-1 — including a 69-62 win at Duke in November — and were receiving votes in the AP poll at the time. But they recently had to forfeit games at Dayton and versus Fordham due to non-COVID health and safety protocols within the program.

The team did host its Senior Night on Wednesday when it lost 45-40 to George Washington, but only seven players suited up — six of them for 25 minutes or more.

“The injuries we have sustained this season have weighed heavily on our entire program. This decision is not one that we are taking lightly, as no one wanted it to end this way,” coach Gayle Fulks said in a statement. “Our team of young women is the strongest, most caring and most competitive team I have ever been a part of. They have been an absolute JOY to coach, every single day. Despite the challenging nature of the way this season has unfolded, our team never wavered and competed to the very end. I am confident there is no team in the country that would have handled the hardship we faced with as much grace, strength and adaptability as our young women did. I am so proud of…