Here are answers to college hoops' key questions

	Alando Tucker has led Wisconsin to No. 2 in the polls. John Biever/SI

This week marks the midway point of conference play, when college hoops heads into the final turn toward March. Here are seven pressing questions facing the field.

Who are the leading candidates for national player of the year?

This year's race doesn't have the same focused suspense as last year's battle between J.J. Redick and Adam Morrison, but it does promise to be the most wide-open POY scramble in recent memory. Wisconsin forward Alando Tucker (who was averaging 19.6 points and 4.9 rebounds at week's end), Nevada forward Nick Fazekas (20.4 points, 11.6 rebounds) and Oregon point guard Aaron Brooks (19.1 points, 4.5 assists), all seniors, each can make a strong case for the honors, but a pair of freshmen are closing fast. Greg Oden, Ohio State's 7-foot center, has averaged 15.6 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3.6 blocks while shooting 63.7% from the floor -- despite playing with a brace on his right wrist, after undergoing off-season surgery that kept him out of action until Dec. 2 -- and Texas forward Kevin Durant has averaged 24.4 points and 11.0 rebounds. But if you want a sleeper pick, how about Butler guard A.J. Graves? The 6'1" junior has scored 18.8 points per game for the 19-2 Bulldogs (missing just three of his 101 free throws along the way) and has been even better in the clutch, averaging 22.3 points in wins over Notre Dame, Indiana, Tennessee and Gonzaga.

Can a team that starts three freshmen win a national championship?

Carmelo Anthony and Gerry McNamara started as freshmen for Syracuse's 2003 champs, but three first-year starters make it even harder to win. However, if any tenderfoot trio can break through, it's North Carolina's Wayne Ellington, Tywon Lawson and Brandan Wright, who account for 42% of the scoring and 41% of the assists for the 18-2 Tar Heels. The only Final Four contender younger than the Heels is Texas, which has six freshmen among its top eight scorers.

Can UConn get it together?

The Huskies have won two national titles in the last eight years and have missed just three NCAA tournaments since 1990, but after falling to 2-5 in the Big East with last Saturday's 84-72 loss to Providence, they might not even make the conference tournament. (Only the league's top 12 teams play in the Big East tournament.) UConn doesn't start any upperclassmen, and even its sophomores (such as point guard A.J. Price, who did not play for two seasons because of illness and suspension) are woefully inexperienced. The Huskies (13-7) still have plenty of time to make a late rush, but with a nonconference strength-of-schedule ranked 237th, they will not get the benefit of the doubt if they are on the bubble come Selection Sunday.