CHAMPAIGN – The cheat sheet isn’t needed to see who plays on Wednesday, the first day of action in the most unusual college basketball season in the history of the game.

Make that list on who isn’t playing because of Covid-19 positives.

Second-ranked Baylor was idled because coach Scott Drew tested positive. It’s left concern about the Illini’s game against the Bears at the Jimmy V Classic on Dec. 2. Tennessee coach Rick Barnes also announced a positive test Monday, and the Vols are out of the Jimmy V game against top-ranked Gonzaga.

Does this mean the Illini will play top-ranked Gonzaga instead in Indianapolis? That’s way too far in the future.

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo was also a positive, and just go ahead and essentially scrap your pairings for the Mohegan Sun MTE in Connecticut. The Battle 4 Atlantis, moved from the Bahamas to South Dakota, kept changing. Just ask Utah State coach Craig Smith, who leaned upon landing in the Mount Rushmore State his first-round opponent there would be VCU, not Wichita State.

In an unprecedented season, everyone just hopes there’s a season. Players already saw the rug pulled last season, just when the power conferences were tipping off league tournaments. When March Madness went to March Sadness, everyone went home. Coaches want to keep building, and administrators must cash the big paycheck.