THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: Who’s in what league now? Does it even matter anymore?

Why is Syracuse’s men’s basketball team playing at Stanford on a late-January weeknight? 

Oh yeah. 

Money. 

Don’t laugh. 

While you might have to think twice that the aforementioned Syracuse-Stanford game was an Atlantic Coast Conference matchup, such silliness could stretch to What’s Left of the Pac-12 Conference. 

It’s going to be weird enough that Colorado State at Gonzaga in men’s basketball will count in a conference standings in a couple of years. 

Even more weird that those standings will be in a conference from the Pac-Whatever. 

But what about that potential Pac-12 football showdown pitting Texas State at Washington State?  

Or Memphis at Oregon State? 

WASHINGTON STATE made the NCAA men’s basketball tournament last year. This year’s Cougars, featuring The Best of Eastern Washington’s 2023-24 Team, is on track to miss the dance, even though they’re playing in an easier conference. 

You can still see some of last year’s WSU NCAA team — but you have to look on the Big Ten Network, or the ACC Network, to see them with their new teams. 

Honestly, you can’t blame the folks who left WSU (and Oregon State) after last year to play at other schools.  

One former WSU player now gets to play conference games at Duke and North Carolina, and an ex-OSU player is now on the No. 1 women’s team in the country. 

Meanwhile, their old teams are now playing games that count in such places as Stockton, Calif., or at similar other outposts in front of friends and family. 

Even the WSU basketball coach left for a better-name conference. And the WSU football coach left for ... Wake Forest? 

Only time will tell whether the novelty of Oregon vs. Rutgers, or Arizona vs. Iowa State in a conference matchup, eventually wears off.  

Whether the extra TV money makes up for the extra travel. 

(“Hey, look, it’s the Empire State Building. Hasn’t changed much since last time we saw it ... three weeks ago.”) 

If you’re in Nebraska, seeing USC or UCLA roll into town probably seems like a big deal. 

I admit, I watch some of these ex-Pac teams in their new leagues, largely out of curiosity.

But how long will that last?

ENTERING SATURDAY, the Washington Huskies, who are sort of a local team (unless you’re a Coug and/or you’re upset those 10 schools bailed on the Pac-12), were sitting dead last in the Big Ten Conference — 18th out of 18. 

UCLA was the “best” ex-Pac team in the B1G, tied for fourth. 

Oregon was tied for ninth. USC was 11th. 

In the Big 12 (where no way you can name all 16 teams without using Google), Colorado is DEAD LAST, and entered Saturday’s play winless in league. 

Arizona State was tied for 11th, Utah tied for eighth. Arizona, guided by former Zags assistant Tommy Lloyd, was in second, coming off a thrilling league victory over the aforementioned Iowa State in overtime the other night. 

In the Atlantic Coast Conference, which now includes teams from the Pacific Coast, Stanford and Cal are actually faring pretty well — better than they were in the Pac-12 in recent years, which probably says more about the state of the ACC these days. 

Anyway, Stanford began Saturday tied for fourth in the league, Cal tied for 10th. 

In the latest edition of Bracketology by ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, only Oregon, UCLA and Arizona were projected to make the 68-team field. 

Last year, four Pac-12 teams made the Big Dance — and that was a low number, by comparison. As recently as 2021, five Pac-12 teams earned bids. 

How are those new leagues working out so far? 

Maybe these ex-Pac teams that are getting beaten up now eventually adjust to their new, “better” leagues, and new, (sometimes) more intimidating surroundings, and the results eventually follow. 

That happens sometimes. 

If not, hope the extra money was worth it. 

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 208-664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @CdAPressSports.