Holed up in her Pocono Mountains cabin, Penn State coach Rene Portland had plenty of time to mull over exciting possibilities — and the potential for disappointment.

Portland believes her team should be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament, but will the selection committee agree? If not Penn State, then who? Duke? Tennessee? Connecticut? Texas? Purdue, perhaps?

“I do think our case is as strong as it’s ever been,” Portland said. “But I’ve been in this too long to assume anything.”

No wonder. In this season of constant shuffling at the top of the polls, there has been more suspense than usual over who’ll get those No. 1 seeds when the NCAA Tournament bracket is revealed today.

“It’s been a great year in terms of taking a look at who are our top seeds,” said Cheryl Marra, who chairs the 10-member selection committee.

“I think this year for the first time, at least in my experience, we have more teams that have an opportunity to be a No. 1 than we have ever had, and that’s a great thing for the committee to have.”

Four different teams have been No. 1 in the Associated Press poll since Jan. 5, and no one held that spot for more than three weeks.

At least a half-dozen teams could make a case for a No. 1 seed, and no one has emerged as a clear-cut favorite for the national championship, which Connecticut has won the last two years.

“You always want some suspense,” said ESPN analyst Nell Fortner, a former Purdue, U.S. Olympic and WNBA coach. “It really draws more fans into our game when there’s suspense attached and we’ve got that now.”

So who should be placed at the top of the brackets?

Fortner’s picks are Tennessee, Duke, Texas and Purdue just barely over Penn State.

“I think they both played a good schedule. You can’t argue with all that,” she said. “I think it came down to that last game. It couldn’t have gotten any closer, but Purdue won it.”

The speculation will end today but not the suspense. Connecticut might have started the season as a solid favorite to win it all again, but that’s no longer the case.

“There’s been talk of eight or nine that could make a run through this whole thing, depending on where they’re sent and seeded and how the kids play,” Portland said.

“That’s realistic this year. No one went through this thing perfect. No one went through perfect in their conference except Tennessee. The committee has its job cut out for them.”