NCAA Basketball: Buy or sell Gonzaga, Marquette, NC State and Nevada

CHARLOTTE, NC - MARCH 16: Theo Pinson #1 of the North Carolina Tar Heels dribbles the ball up the court against Garrison Matthews #24 of the Lipscomb Bisons during the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Spectrum Center on March 16, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /

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RENO, NV – DECEMBER 15: Cody Martin #11 of the Nevada Wolf Pack and brother Caleb Martin #10 of the Nevada Wolf Pack talk to head coach Eric Musselman of the Nevada Wolf Pack during the game between the Nevada Wolf Pack and the South Dakota State Jackrabbits at Lawlor Events Center on December 15, 2018 in Reno, Nevada. (Photo by Jonathan Devich/Getty Images) /

1. Nevada Wolf Pack: HOLD

Eric Musselman and company have made a living out of closer than they should be wins this season. The Wolf Pack have single-digit victories over Grand Canyon, South Dakota State, Akron, and Boise State. They also got housed by New Mexico in The Pit earlier this month. So given this, why do I have the Wolf Pack as a hold and not a sell?

Well, at the end of the day, those close victories are still victories. I’m not going to dismiss any team that has achieved an 18-1 record, even if most of their wins aren’t against tournament-caliber opponents. Jordan Caroline and the Martin twins made a great Sweet Sixteen run in the NCAA tournament last season, and there’s no reason to believe they cannot repeat that type of performance (or more).

Looking at where Nevada started the season, if you didn’t buy them right off the bat, you probably missed the boat. Looking ahead at the rest of their schedule, I would be shocked if the Wolf Pack don’t finish the season around 28-3; the only game they might not be favored in is their visit to Utah State on March 2nd.

Right now, the Bracket Matrix has Nevada as a four seed. I would be shocked if the Wolf Pack move higher than a 3 seed or lower than a 5 seed by time Selection Sunday rolls around. This would simply be a product of not having opportunities for quality wins and avoiding any more bad losses.

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