NCAA Basketball Mailbag: National title pick, bubble teams in trouble and more

What are the biggest NCAA Basketball and NBA Draft questions you have this week? We answer them all in this week’s Mailbag.

Ah, February. The time of buzzer beaters, epic comebacks, and thrilling upsets.

College basketball is always unpredictable and March is always mad, but we get a taste every February of what’s to come next month – and so far, it’s awesome.

There’s just over a month remaining until Selection Sunday and, with the NCAA Tournament on the horizon, we’re talking a lot about top seeds and bubble teams in this week’s NCAA Basketball Mailbag.

But, first, let’s start with who I’m picking to cut down the nets in Minneapolis.

Do you have a college basketball or NBA Draft question you want to have answered? Join the conversation on Twitter @brauf33. Thanks as always to those who contributed this week.

I don’t think you can say anyone else but Duke right now (as long as they stay healthy, of course). They have the most talented roster in the country, are shooting the ball much better of late, and are rounding into form as a team. We’ve seen them beat teams in the half court, we’ve seen them beat teams in up-tempo games, and we’ve seen them come from behind to win games against quality competition. They check all the boxes.

Duke, obviously, and I think Tennessee wins enough games down the stretch (though I expect them to lose two more times before the end of the year) to stay on that one-line as well. Gonzaga will win out and claim the No. 1 seed out West, and then that final No. 1 seed will go to either Virginia or Kentucky. Right now, I’d still go with Virginia because they haven’t lost to a team other than Duke.

I think they can get the top No. 3 seed if they beat Villanova again and win the Big East Tournament. Chances are that they’ll be on that No. 2 line if they win out, but I’m not sure they do. Even so, there are a clear top eight or nine teams nationally that Marquette has not broken into yet, and they also have some losses that don’t look great on their resume (Indiana, St. John’s twice). I’d expect them to get a No. 3 seed, which will still be great for them.

Might as well while we’re at it, right? This is what I’d go with at the current moment:

1) Duke
2) Tennessee
3) Virginia
4) Gonzaga
5) Kentucky
6) North Carolina
7) Michigan
8) Houston
9) Marquette
10) Michigan State
11) Nevada
12) Villanova
13) LSU
14) Purdue
15) Iowa State
16) Kansas

Are there any teams on the bubble that would fall out with one bad loss? – Hayden Miller (@hbmiller27)

Arizona State is that team for me. They already have some really bad losses on their resume, and while they have some quality wins, they aren’t the kind of quality wins that completely offset those kinds of defeats.

That said, another bad loss after already losing to Washington State and Colorado this month would end their at-large hopes.

Four. Minnesota is another team on the bubble, but they have plenty of opportunities ahead of them. The Gophers have home games against Michigan and Purdue still to come before closing that season at Maryland.

Win at least one of those games and take care of the other three (Indiana, at Rutgers, at Northwestern) and Minnesota is in.