What are the biggest NCAA Basketball, NCAA Tournament, and NBA Draft questions you have this week? We answer them all in this week’s mailbag!
We’re just over a week from Selection Sunday and, as the NCAA Basketball regular season gives way to conference tournaments across the country, the questions surrounding each team become more and more pressing.
Which projected top seeds are the most vulnerable? Which mid-majors are capable of beating them? And what about bubble teams – who is safe and who still has work to do?
We will cover all of this and more in this week’s mailbag but, first, we are taking a look at Kansas and their chances of making a long run now that The Streak is over.
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.
Why isn’t Kansas being treated as a different team without Azabuike? 13-8 without him. Eye test tells me they’re closer to a 6 or 7 seed than a protected seed.
— PackLawlor (@LawlorPack) March 8, 2019
This is a very good point. We often hear how the Selection Committee will take losses with a grain of salt when they come when a team is not a full strength (i.e. how Notre Dame was treated last year and how Duke will be treated this year), but they often don’t take permanent injuries into account as much as they should.
I think we’ll still see Kansas end up as a No. 3 or No. 4 seed because of the high quality wins they picked up in the non-conference, home wins they have over Texas Tech and Kansas State, and because they don’t really have any bad losses. However, when filling out your bracket, I’d treat them more like the team that’s 13-8 over their last 21 games than the team that is 22-8 overall.
Honest thoughts on Virginia’s potential?
— uvamargo 🐝 (@uvamargo) March 7, 2019
If you will spare the “we’ve never seen them do it in March” narrative, this Virginia team has been as consistently great as any team in the country. They have excellent guard play, an elite defender in De’Andre Hunter, have beaten everyone other than Duke, and are much more explosive offensively than they get credit for.
I also want to make the point that Virginia isn’t historically bad in March, outside of last year’s loss to UMBC. They’ve underachieved, sure, but they’ve still made the Sweet 16 twice in the past five years, including one Elite Eight.
This is the most talented team Tony Bennett has had in Charlottesville, and I think we’ll see that show with a Final Four berth.
Does UNC get a 1 seed in NCAAT if they sweep Duke Sat?
— Slick Heel (@SlickTarheel) March 8, 2019
If UNC beats Duke and UVA for the ACC Tournament title, should they be awarded a one seed?
— Busting Brackets (@BustingBrackets) March 8, 2019
There are two scenarios where UNC gets a No. 1 seed, which is a very real possibility. I think Virginia and Gonzaga are locked into top seeds, so that only leaves two available.
Duke currently has one, yet I think the Heels do leapfrog them if they beat them in Chapel Hill this weekend, earning the sweep. They’d have to outperform the Blue Devils in the ACC Tournament to keep it, but it would be theirs to lose.
I also think UNC is still alive is they lose to the Blue Devils. In this scenario, they’d have to make the ACC Tournament Championship Game and have LSU (or at least someone not named Kentucky or Tennessee) win the SEC Tournament. Should this play out, I think we’ll see three ACC teams get No. 1 seeds.
@brauf33 between MSU,U of M,,the 3 ACC teams..UK and UT and Gonzaga what one of those teams could drop out of a 1 or 2 seed? because if LSU wins the regular season and Conf. tourney they have to be a 1 or a 2 right?
— Jay Wex (@jwex234) March 7, 2019
LSU wins out and I think they’re definitely a No. 2 seed. I don’t know if they could end up on the one line but a No. 2 for sure.
I think all of those other teams are pretty much set with the exception of Michigan State, and it’s only due to their injuries. A legitimate Final Four threat before Langford, Ward, and Ahrens all got hurt, the Spartans are now a shell of themselves. They’re still playing well but, if someone will drop off that line, I foresee them faltering before any of the others.
What potential 1 or 2 seed in the tournament, will lose earliest? – @hbmiller27 (Hayden Miller)
Either one of the Michigan schools, honestly. I mentioned Michigan State’s injuries, which would be the reason for them losing early. As for Michigan, their offense has been below what we expect from a John Beilein-coached team for most of the past two months.
They have only scored more than 70 points on two occasions since January 10th – that might not be enough to get it done if they get a quality No. 7 or No. 10 seed in their region.