NCAA Basketball Mailbag: Projected top seeds, Cinderella picks and more

With the NCAA Tournament on the horizon, we answer all your questions on the projected top seeds, potential Cinderella’s, and more in this week’s NCAA Basketball mailbag!

The NCAA Basketball season is reaching its peak with conference tournaments ongoing around the country and the NCAA Tournament coming in just a matter of days.

Everything is heightened this time of year, but there are a number of things that have become hugely important.

Who are the national championship favorites? Which bubble teams have helped or hurt themselves the most? Who are some potential Cinderella’s?

We discuss those topics and much more in this week’s mailbag but, first, we start with who will be the No. 1 seeds on Selection Sunday.

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.

Who are your 4 number 1 seeds? – @yaboycruss (Chris Russell)

Right now, they’re still Virginia, North Carolina, Gonzaga, and Kentucky for me, in that order. However, Duke and/or Tennessee could sneak into that one line.

If Kentucky or Tennessee wins the SEC, they’ll be a No. 1 seed no question. The same goes for Duke if they win the ACC. However, if Duke beats UNC with a healthy Zion Williamson on Friday night and then loses to Virginia in the ACC Championship Game, the Blue Devils might sneak in over Gonzaga.

Duke’s win over Syracuse on Thursday night won’t hurt Syracuse that much. They already have a win over the Blue Devils on the road and didn’t have Tyus Battle in this latest game. I think they end up as a No. 9 seed.

A Duke flavor at the start of the mailbag! Love this question. There’s no doubt that the two Zions are the two best players in this scenario but R.J. Barrett isn’t far behind him. If I can have three of him AND Reddish, I’m that because of the depth of top-end talent I’d have in my lineup.

Ok, back to real basketball. Seton Hall is my favorite low-seed major conference team to make a long run. I explain why in detail here, but it comes down to Myles Powell, the way they’ve played over the past few weeks, and proven ability to beat quality teams.

For a mid-major that could make a run – outside of the obvious answers of Buffalo or Wofford – look for VCU or Utah State. If one of those two end up in a 7-10 game instead of the 8-9 game, I think either of them could make the Sweet 16 (depends on who the No. 2 seed in the region is, obviously).

NC State has the worst non-conference strength of schedule in the country, so their resume comes down to conference play, where they only won one game over a team that finished in the top seven in the ACC (Syracuse). The only real good win on their resume is a home victory over Auburn.

Virginia Tech has those wins over Duke and Purdue, and those make a significant difference. They’re top-end Quadrant 1 wins that show the Hokies can beat some of the best teams in the country – NC State doesn’t have those. The Hokies also have wins over Washington, Syracuse, and at NC State.

You’re right to think that Virginia Tech might be overrated but their resume is substantially better than NC State’s.

Maryland’s loss to Nebraska was not pretty on Thursday. They’ll still end up as either a No. 5 or No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament but they showed why many people think they’ll be upset in the first round.

Washington will be dancing no matter what in my opinion, but they may be relegated to a No. 10 or No. 11 seed if they don’t win the Pac-12 Tournament.

If they do win, I don’t think anyone else from the conference gets in. Arizona State has a shot if they make the conference championship game but I still think the Sun Devils need the auto-bid.

I have no idea. VCU does play fantastic team defense that is more about the system than any one particular defender, but you’d still expect them to land at least one on that list.

They fluctuate as the season goes on. So, no matter who you play, you’re rooting for them for the rest of the season to make your win or loss look better come this time of year.

Wouldn’t that be something?

Head coach Greg Herenda would be elected president for his historical display of leadership – and perhaps wizardry – and every player on the roster would be drafted by the Lakers at the request of LeBron James. Are those big enough implications?

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