NCAA Basketball: San Diego State, ACC bids lead Monday Morning Mailbag

What are the biggest NCAA Basketball questions you have this week? We answer them all in this week’s Mailbag, including looks at San Diego State & the ACC.

With only the Super Bowl left on the football calendar, the NCAA Basketball season is taking center stage in the sports world. And, this year, the only thing we know is that we don’t know anything. We thought Duke, Auburn, and Butler had separated themselves as elite teams at this time last week. Now, all are riding two-game losing streaks.

What other questions did this week’s actions raise? This Monday Morning Mailbag discusses a still-undefeated San Diego State, races in the ACC and Big Ten, and more.

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.

The Aztecs are legitimately good and are in line for a one-seed in the NCAA Tournament, even if they lose a game or two the rest of the way. They have quality wins over BYU, Creighton, Iowa, Utah, and Utah State, a legitimate star in Malachi Flynn, and a versatile supporting cast. My guess is they end up rising to No. 3 this week, behind Gonzaga and Baylor.

I think four NCAA Tournament bids are going to be all the ACC gets this year. Those three – Duke, Florida State, and Louisville – are obviously locks. And eventually, a fourth team will arise (someone has to win the games played by the middle tier, right?) but there are a handful of teams in the mix there. Virginia, Virginia Tech, Syracuse, NC State, and Pitt all look to be in that group.

As of now, by guess is probably Virginia because, as bad as their offense is, I trust their defense and their coaching. After them, I think Pitt may end up being the most likely with a win over FSU already in their back pocket.

This is a good question. Well, you should be punished when you lose, especially if it’s to a lower-ranked team. For the Big Ten, however, I think we see the respect come after a win following a loss. There have been a few cases this year where a Big Ten team suffers a loss or two on the road and drops, only to rise back to where they were with a win. I think most have come to the understanding the Big Ten is so topsy-turvy this year that more teams will start to get a bigger margin of error.

They have a shot, albeit unlikely. Northern Iowa would have to be the at-large bid given their record and non-conference wins over South Carolina and Colorado, though that Illinois State loss does hurt them. The Panthers can probably lose two or three more games and still get one, though, so long as they’re to respectable teams.

This will be somewhat based off of Friday’s National Player of the Year Power Rankings, although this weekend did change some things. I’d go:

Payton Pritchard, PG, Oregon
Cassius Winston, PG, Michigan State
Myles Powell, SG, Seton Hall
Obi Toppin, PF, Dayton
Luka Garza, PF/C, Iowa

Not really, aside from opening the door for lesser-known players from smaller schools make a leap into the lottery. The biggest effect it has is on the notoriety and media publicity surrounding said prospects. Prospects mostly emerge regardless of a team’s record, which is why we’ve seen guys like Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz be drafted No. 1 overall despite missing the NCAA Tournament.

Robin Hood or Peter Pan – who wins in a fight? – Texas E Reardon IV (@texasreardon)

Peter Pan. He’s got Tinkerbell and a whole team of Lost Boys in his corner. Plus, he’s been dealing with pirates for most of his life. Gotta think that experience works in his favor.