What are the biggest NCAA Basketball questions you have this week? We answer them all in this week’s Mailbag, including looks at Georgetown, Memphis & more.
There are only four weeks left in the NCAA Basketball regular season, and the sense of urgency among teams on the NCAA Tournament bubble continues to intensify. It’s make-or-break time for a lot of teams that have disappointed so far, so it’s not a surprise that most of this week’s questions center around those with their seasons on the line.
Let’s dive in.
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.
What does Georgetown have to do to get into the NCAA tournament?
— Sal (@sal7864) February 9, 2020
Georgetown is currently 14-10 with just a 4-7 mark in Big East play, though they’ve been without their best player in Mac McClung for a good part of the past two weeks. The selection committee always takes injuries into account, so there’s definitely still a chance for the Hoyas.
They have four opportunities to really boost their resume down the stretch – the Hoyas have a road game against Butler in their next outing along with road contests against Marquette and Creighton before closing the season against Villanova.
If Georgetown can win two of those games and go at least 5-2 over the next few weeks, they’ll be in.
Memphis eliminated barring miracle finish?
— Tigers 🇺🇸 (@tigersgrizz07) February 9, 2020
Yes, unfortunately. It’s been a rough season for Memphis with James Wiseman leaving the program and DJ Jeffries likely out for the rest of the season due to a knee injury, and the Tigers haven’t been able to withstand those losses (no one really can when you lose two of your top players). Saturday’s loss to South Florida put them on the outside looking in, and one more bad loss will completely eliminate them from the NCAA Tournament picture.
No. I know Kentucky fans want that loss to go away because they’ve improved immensely since then and have picked up several top-quality wins, but the loss happened – and it continues to look worse as the Purple Aces have yet to win a conference game.
My top 5 Sleepers for 2020NBADRAFT! 1. Cassius Stanley 2. Aleksef Pokuseski 3.Tres Tinkle 4.Amar Sylla 5.Robert Woodard
— RUDEBOY (@RUDEBOY_______) February 9, 2020
I absolutely love Cassius Stanley‘s potential in the NBA. I think he probably needs another year of skill development before he can really make an impact, but his insane athleticism and defense are great fits in the more wide-open NBA game.
I’m not sold on the other guys, but Stanley is someone who will definitely make an NBA team happy should he decide to leave Duke.
Do you think there will be a major conference realignment happening anytime soon and who moves where? Also, what's the reasoning behind successful D2 schools like Northwest Missouri St not moving up to D1. IMO, they could definitely compete. (They almost beat Duke this year!)
— Max Goring (@mgoring10) February 9, 2020
I do not, but we could see some high-profile movement in the mid-major ranks. Gonzaga recently flirted with leaving the WCC – something they haven’t completely close the door on – and it seems like Boise State may leave the Mountain West. Those two could cause a domino effect that would lead to other movement, but that remains to be seen.
And the reason many successful D2 schools don’t make the leap is, like everything else, because of money. It requires a bigger financial commitment to play D1 and there are other requirements they have to meet.
Has the overall speed in most sports out paced the reaction and abilities of most Refs ? https://t.co/uQwxgC0rwN
— Barry B (@Bigbbw11) February 9, 2020
Officiating has been particularly bad this year and the speed of the game certainly plays a role, but I don’t think that’s the reason. College refs don’t get as much training as they need and aren’t held accountable as much as they should be. Those would be the quickest and most effective ways to improve officiating.