NCAA Basketball: Big Ten bids, Louisville struggles lead Monday Morning Mailbag
By Brian Rauf
What are the biggest NCAA Basketball questions you have this week? We answer them in this week’s Mailbag, including looks at the Big Ten, Louisville & more.
There are only two weeks left in the NCAA Basketball season before the first conference tournaments start yet, as the NCAA Tournament is expected to become more clear, it has only become more murky thanks to the plethora of upsets that happen on a nightly basis.
What are the most pressing questions on your mind after this past week’s action? Let’s get into another Monday Morning Mailbag.
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.
They have to get more out of Jordan Nwora. While they’re not as reliant on him offensively as they were earlier in the season, they need him to produce – and scoring a combined seven points in losses to Georgia Tech and Clemson simply isn’t anywhere near enough.
Louisville also has to show up ready to play. They were extremely lethargic at the start of both outings and dug themselves too big of a hole to get themselves out of. The Cardinals didn’t match the intensity brought by either the Yellow Jackets or the Tigers, and they won’t turn this around until they play with more energy.
Nwora was benched this past week and struggled, while Seton Hall may be benching some folks. Which team's recent play concerns you more?
— Tristan Freeman (@hoopsnut351) February 16, 2020
Louisville’s does. Seton Hall has also gotten off to some extremely rough starts in their recent losses, yet their loss to Providence on Saturday was their first road loss of the season – and they nearly won it. The Cardinals didn’t show that kind of fight and haven’t had the same kind of production from their role players. Quincy McKnight and Romaro Gill have consistently stepped up around Myles Powell in a way that gives me more confidence in them turning things around more quickly.
With the seeding as it currently sits in the big East, who would be your pick to win the conference tournament and an automatic bid?
— Scott Wilterdink (@saw111671) February 16, 2020
Speaking of Seton Hall, I’m going with the Pirates for the reasons I just mentioned. Powell is a bona fide stud, they have found consistent secondary options, and they’re elite defensively with Gill blocking shots down low. It will be a crazy tournament without a doubt, but Seton Hall has more pieces that anyone else.
Here's one, has any team in the country been more affected by an injury than Arkansas and Isaiah Joe?
— Jason Burgess (@Collegehoopsguy) February 16, 2020
I think you could say Memphis, who has also completely fallen off the map since D.J. Jeffries’ knee injury following James Wiseman’s departure. But Arkansas is certainly in that mix, as they’ve gone from being solidly in the tournament to way outside the bubble.
My ? Is Rutgers safely in the field-Luke has them a 9 seed-Lunardi at 32 on S Curve. I’m blown away by that. Committee has stressed a good OOC schedule & road wins every SS RU is 17-0 H 1-8 A. Best OOC game was L at Pitt & they lost to St Bonnie-media just want a NY area team in?
— Tigers 🇺🇸 (@tigersgrizz07) February 16, 2020
Rutgers is definitely safely in the field. They have three Quad 1 wins, including a great non-conference win against Seton Hall, and are 9-6 in the toughest conference in the country. The Scarlet Knights may limp to the finish line here with five games left against teams ranked in the KenPom top 28, but they’ve done more than enough to secure their place. It’s just a matter of seeding now.
Same for 12-11 1-8 on road-Minny; who Is in 1st out on most brackets. Committee has problem on which B10 teams R in. Go by past publicly stated criteria leaving out teams can’t win on road w/ poor OOC schedules? Do they give B10 8 bids based on that? Or do U think 10-11 as most?
— Tigers 🇺🇸 (@tigersgrizz07) February 16, 2020
Minnesota is a different story. After losing at home to Iowa on Sunday, the Golden Gophers are 12-12. Their four Quad 1 wins are certainly keeping them alive, but they’ve lost too many games to be in. The Gophers have a few more opportunities to improve their resume with a home game against Maryland, a road trip to Wisconsin, and two games against Indiana left. They need to win at least two of those games while also beating both Nebraska and Northwestern to stay in the mix.
The Big Ten is going to get 10 or 11 teams in. I think 12 is out of the question now but so many teams have quality resumes when it comes to Quad 1 wins and where they rank in various metrics. Nine are locks and three – Minnesota, Indiana, and Purdue – are fighting for one or two spots.
Do you think this is the year, with so many Power teams losing more and more games, that more mid-majors that are actually winning get at-large bids such as UNI, ETSU, Liberty, and a few A10 teams?
— Max Goring (@mgoring10) February 16, 2020
I certainly hope this is the year because all of those teams you mentioned are much more deserving than some of the bubble teams in the ACC, SEC, and Big Ten. I think Northern Iowa and ETSU will get at-large bids, as will BYU and Saint Mary’s from the WCC. Rhode Island is likely getting one from the A-10 as well (who may send another team or two), so I think we could see close to 10 mid-majors get at-large bids.
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Which draftee do you see the KNICKS selecting?
— FATGUARD22 (@GholsonRonald) February 16, 2020
The Knicks are currently projected to have the No. 5 pick in the draft, which could put them in position to draft R.J. Hampton, UNC’s Cole Anthony, Iowa State’s Tyrese Haliburton, or Dayton’s Obi Toppin. There are a number of ways they could go but, currently, I’d be looking at those three.