What are the biggest NCAA Basketball questions you have this week? We answer them in a new Monday Morning Mailbag, including a look at Duke’s struggles and more.
Want to know just how crazy this NCAA Basketball season is and continues to be? On Saturday, ranked teams went just 5-6 against unranked teams, marking just the 15th day that ranked teams had a losing record against unranked teams when there were at least 10 such matchups in the sport’s history.
Even crazier is the fact that it’s not the first time that has happened this season. In fact, it almost feels routine.13 ranked teams dropped at least one game over the past week, meaning the new rankings will likely look vastly different.
The biggest drop may come from Duke, who lost twice to unranked opponents (Wake Forest, Virginia) on the road. Now that the Blue Devils have lost three of their last four games, how concerned should we be about their chances moving forward? That is where we start this week’s 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.
Will Duke make it out of the first weekend?
— Tony Braz (@braz_tony) March 1, 2020
I really don’t think so. I’ve been saying for a few weeks now that their downfall will be their struggles to score off their half-court offense, and we saw that during Saturday’s loss to Virginia. When you throw in the struggles their defense is having as well (see games vs. North Carolina, NC State, and Wake Forest), this Blue Devils team is playing some of their worst basketball at the wrong time.
Why is ACC Duke rated in the top 10 and ACC Virginia not rated at all when they have a 1 loss difference. Duke Bias?
— Go Big Blue (@craigblanton) March 1, 2020
Duke *shouldn’t* be in the top 10 after this week. While you’re right in that Virginia is playing better than Duke is currently, that hasn’t been the case all season.
The Blue Devils have notable wins over Kansas, Michigan State, and Florida State and, up until a couple of weeks ago, were 12-2 in the ACC. On the flip side, Virginia got off to a slower-than-expected start and only had one really notable win (FSU) before winning this weekend.
Duke still has the better overall resume and it’s why they’ll still get a quality seed on Selection Sunday, but they’re certainly not playing well right now.
They’re not really, I don’t think. There’s a good chance they’ll be ranked in the top five when the new AP poll is released and should get a No. 2 seed in all likelihood. If they are “under the radar,” it’s because the SEC is down so they aren’t playing in as many big games against highly ranked teams.
Still like your Creighton final four pick?
— Sal (@sal7864) March 1, 2020
To be clear, I haven’t said Creighton was going to the Final Four, only that they should be considered legitimate contenders to get there (and I may pick them, we’ll see how the bracket looks when it gets released in a couple of weeks). But I’m not worried about the Bluejays despite their blowout loss to St. John’s. The Red Storm are one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the country and made 14 while making 63.6 percent of their shots from behind the arc.
One team was abnormally cold and the other was abnormally hot, which happens occasionally. I won’t be concerned about the Bluejays unless this becomes a more common occurrence.