NCAA Basketball Roundtable: Worst Big 12 team, Jabari Smith No. 1 pick?

2. More likely to occur: LSU gets a top 3 seed or Arkansas misses the NCAA Tournament entirely?

Mauro 

It would be a surprise if LSU didn’t get a top-three seed this year.  They have impressed and their 11-0 start is very surprising.  LSU is currently top 3 overall in the NET, they already have one Quad 1 win with a top of opportunities remaining to bolster the resume.

As long as they don’t take a loss to Georgia or Missouri the rest should take care of itself.  Those are the only games remaining on their schedule that are a Quad 4 game.  Everything else is quad 1 or 2 games and most of their remaining games are quad 1 games.  LSU should get a top 12 seed overall.

Burgess

This one is tough because I’m not sure either of these occurs but I think it is more likely that Arkansas misses the NCAA Tournament. People may not be getting off the Muss bus just yet, but those in the back are moving closer to the door. I also think the depth of the SEC, Big Ten, and Big 12 keeps LSU just off the 3-line.

Melton

LSU gets Top 3 seed. Arkansas will make the NCAA Tournament, and the way the Tigers are playing at the moment, LSU is positioning themselves nicely to receive a high-seed come March.

Heiser

I wrote last week that LSU was the team that confuses me the most, which is still true, but I think it’s far more likely they get a top 3 seed than Arkansas completely missing the tournament. I have too much faith in the Muss Bus to be comfortable saying they flunk out. The Razorbacks’ back-to-back losses to Oklahoma and Hofstra have me realizing they probably won’t be as good as anticipated, but they won’t be bad enough that they miss March Madness.

LSU’s defense has been phenomenal this year (No. 1 in KenPom!), which is hilarious considering that Will Wade has never really cared about defense, but it’s getting to the point where I have to believe it’s realistic that they could land a top 3 seed.

Zacher

I don’t think LSU is bad, obviously, per se – but I’m not sure they’ll receive a top-3 seed come the NCAA Tournament.  It’s tough to appropriately gauge just how good the Tigers actually are.  Who is their best win – Belmont?  Louisiana Tech?  Wake Forest?  Penn State in overtime?

This LSU team owns the most efficient defense in the nation, per KenPom, and they’re holding teams to 53.5 points per game – but between Auburn, Kentucky, and Alabama – and that’s without even mentioning the potential for Tennessee and Florida to pose a threat – it’s hard to expect LSU to go through SEC play without too many missteps.  Time will tell, ultimately.

I think it’s more likely that Arkansas misses out completely, which is bizarre to say – but the Razorbacks were blown out by Oklahoma and just lost to Hofstra.  Their best wins are over Kansas State and Cincinnati, neither of which are bad wins – but neither scream “at-large team.”  They’ll have an opportunity to pick up some crucial wins in the SEC, but those losses to Oklahoma and Hofstra really don’t bode well.

Per KenPom, Arkansas is projected to lose seven of its last eight SEC games – and that’s not even including being projected to drop games to Mississippi State and Texas A&M.  Those, unfortunately for Arkansas, seem like likely daggers to the Razorbacks’ aspirations.