Part of The Round Table's multimedia experience

The Round Table

Part of The Round Table's multimedia experience

The Round Table

Part of The Round Table's multimedia experience

The Round Table

NCAA Selection Sunday preview

We are just weeks away from NCAA basketball selection Sunday and there is still no perennial favorite in college basketball.

ESPN “bracketoligist” Joe Lunardi has Indiana, Gonzaga, Kansas and Duke as his predicted number one seeds.

It seems there has been a revolving door of one seeds in Lunardi’s bracket, with Duke replacing Georgetown just last night, and Georgetown replacing Miami (FL) last weekend.

These teams are all in upper echelon of college basketball this year, but, as the adage goes, anyone can lose on any given night.

ACC leading Miami fell to conference bottom feeder Georgia Tech last night in what seemed to be an easy home game.

There are no “nights off” in this college basketball landscape. This is especially true in the Big 10; they boast four perennial championship contenders: Indiana, Michigan, Ohio State and Wisconsin.

At this point, Indiana is considered the favorite as they boast a 25-5 record while going 13-4 in the Big 10.

Duke has also been a serious contender. With senior forward Ryan Kelly in the lineup, the Blue Devils are 16-0 and undefeated against ranked competition. Kelly came back for his first game since Jan. 8 on Saturday, in a 79-76 win over the Miami Hurricanes. He scored 36 points and shot 7-9 from beyond the arch.

Duke and Missouri can tell you that the difference between a one seed and two seed is no joke.

Both teams lost to a 15 seed in the first round of the NCAA tournament last year. Missouri lost to Norfolk State, while Duke fell to Lehigh. Duke has never advanced past the Sweet 16 when getting a two seed.

As for the “bubble”, Lunardi has Iowa State, Villanova, Temple and Tennesse as his last four teams in. Alabama, Kentucky, Ole Miss and Southern Miss are among the first four out.

All of these teams will be looking for a strong showing in their conference, as they try to secure themselves a spot in the NCAA tournament.

Here are my picks for the 2013 tournament:

Predicted Final Four

Indiana, Georgetown, Duke and Ohio State

Cinderella teams

VCU, Butler, Oklahoma St. and Cincinnati

Players to watch

Ryan Kelly- Duke, Desean Thomas- Ohio State, Victor Oladipo- Indiana, Otto Porter- Georgetown, Marcus Smart- Oklahoma State, Tim Hardaway Jr.- Michigan, Doug McDermott- Creighton

Leave a Comment
More to Discover

Comments (0)

All The Round Table Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Activate Search
NCAA Selection Sunday preview