It is remarkable that in a season is filled with competent clubs, we have reached the section at home with many large -scale conference races almost.
Big Ten is the only large -scale league with a real intrigue. Four teams entered the weekend with championship aspirations. This list has just been cut in two after the Wisconsin and Purdue almost fell from the race with defeats against Oregon and Indiana, respectively. With less than two weeks to go to the regular season, It is a double in the state for the crown Between Michigan and the state of Michigan. This regular season final on March 9 could be for all marbles.
Mars arrives, so Isaac Trotter of CBS Sports and Cameron Salerno plunge into various sport subjects which they buy or sell, starting with the Ole Spartans.
1. Buy or sell: Is Michigan State good enough to win the national championship?
The new reality of the state of Michigan: it is the team of Jase Richardson after an impressive victory at Rival Michigan
Matt Norlander
Trotter: Sell. The Michigan State has something special, but winning a national championship with a Halfcourt offense which ranks 11th in the Big Ten in efficiency is a bridge just a little too far. I think that the state of Michigan clearly proved that it had what it takes to attach victories together in March, especially since it finally sparked the fabulous recruit Jase Richardson and armed it with More than 30 minutes, but I cannot shake the feeling that this infraction of a trembling half-mass will come back and haunt Msu at the wrong time.
Salerne: Buy. Arriving in the season, I was personally lower on the state of Michigan. Instead of doubling my pre-season prediction, it is time to recognize that Spartans can win six consecutive games in the NCAA tournament. As Our Matt Norlander wrote this weekendThis is the team of Jase Richardson. If you have not yet watched Coen Carr, he is one of the best Highflyers in sport. There are not many university basketball coaches who raise their teams in March as Tom Izzo does in Michigan State. I officially buy media after the Michigan State recorded a road declaration on the road against Michigan.
2. Buy or sell: Wake Forest reaching the NCAA tournament?
Trotter: Sell. And it’s a shame because Hunter Sallis and Cam Hilddreth are a bucket duo who can go with anyone, and the Tre’von Spillers attacker is one of the Elite players in the ACC. But Wake Forest can only blame himself if he does not get good news on the selection Sunday. This devastating defeat at home against Florida’s state, when she led by 16 points with 8:22 to persist for a very long time if Wake Forest finds herself on the wrong side of the cutting line.
Salerne: Sell. To date, Wake Forest is in the NCAA tournament as a seeded n ° 11, According to Jerry Palm. The deacons of the demon lost 85-73 on the road to a bad team from the state of NC less than two weeks after blowing a two-digit lead at Florida State at home. With matches on the calendar against Virginia, Notre Dame, Duke and Georgia Tech to close the regular season, there will not be many opportunities to strengthen their curriculum vitae. A victory over Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium would be enormous but seems very unlikely because of how Blue Devils play. Wake Forest is currently n ° 62 in the net ranking and there are a handful of teams on the bubble capable of considerably improving their curriculum vitae by Sunday and selection. Unless one race like NC State had last spring in the ACC tournament, Wake Forest could be outside.
Bubble Watch of Bracket: Arkansas, Byu and VCU increase their Curriculations of NCAA tournament with large victories
Jerry Palm
3. Buy or sell: more than two Mountain West teams will make the NCAA tournament
Trotter: Buy. But it will be very close. The state of Utah and New Mexico are ready to dance. This really comes down to the state of San Diego, which cannot afford a trembling loss and could be in court-nine without the first year of first year Magoon Gwath who suffered a frightening leg injury during the defeat Saturday against the state of Utah. Gwath is not the best player in San Diego State, but he is one of his most important Hoopers. The defense of Aztecs exceeds 11 points for 100 possessions worse without its intimidating fire blocker. If it is absent for a semblance of time, it could become hairy for the state of San Diego in the section.
Salerne: Buy. Two Mountain West teams (except madness in the next three weeks) should be safe on the ground: Utah state and new-mexic. After that, San Diego State has a solid case and Boise State could also sneak in the field (currently one of the last four) by closing the strong season. And we didn’t even talk about the possibility of a potential tender thief in the Mountain West tournament. I would be shocked if the Mountain West does not obtain at least three teams on the field. There is also a case for potentially four.
4. Buy or sell: One of this batch of big brand of seeds n ° 8 or n ° 9 will she reach the Sweet 16?
Trotter: Buy. Pre-season teams of the 10 best like Uconn, Gonzaga And Baylor promises to be a seed n ° 8 or n ° 9. It’s crazy. Even after a brutal home defeat against Saint Mary’s, Gonzaga is still n ° 11 on Kenpom. The last time that a Kenpom team among the first 10 obtained a seeded seed 9, it was in 2021 and the Loyola-Chicago club to wear Moser upset the head of Illinois. This group of seeds n ° 1 is incredibly good, but this 32 game match for one or two of them will not be easy at all. Are you really looking forward to being a four-point favorite with a Gonzaga team who had an incredibly unluckiness in end-of-game scenarios this season and could easily be a seeded n ° 5 if some breaks s ‘were unrolled ?? Are you really excited to see Dan Hurley on the opposing touch line with a soft berth 16 on the line? Are you really encouraged to have to try to defend the Baylor cavalry of exceptional guards? Me neither.
Salerne: Buy. For the fifth time last season, all the heads n ° 1 and 2 of the NCAA tournament reached the Sweet 16. Depending on the way this season took place and the strength of the seeds n ° 7/8 /9 would be surprising to see this trend repeat itself. Is Uconn as good as last season? Certainly not. Is Kansas still capable of winning the national title? Probably not. But can one of these teams “upset” a seeded n ° 1 or 2 in the second round? Absolutely.
5. Buy or sell: Duke or Auburn will cut the nets in San Antonio
Trotter: Buy. Mathematically speaking, I think it would be logical to choose the field instead of Duke or Auburn. But Duke and Auburn have been my two best teams for months and have the least respective defects. The two have the national player of the year. The two have an elite RIM defense which has become almost essential to win a title. The two have lots of players in depth and elite. My only reserve could be Florida. These Gators also have everything I want in a contender for the title. But I’m going to switch to Auburn or Duke.
Salerne: Sell. Giving me the possibility of choosing two teams (clearly the best teams in the country) or 66 other teams in the field, I go with the best of others. No, that wouldn’t shock me if Auburn or Duke were the last two standing teams. It would not surprise me either if it is the title game match. But that, friends, is the NCAA tournament. Madness and strange things happen. It is the beauty of this one. Now, who would I be chosen to win the national title right now outside these teams? Not sure. But I know that my chances are better with 66 teams instead of two.
6. Buy or sell: Indiana must follow Rick Pitino’s advice and hire Chris Beard as his next coach
Trotter: Buy … But with some conditions. If Greg McDermott, from Creighton, does not want work, to rotate Chris Beard has much more sense than hiring the Brad Browlls or Buzz Williams of the world. Luggage is difficult to neglect. Beard was dismissed from Texas after being arrested and accused of strangulation by his fiancée Randi Trew. The police report this night was disturbing; The crime accusations were then abandoned.
Beard would kiss the fish bowl that can be Indiana basketball and would be a connective tissue (complicated) to Bob Knight, whose Beard worked at Texas Tech. Armed with elite resources, Beard would be ready to assemble lists that would be the desire for many rivals of Big Ten. It is also difficult to find recruits that do not resonate quickly with Beard. If winning is the only What counts for IU and everything else out of the field does not matter, Beard can help the Hoosiers to take this jet-back to the top of the university basketball mountain faster than the other realistic targets .
Salerne: Sell. Chris Beard is an excellent coach but Indiana can do better. He helped Ole Miss get hot in the non-conference game last season and has the program at the dawn of his first appearance of the NCAA tournament since 2019. I would always go in a different direction with this rental due to potential names you can get. Brad Stevens have already said no and Dusty from Michigan could just sign an extension To stay at school. It was two candidates (who were probably not unrealistic to start) of the board of directors. Baylor coach Scott Drew said no to the Kentucky post last season, then who knows if he wins the phone during the offseason. If I were Indiana, it would be my first call.
