Can They Hold An NCAA Tournament Without Duke?

Much discussion today about a potentially big fun NCAA Tournament question: Is it possible that Duke could miss the field of 65? The Blue Devils have lost four in a row and have a ton of road games coming up. It still seems rather unlikely, but the real question is whether we should legitimately be rooting for Duke not to make the tournament? Is that something we actually want?

It could end up being a strange year, with Connecticut likely missing out, Illinois as of now out and even Duke. But Duke seems to use like a team that has to be in; we think Duke sneaking in as a No. 10 seed or something would be even more humiliating to those guys than not being in all together. Though perhaps we should not speak so soon: Is it possible to run American Express, "I'm a leader who just happens to coach basketball" commercials during the NIT? Does AmEx get some cash back for that?

Sorry: We're less than a month until Selection Sunday, and we're starting to get excited about this stuff.

Could Duke Miss The Tourney? [The Sports Frog]