I’ve been thinking about this since Luka announced he was returning. My first instinct is to think “no” due to past, unrealistic expectations (e.g., 2015-16 team that rose to #3 in January and had some Final Four chatter). Also, it is hard to imagine a team with such poor defensive efficiency numbers out scoring 4 straight quality tournament teams in a row come tourney time. With that said, with a 1 or 2 seed the path could be there for this squad. While I hope we beat Gonzaga on Saturday, I really hope we are in a competitive game down to the wire. If we lose a close one I will have this question answered in the affirmative. Going toe to toe with Zags means we are legit. Losing by double digits will make me think otherwise. Will be fun to watch. Go Hawks!
