In light of the NBA's apparent scheme to include the necessary number of squads so as to include the New Orleans Pelicans — 10th in the Western Conference standings at 28-36 — the NCAA must now be kicking itself for not expanding the Final Four in 2019 to somehow include the Duke basketball show. After all, those April ratings likely would have shattered records due to the invisible-trapeze act of Zion Williamson alone.
During Thursday's edition of The Hoop Collective podcast, ESPN insider Brian Windhorst broke down what he has deemed as the rationale for the league possibly nixing the remainder of the regular season and then handing out 20 invites to the playoffs, which could feasibly tip off sometime late summer:
"I’ll tell you one thing: that scenario gets Zion Williamson in.