NBA analyst claims No. 1 seed NCAA team could leapfrog Eastern Conference play-in team

With the NBA playoffs less than a month away, the NCAA tournament is the main talking point in the basketball community right now. One analyst recently shared his thoughts on how one of the top seeds would fare at the next level.

After winning the tournament last year, UConn finds themselves in a good position to potentially repeat. They recently took down Northwestern to punch their ticket for the Sweet 16. Next up for the reigning champions is a matchup with five seed San Diego St.

During a recent episode of ESPN's "Get Up," Mike Greenberg shared his thoughts on UConn's play thus far. He feels if they were in the NBA they'd be able to jump the Atlanta Hawks and secure a spot in the play-in tournament.

"If they were in the NBA's Eastern Conference would they make the playoffs?" Greenberg said. "I'm looking at teams that are eight games under .500 in the play-in right now. They're better than that."

With just under 15 games to go in the regular season, the Hawks are in 10th place in the Eastern Conference with a 31-39 record. UConn finished the college season this year with an overall record of 33-3 and went undefeated at home.

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NCAA contender has similar average age of NBA contender

As expected, the co-hosts on Get Up quickly shot down Mike Greenberg for his take on UConn being in the NBA. However, an argument could be made. While they're two very different levels of competition, the ages of these players aren't far off.

Another team in a good position to have a shot at the national championship is UNC. The fellow No. 1 seed also reached the Sweet 16 after their win over Michigan State. Following this victory, an interesting stat came out regarding their roster.

Due to UNC having a 25-year-old in their starting lineup, they are an older squad for college standards. A post on social media recently went viral about their average age being on par with the starting lineup of the OKC Thunder.

With "one-and-done" becoming the usual route for top prospects, NBA stars are younger than ever before. In the case of the Thunder, most of them are still old enough to be in college.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the oldest of their starters at 25-years-old. Rookie of the Year favorite Chet Holmgren isn't far removed from competing in the NCAA tournament, spending his lone college season at Gonzaga.

With the pool of college and pro players being so close, it opens the door for Greenberg to build a case with his take. That said, it's still a stretch to say a college squad could be dropped in the NBA and be a playoff team.