NCAA basketball is heading toward a frantic conclusion. Some teams will rise and lots will see bursting bubbles.
For everything that’s unsettled in the final month of the season, one thing is guaranteed; mid-majors will continue to occupy top 25 ranks. Get ready teams from those “minor” conferences will dramatically affect Selection Sunday, and rightfully so.
From George Mason's Final Four run in 2006 to Gonzaga's run in 1999, year-in-and-year-out mid-major's are among the best teams in the country. Unlike perennial powerhouses there’s high turnover of which teams return, but one or two squads have consistently made deep runs in March.
Currently, Memphis from lowly Conference USA is the only undefeated team in college basketball and is ranked No. 1 in both polls. One could argue the Tigers have moved to high-major status, but it doesn’t change the fact they also occupy the No. 2 spot in R.P.I. rankings.
The Ratings Percentage Index (R.P.I.) measures a team’s strength based on winning percentage and is normally a good indicator of how team’s stack up. As of today, one-third of the top 30 teams are from mid-major conferences. Seven of the 10 are rated in the top 25.
The resurgent Atlantic-10 conference leads the pack with four teams: Xavier (11), Dayton (17), Rhode Island (25) and UMass (26). The Flyers, Rams and Musketeers were all ranked in the AP top 25 in the same week, marking the first time that’s occurred for the A-10 since 2003. The A-10 is just adding to an extensive list of mid’s to crack the top 25 including Bulter who’s been ranked for 12-straight weeks, Gonzaga and St. Mary’s from the West Coast and Southern Illinois and Drake from the Missouri Valley.
Mid-major's deserve top consideration. And the quality of teams forms a list that ought to gobble up more of the field of 64 than ever.
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