Mid-major basketball is a big part of the reason millions of people look forward to March. What school that nobody’s heard of will stun a high seed in the tournament? The mid-majors are a whole other world many casual fans are not aware of outside of March, but that other world is drifting apart. The power dynamic has shifted drastically. Last time, this mini-series covered the conferences that could be considered “low-major” conferences. This edition will cover the mid-majors. These are the conferences that aren’t always the best, but have some underrated programs and can potentially be multi-bid conferences if things go right.
21. Southland Conference
McNeese is a strong contender for best one-year turnaround this season. Will Wade’s group has taken charge of the Southland and is on track to finish in the top third of KenPom. Should they do so, they’ll be just the second Southland team to do so since the turn of the pandemic (Abilene Christian, 2021). While McNeese has convincing road wins over VCU and Michigan, they aren’t alone. Nicholls was able to knock off LSU earlier in the year, as well. The Southland having seven teams in the bottom third doesn’t help matters at all, but McNeese rising to prominence could spur competition.
20. Atlantic Sun (ASUN)
The ASUN is in a bit of a rebuilding process after losing Liberty to Conference USA. Even still, this conference has picked up some high-quality wins. Florida Gulf Coast upset then-seventh-ranked Florida Atlantic, Lipscomb knocked off Florida State, and Stetson picked up wins over Charlotte and Central Florida. Even Queens, sitting at 13-18 overall, is one of six teams to beat Big South-best High Point. This conference may be on the rise, and the conferences only get better from here.
19. Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC)
The MAAC does not have a standout team, but rather several good teams vying for the top spot. Were Rick Pitino still at Iona and Shaheen Holloway still at Saint Peter’s, this conference would be much higher up, but sometimes duty in the Big East calls. Recent history has also seen MAAC teams thrive in the postseason, namely the 2022 Cinderella run Saint Peter’s went on. The MAAC is the textbook definition of a mid-major: a conference that can be dangerous when prompted, but right now cannot be called a true threat.
18. Summit League
The Summit League is a perfectly inoffensive mid-major conference. Max Abmas departing Oral Roberts is a big reason no one in the conference stands out as a genuine threat. South Dakota State did beat Wichita State earlier in the season, but they stand on almost even footing, KenPom-wise. It’s always the unassuming teams whose sucker punches land hardest in March, though.
17. Horizon League
The Horizon League has a couple of really good teams, but also some really bad teams. While teams such as IUPUI and Detroit Mercy race to see who can hit rock bottom first, high-quality programs such as Oakland and Youngstown State have beaten Xavier and appeared in the NIT within the past two years, respectively. Green Bay also saw a 15-win turnaround from last season, another team in the running for turnaround of the year. Northern Kentucky has been consistently good for a while, as well. This conference is also innocuous at first glance, but screams “sleeper mid-major.”
16. Mid-American Conference (MAC)
The state of Ohio is running the MAC right now. Led by Akron, who boasts a 15-point win over Bradley, the MAC, this is a conference that can easily produce multiple 20-win teams. In 2019, the MAC even had a top 15 team: Buffalo. This is another league with a rather unimpressive, but not super insulting resume. It’s a very average mid-major conference.
15. Big Sky
This conference has some sneaky good teams and only one team in the bottom 100 of KenPom. Eastern Washington in particular has been synonymous with March, making a postseason tournament in three consecutive seasons and even beating Washington State in the NIT. Weber State has the biggest win this season of all Big Sky teams: a road win at Saint Mary’s, which was a Top 25 win. Both of those teams currently sit just outside the top third of the KenPom rankings. If these teams continue their strong stretches, the Big Sky could be fun to watch in buy games moving forward.
14. Big South
Another mid-major conference that has little good or bad about it, the Big South may have a new powerhouse on its hands. This year’s conference tournament is High Point’s to lose. One of the best offenses in America will look to guide the Panthers to their first-ever NCAA tournament appearance. High Point has some tough competition in UNC Asheville, who convincingly beat Sun Belt favorite Appalachian State earlier in the season. Those two programs, alongside Gardner-Webb, form the trifecta of North Carolina schools in charge of the conference. Look out for these three in the future, the Panthers in particular.
13. America East (AE)
This is a very fun conference to watch if only for the war among the big three. Vermont has won three of the last four AE tournaments and picked off Charleston early on in the year. UMass-Lowell has emerged onto the scene, upsetting Georgia Tech in a buy game. Bryant turned several heads this year with wins over Florida Atlantic, Drexel, and Towson. The rest of the field is rather underwhelming, but programs such as UMBC and Rhode Island have the resources to rebuild.
12. Coastal Athletic Association (CAA)
The CAA is a tale of two extremes. On one end, the CAA has four teams in the top 125 of KenPom. Conversely, four teams in the CAA are in the bottom 50. The College of Charleston was nationally ranked last season and finished with 31 wins. They have shown no signs of slowing down. UNCW won the College Basketball Invitational in 2022 and beat Kentucky at Rupp Arena earlier in the year. Drexel is a strong contender for winning its second CAA title in four years and has a win over Villanova. Hofstra lost Aaron Estrada to Alabama and is still a strong contender to make the dance. The CAA is not to be taken lightly.
11. Big West
UC San Diego could be this year’s tournament-ineligible conference champions. The Tritons are in their fourth season in the Big West, the final year of their transition period. They are getting hot at the right time, currently sitting at 14-4 in Big West play. The one team that is likely to stop them: UC Irvine.
The Anteaters earned one of the biggest upsets of the season with a ten-point win over USC, ranked 16th at the time. They are also fresh off an appearance in the NIT. This conference has lots of sleepers too, such as Long Beach State, who also beat USC this season.
10. Conference USA (C-USA)
This conference might be a high-major, but thanks to several teams leaving, it’s fallen to mid-major status. Losing Florida Atlantic, Charlotte, Rice, UAB, and North Texas all to the American Athletic Conference is simply too much for the addition of Liberty to overcome. No mid-major conference was hit harder by realignment than this one, but there are still some great programs to be found here.
Louisiana Tech is in the top 100 with a 21-8 record and a win over McNeese. Liberty, despite struggling in conference play, beat Charlotte, Vermont, and Wichita State in their non-conference slate. Sam Houston has found its footing in conference play and could be a sleeper pick to make the NCAA tournament. Look out for this weakened, but still strong C-USA.
9. Southern Conference (SoCon)
People forget how good this conference is. Not only does the SoCon have multiple NCAA tournament game wins since 2018, there are five teams in the top 150 of KenPom this year. Samford has only lost five games on the season. UNC Greensboro has a Top 25 win on its resume this season against Arkansas. Chattanooga beat Louisville by ten in their first D-I game of the season. West Carolina picked up wins over Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, and McNeese. Power teams should be wary when scheduling their buy games, the SoCon teams might have their cake and eat it, too.
8. Western Athletic Conference (WAC)
Though not quite the West Coast Conference, this is a mid-major group still on the rise. Grand Canyon is close to making the NCAA Tournament for the third time in four years and beat the reigning runner-up in San Diego State. Tarleton State currently sits at 15-3 in WAC play at 22-7 overall. Even Abilene Christian, sitting at 14-15 overall, beat Oklahoma State to kick off its season. The west coast might be the place to be for mid-major (and high-major) basketball soon.
7. Ivy League
This conference has done more with less as of late. Princeton, Yale, and Cornell all have top 100 offenses by KenPom standards. Princeton has wins on Rutgers, Drexel, and Hofstra; Yale beat the dynasty of the Patriot League in Colgate; and Cornell managed to do the same. Even teams such as Penn and Harvard picked up good to great wins (Penn beat Villanova, Harvard beat UMass and Colgate) this season. If the Ivy League was a bigger conference, it’s possible it would be a high-major. It just isn’t quite at the point it could send multiple teams to the tournament.
6. Sun Belt
The Sun Belt is the Fun Belt. It is very close to being considered a high-major, but isn’t quite there yet. James Madison’s second year has gone about as swimmingly as possible. They picked up a top five win over Michigan State on opening night, were ranked for two weeks, and went undefeated in non-conference play. Appalachian State is garnering a reputation as a giant killer with wins over Auburn, UNCW, and James Madison (twice). Southern Mississippi became the first team to beat James Madison this season. Troy, Arkansas State, and Louisiana pose serious threats as well. The Sun Belt is almost a high-major, but they need to send multiple teams to the dance in order to earn that title.
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