Mid Major Top 25 Week 13

Bracket Buster's Mid Major Top 25 Week 13 on 01/29/24.

Jan 29, 2024

All rankings below are updated as of 01/29/24.

We are just seven weeks away from Selection Sunday. Every day that we get closer, the larger the implication each game has. This week has shown some true colors of teams among the Mid-Major ranks. Richmond knocked off #16 Dayton. Princeton got throttled by Cornell. Akron took their first loss in the MAC to Miami Ohio. Indiana State held off Bradley at home, while Drake faced a scare against the UNI Panthers. The Mountain West continues to obliterate itself as #24 Colorado State took another loss to fall to 3-4 in conference, while Wyoming is stunning teams and New Mexico takes the new #1 place entering the week. Memphis continues to look terrible in conference.

A lot to unpack here, so let’s dive in.

A10 and Ivy League Shake Ups

The Atlantic 10 is right there with the Mountain West as one of the most fun and competitive Mid-Major conferences to watch. We saw Richmond knock off #16 Dayton in a 69-64 thriller on Saturday evening. It was an all-around exceptional effort for the Spiders as each of the five starters scored double digits. The Spiders have moved up to #69 in the NET Rankings and #80 in the KenPom. However, they are now 7-0 in the A-10 which should see two bids come Selection Sunday. They’ve extended their winning streak to 10 games and will look to stay hot against Fordham and VCU this week.

Princeton received a smack down from Cornell on Saturday to take their first loss since Saint Joseph’s on December 10^th in a 74-70 loss. Cornell looked phenomenal in this game as they have now moved to 4-0 in the Ivy League. Nazir Williams & Chris Manon posted 20 points and 16 points apiece. Manon had 11 rebounds, six assists, two steals, and two blocks to add, while Williams had 8 rebounds, two assists, and one steal. Princeton fell from #32 to #44 in the NET Rankings and #67 in the KenPom. The Ivy League will be just a one bid league this season, so the Tigers are going to need to look to bounce back this week against Yale & Brown. However, for Cornell this is a fantastic win. The Big Red are now 4-0 in conference and tied with Yale for first place. Overall, they are sitting at 15-3 on the season and this win bumped them up from #89 to #79 in the NET Rankings & #101 in the KenPom. We could easily see a Cornell/Princeton match up in the Ivy League conference tournament that’ll be must watch TV.

Missouri Valley and Mountain West Continue to Consume Themselves

Indiana State held off an excelled Bradley Braves this weekend in a 95-86 win at home on Saturday. All give starters had 14 or more points and Jayson Kent in particular really stepped up with a 17 point, 16 rebound performance. It was a tightly contested game up until the final minutes, which tracked given Bradley’s recent hot streak. The Braves have lost their winning streak, but the opportunity for a two-bid Missouri Valley remains alive.

Indiana State sits at #24 in the NET Rankings, Drake at #49, and Bradley at #65. If you are using the NET as your main piece of judgement, the dreams of a two-bid MVC are real.

The Mountain Wests’ worst-case scenario has come true. An outside team has stepped it up and started knocking off the top-tier teams and it isn’t UNLV. The Wyoming Cowboys are playing spoiler and have almost certainly crushed any hope of a six-bid Mountain West come Selection Sunday. Here’s a breakdown of where each team sits in the NET Rankings:

San Diego State #19
New Mexico #20
Utah State #23
Colorado State #34
Nevada #51
Boise State #56
UNLV #98
Wyoming #168
San Jose State #190
Air Force #211
Fresno State #222

Wyoming has now knocked off Nevada and #24 Colorado State, which could easily play spoiler to the hopes of a six-bid league. The conference’s eyes need to shift to maintaining the chances of a five-bid league because Nevada and Boise State are getting dangerously close to falling out of that category as well.

The good news for the Mountain West is, New Mexico is putting together one of the strongest resumes in conference. The Lobos have now won 5 games in a row, including double-digit wins against #19 San Diego State, #16 Utah State, and Nevada. New Mexico is now 5-2 in the Mountain West and have claimed the top spot in our Mid-Major Top 25.

The American Athletic Conference Continues to Struggle

FAU and Memphis have both looked like they could be top 10 teams at various times this season, but both have struggle in conference to teams that they should be able to handle. FAU is 7-1 in conference, but have face scares in nearly every game. Out of their eight games, 3 have been determined by one possession or less.

Memphis just continues to disappoint itself. The AP voters kept them in the Top 25 last week despite all of their computer metrics contradicting that choice. I even said that I understood it and would have done the same thing, however, there is no excuse now. The Memphis Tigers will certainly fall out of the Top 25 after their 3 game losing streak, losing to South Florida and Tulane by one possession and UAB by X. The Tigers can’t seem to stop stepping on their own feet and have now fallen to X in the NET Ranking and X in the KenPom.

SMU lost to Wichita State who was 0-6 in conference play and 8-11 overall on the season prior. The Mustangs have fallen to 4-3 in the conference, but they still hold a #33 NET Ranking and #43 Ken Pom ranking. They are looking like an NIT team at best right now, but they could flip this around with some impressive wins over Tulane and UAB this coming week.

With all of this discussion, the AAC will still most likely be a two-bid league this year. Even if Memphis or FAU doesn’t win their conference championship, there’s a chance it could be a three bid league. However, Memphis has to clean themselves up to even potentially have that conversation.