Mid Major Top 25 Week 15

Bracket Buster's Mid Major Top 25 Week 15 on 02/12/24.

Feb 12, 2024

All rankings below are updated as of 02/12/24.

We are just 5 weeks away from Selection Sunday and things are starting to heat up for the top Mid-Majors in the country. Bradley took two losses in conference to Evansville and Drake, Vermont lost to NJIT who then knocked off UMass Lowell, Charlotte lost possession of first place in the AAC to South Florida who is now amid a 9-game winning streak. Akron was knocked off by James Madison as a part of the MAC/Sun Belt Conference Challenge. Nevada defeated San Diego State to take the lead in the Mountain West for most wins over AP Top 25 teams, in turn, keeping the chance of a six-bid Mountain West conference alive. Let’s dive into the specifics.

Top 15 stays Sturdy

We didn’t see much movement this week in the Top 15 of our Mid-Major rankings. Utah State returns to the #1 spot, but like we have mentioned previously, you could honestly slide any Mountain West school in the rankings to #1 and have an argument for why they are the best.

Dayton and Saint Mary’s swapped spots at #5 & #6 as the Gaels continue their hot hand and Dayton took a 49-47 loss to VCU in what was a complete defensive battle. For Saint Mary’s, they have now moved their winning streak to 12 games and remain undefeated in the West Coast Conference. With Gonzaga’s win over Kentucky, the talk of a two-bid WCC has returned as the Saint Mary’s Gaels have pivoted from their rough start to build a solid at-large resume. The Gaels now sit at #15 in the NET Rankings, while Gonzaga moved up to #24.

Nevada returned to the Top 15 this week as they have bounced back from their brutal beatdown by New Mexico with a 3-game winning streak with wins over San Jose State, #22 Utah State, and #25 New Mexico. The Wolf Pack are now 6-4 in the Mountain West, just 1.5 games out of first place and a 3-1 record against AP Top 25 teams. They are now back in the top 50 of the NET Rankings, sitting at #47. The Mountain West Conference now has 6 teams in the top 50 of the NET. Are the chances of a six-bid Mountain West Conference back? We think so.

Last 5 Take Losses

For our #20 - #25 teams, it was a rough week. High Point took their first loss in the Big South against UNC Asheville. Fortunately, this isn’t a bad loss as the Bulldogs are 16-9 on the season and 9-2 in conference, however, hopefully this is a wake-up call for the Panthers. This loss bumped High Point down to #107 in the NET Rankings, however, it’s reasonable to say that they are playing more in the 90’s range.

James Madison dominated Akron in a 73-59 loss, which has the Dukes back in our Top 25 rankings. Fortunately for Akron, James Madison has clawed their way back into a #55 NET Ranking, however, Akron is now 1-5 in Quad 1 & 2 games. Akron will have to win the MAC Championship to make the tournament. Akron looks to bounce back against Buffalo on 12/17, however, they have a true test against Toledo who took a heart-breaking loss in 2OT against Appalachian State in what might have been the game of the season.

On the topic of Appalachian State, they took an absurd loss to Texas State 63-56. As of 2/11, Texas State has a NET Ranking of #237, so this loss pretty much crushed any small chance App State had over an at-large bid. However, as we mentioned, the Mountaineers bounced back with what arguably might be the best game of the 2023-2024 season thus far. The Mountaineers and the Toledo Rockets squared off in the MAC/Sun Belt Challenge, which saw two sets of overtime before App State pulled away in a 109-104 victory. The Mountaineers had six players with 11 ore more points and were led by Donovan Gregory who was nearly perfect from the floor shooting 10-11 with 24 points.

Bradley took back-to-back losses this week to Evansville and Drake. It was a heart-breaking loss in Evansville for Braves fans as Duke Deen drained a shot just 0.1 second too late that would have sent the game to overtime. If you are interested in our breakdown of the game, you can read our Missouri Valley Report here. The Braves tried to bounce back against Drake, but ultimately failed in a 74-67 loss. Neither loss was necessarily super bad for Bradley, however, the loss to Evansville eliminated their chance of an at-large bid. For the Braves, they will now have to win Arch Madness to make the tournament.

For South Florida, this is the first time they have entered the Top 25 Rankings as they are now on a 9-game winning streak which includes wins over #10 Memphis, North Texas, and Charlotte, in which they now hold sole possession of 1^st Place in the American Athletic Conference. The Bulls have a true test coming up on Sunday against #20 FAU, in which they might not be ranked after losing to UAB this weekend.