Mid Major Top 25 Week 16
Bracket Buster's Mid Major Top 25 Week 16 on 02/19/24.
All rankings below are updated as of 02/19/24.
We’ve been saying this for weeks now, but every single game matters at this point in the college basketball season. We are just a matter of a couple weeks away from Selection Sunday and conference tournaments are around the corner. Seeding and bye weeks in these tournaments are all in play as we wrap up conference play. This week was chaotic and in terms of movement among our Top 25, we saw a lot of change. Just one team dropped out, however, there was a large shift in the overall position of these teams in the Top 25.
Lets dive in!
Top 10 Shakeup
San Diego State has retaken the #1 ranking in Bracket Buster’s Mid-Major Top 25 rankings this week. The Aztecs are 4-1 in their last five games, with their only loss coming at Nevada 70-66. Among their four wins, they beat #17 Utah State by 14, Colorado State by 16, Air Force by 13, and New Mexico by 11. It’s been an excellent last couple of weeks for San Diego State who have improved their NET Ranking to #18 & KenPom to #18. This week, the Aztecs are ranked #19 in the AP Polls & in the NCAA’s early bracket release this past weekend, they ranked #14 in the top 16, which would place them as a #4 seed in March Madness.
Saint Mary’s moved up to #3 as their win streak was extended to 13 games with dominating wins over Portland and Pepperdine. The Gaels have an exciting game against San Francisco who has been playing excellent as of late, this week on February 20th. They now rank at #22 in the KenPom, #15 in the NET Rankings, and #18 in this week’s AP Poll.
Indiana State & Memphis both fell out of the Top 10. For Indiana State, it could not have been much more of a disaster. Entering the week, the Sycamores were 22-3 and ranked for the first time since 1979 at #23. They immediately laid an egg against Illinois State in a 80-67 loss & Southern Illinois 74-69. Brutal week needless to say, and unfortunately the hopes of a two-bid Missouri Valley have died. They managed to go from ranked #23 to receiving no votes in this week’s AP Poll. The loss of Jayson Kent and lack of depth on the bench has really caught up to the trees who look to bounce back against the bottom two teams in the Valley this week in Valpo and UIC.
Memphis…I just don’t even know what else there is to say. An absolute monumental nose dive for the tigers who just earlier this season was ranked 10th in the AP Poll and the top of quite a few computer metrics. Just a disaster in their 76-66 loss to North Texas & 106-79 beatdown from SMU. For this reason, the Memphis Tigers have completely fallen out of the Top 25 Mid-Major Rankings for the firs time this season.
Drake is back in the Top 10 at the #8 spot in this week’s rankings. Drake’s won four games now, including wins against Bradley, Southern Illinois, a beat down of Murray State, and a buzzer beaters bank shot to beat Evansville. The Bulldogs are arguably now the favorites to win the Missouri Valley with Indiana State taken a couple of losses. They are looking to finish strong in their last four games in conference against Belmont, Northern Iowa, UIC, and Bradley.
Rising & Fallers
San Francisco jumped from #18 to #15 this week as a result of their 6 game winning streak. The Dons have an amazing opportunity this week on Tuesday against #18 Saint Mary’s. Next week they battle off against Gonzaga and Thursday, February 29th. These last four games are going to show who San Francisco is and could help bolster the hope of a two-bid WCC.
South Florida & James Madison both made significant jumps this week. South Florida now comes in at #18 after solidifying themselves as the leader of the AAC after a win against #24 FAU. They had a great chance to deliver a shocking blow to the Owls after leading by 25 points at one point in the game, however FAU nearly completed the comeback in what would end as a 90-86 South Florida win. The Bulls are now 19-5 on the season and 12-1 in conference play. Amir Abdur-Rahim is really solidifying himself as one of the fastest rising coaches in college basketball after taking a 1-28 Kennesaw State team to their first NCAA Tournament as a 26 win season in just four years, and now doing this at South Florida.
James Madison is rising back up our Top 25 rankings on their 6 game winning streak. The Dukes are now 24-3 on the season and 11-3 in conference. It’s been a nice bounce back for JMU, especially a solid 73-59 win over Akron. The Sun Belt tournament is going to be electric as Troy, Appalachian State, and JMU all have great opportunities to take the auto-bid into March Madness this season. James Madison is now up to #55 in the NET Rankings & #65 in the KenPom.
Loyola Chicago has entered our Top 25 rankings for the first time this season. The Ramblers are in the midst of a 6 game winning streak and are tied for first in the A-10 with #16 Dayton at 11-2 in conference. On the season, they sit at 19-7. Looking at their losses, they’ve all matured nicely. They lost to #10 FAU in the first game of the season, Tulsa, South Florida, Richmond, VCU, #8 Creighton, and the only bad loss to UIC 72-67. The Ramblers look to finish out the A-10 strong against George Mason, St Bonaventure, #16 Dayton, Davidson, and La Salle. This is going to be a big stretch for the team to prove them belong at the top of the conference.
Notable Movement
South Florida #25 → #18
James Madison #24 → #21
Memphis #9 → NR
Loyola Chicago NR → #24
Dropped Out:
Memphis
On the Bubble:
Drexel
Vermont
Yale