Mid Major Top 25 Week 17

Bracket Buster's Mid Major Top 25 Week 17 on 02/26/24.

Feb 26, 2024

All rankings below are updated as of 02/26/24.

The implications continue to grow greater as we grow closer to the end of the regular season. Upsets become even more deadly for teams, like we’ve seen this past week with games like Air Force defeating New Mexico at the Pit. On the flip side, other teams are peaking at the right times. South Florida knocked off UTSA and SMU to extend their winning streak to 13 games. Vermont re-entered the ranks after extending their winning streak to 7 games. In the MVC, Drake was defeated by Northern Iowa, virtually eliminating any chance for a two-bid Valley.

Top 25 Movement

Among our Top 25 teams, no team necessarily had a disastrous week by any means. Our top 3 remained intact, however we have a new team that has entered the top 5 in Boise State. For New Mexico, they fell from #4 to #6 after taking a tough loss to Air Force. The Falcons shot 44% from 3, going 11-25 while New Mexico shot just 18% from 3, going 3-16. That ultimately was the difference maker in a 78-77 win for Air Force at The Pit. For New Mexico, this is a terrible loss, but it ended up being the best possible scenario in which it was just a one-point loss. The 6-bid dream for the Mountain West is still alive, but the margin of error is significantly smaller in these finally couple of weeks.

Nevada is back in the Top 10 at #8 as a result of their 3 game winning streak, which could have easily been a 7 game winning streak had it not been for a 83-82 loss to New Mexico at home. The Wolf Pack are peaking at the right time after scuffling to start off conference play. They are headed to Colorado State this week in what will be a true test for Nevada coming down the stretch.

As mentioned in the opening paragraph, South Florida continued their hot streak and extending their winning streak to 13 games. The Bulls defeated UTSA 66-61 and SMY 79-68. USF now sits at 21-5 on the season and 14-1 in the AAC while beating #10 Memphis, #24 FAU, North Texas, SMU, and Charlotte. In the non-conference, USF also knocked off Florida State 88-72 and Loyola Chicago 77-64. This is an excellent team that has the potentially to be a popular upset choice in the tournament.

Indiana State re-entered the Top 10 this week after picking up a couple of bounce-back wins against Valparaiso and UIC. These are the bottom two teams in the Missouri Valley, but these were crucial for the Sycamores to regain their confidence. They end the final week of the Missouri Valley regular season with a road game at Evansville and a home game against Murray State in which both teams have been able to cause disruption in the Valley. It’ll be imperative for the Sycamores to win both games to hold onto first place.

Vermont re-entered the Top 25 thanks to their 7 game winning streak. With their dominating 65-48 victory over Bryant this weekend, Vermont secured their latest American East regular season conference title. The Catamounts are 23-6 on the season and 13-1 in the America East. I just released a video yesterday discussing how Vermont has become a Mid-Major dynasty, so if you are interested, check out the video below: