Top 25 Mid-Majors: Memphis & San Diego State Thrive in Feast Week
San Diego State picked up wins over Creighton and Houston, while Memphis knocked off UConn and Michigan State. What else happened in the Top 25 Mid-Majors?
It was a chaotic holiday week across college basketball. UConn was swept in Maui, we saw over half of the AP Top 25 list lose games, and plenty of mid-majors knock off power conference opponents. This was one of the toughest weeks to rank thus far as the top mid-major programs are starting to separate themselves from the rest of the pack. Teams like Dayton, Saint Mary’s, San Diego State, and Memphis all picked up excellent wins, but suffered losses as well. Let’s dive into this week’s rankings.
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Memphis picked up some quality wins over No. 2 UConn and Michigan State in the Maui Invitational, however, they fell 90-76 to Auburn in the championship. Auburn is a top four team in the country, so that isn’t a disappointing loss by any means, thus the Tigers have over taken Saint Mary’s as No. 1 in this week’s Mid-Major Top 25 Rankings. Memphis takes on Louisiana Tech and Arkansas State this week for a chance to move to 8-1 on the season.
Saint Mary’s demolished USC in a 71-36 blowout win. The Gaels held the Trojans to just 26% shooting from the field and a goose egg from 3pt, going 0-12. They ultimately fell to a tough 7-1 Arizona State team that has a reasonable chance to be ranked in this week’s AP Top 25 poll. The Gaels lost 68-64 in a close matchup, where they shot 41.7% and 47.1% from 3pt. Despite the loss, the Gaels still sit at 7-1 on the season and will hold onto a top two spot in our rankings this week.
Here’s where it really got muddy in this week’s rankings. Nevada, Utah State, Dayton, San Diego State, and New Mexico could really be interchangeable. There’s not a whole lot separating the pack here in my opinion. New Mexico is a bit of an outlier among these five, thus why they are ranked behind each of the other four. However, you can make an argument for any order here.
Nevada didn’t play this week, so there was no reason to really shift the Wolf Pack around. However, Utah State remains undefeated at 7-0 after knocking off a couple of tough mid-majors in St. Bonaventure 72-67 and North Texas 61-57. Both teams are in our Top 25 Mid-Major Rankings. As of 12/01, the Aggies are 45th in KenPom.
San Diego State and Dayton had the best weeks of the schools here. Well, for Dayton fans, maybe it wasn’t a great week, but performance wise it proved how tough this team is. The Flyers suffered a couple of heart-breaking loses to No. 12 North Carolina 92-90 and No. 5 Iowa State 89-84. However, they bounced back with an 85-67 victory over No. 2 UConn. It might not be the record that Flyers fans want, but it proved that this team is capable of competing at the highest level this season. The Flyers are currently ranked 26th in KenPom with the 17th best offense in the country.
San Diego State picked up a couple of ranked wins, including an impressive 73-70 win over No. 6 Houston in overtime. The Aztecs also drilled No. 21 Creighton 71-53, but fell to Oregon 78-68. BJ Davis has stepped up for the Aztecs, embracing his starting role and averaging 13.8 points, four rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 2.2 steals per game so far. The Aztecs are ranked 40th in KenPom and 12th in defensive efficiency. Their loss to Oregon is not a bad loss by any means as the Ducks are now 8-0 and will most certainly be ranked in the AP Poll released today after defeating No. 20 Texas A&M, San Diego State, and No. 9 Alabama.
New Mexico fell by four on Thursday to Arizona State who now sits at 7-1 with their only loss being to Gonzaga 88-80 and picking up wins over Santa Clara, Grand Canyon, and Saint Mary’s. Not a bad loss at all for the Lobos. On Friday, they bounced back with an 83-73 win over USC. They have a couple of solid opportunities this week to move to 8-2 over San Jose State and New Mexico State.
UC Irvine is creeping closer and closer to the Top 10 as the Anteaters are still undefeated at 8-0. They are now up to 57th in KenPom and have the 8th best defensive efficiency so far. They claimed the Western Slam Championship after holding off a tough Towson team 67-60. Devin Tillis has been one of the best players in the country that’s flying under the radar. Tillis is averaging 15 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 2.1 assists while shooting…74.6% overall and 68.8% from 3pt. Will the insane shooting maintain all year? Probably not, but UC Irvine is a well structured team and as long as they win the Big West Tournament, they could be a dark horse come March.
St. Bonaventure entered the Top 25 this week, bringing the Atlantic 10 up to a whopping five teams in our rankings. It’s been clear that the Atlantic 10 and American Conferences have been some of the best, with the WCC being right there as well. The Bonnies are 7-1 and picked up a quality 68-56 win over Northern Iowa on Friday. They lost to the Utah State Aggies 72-67 on Thursday, but again, not a bad loss at all given the Aggies season thus far. The Bonnies sit at 89th in KenPom, and Chance Moore has been leading the way. Moore is averaging 15.4 points, 7.5 rebounds, one assists, 1.6 blocks, and 1.9 steals per game thus far.
Arkansas State dropped out this week after falling to both Rice and Hofstra last week. Both were close games for the Red Wolves, whom I still believe in, but for now they’ll move back to the bubble where I encourage readers to still keep an eye on. They take on Jackson State and what will be after today a Top 25 or Top 10 Memphis Tigers team.
Notable Movement
St. Bonaventure - NR → 20
San Diego State - 10 → 4
Dropped Out
Arkansas State
On the Bubble
Rhode Island
East Carolina
UC San Diego
Davidson
South Dakota State
Arkansas State